Look inside: wellbeing at the heart of Shoosmiths’ £3.8m new home

The Manchester office of law firm Shoosmiths has moved into its premises at the XYZ building in Spinningfields, transferring its 200-strong team into what it calls an ‘agile working environment’.

The £3.8m design for its 32,000 sq ft Manchester headquarters at Allied London’s XYZ was agreed following close consultation with employees and Warrington-based fit-out firm Claremont. It incorporates 11 different types of workspace along with break-out areas.

Vaqas Farooq, head of Shoosmiths Manchester, told TheBusinessDesk: “It was a blank canvas which enabled us to create something that’s quite unique, particularly for law firms.”

The new workspaces include a garden, a library that blends elements of modern and traditional interior design, a multi-zonal project room, drafting areas, touch down zones, singular and group booths and telecon rooms.

Each of the office’s five practice groups have been assigned their own ‘neighbourhood’, which incorporate traditional desk space, along with collaborative areas.

Farooq said the introduction of double screens for the firm’s lawyers, allowing them to see two documents on screen so that amendments can be made, had contributed to an 82% reduction in printing costs.

He expects the move to help with recruitment and ensure the office can continue to pursue its growth ambitions – the new space has room for at least another 100 staff.

He said: “[It] signals a new era for the Manchester office; the culmination of years of consultation and development work. Shoosmiths prides itself on doing things differently and on the quality of its client and employee experience. By investing in modern, bespoke, agile offices we will ensure that we continue to blaze a trail on each of these fronts.”

He added: “When it comes to recruitment and employee retention we know that millennials like to work collaboratively and that junior lawyers benefit hugely from an open environment and exposure to a variety of disciplines and colleagues.

“Agile working has benefits for employees across the board though, in terms of wellbeing as people aren’t sat at desks all day long and have greater levels of interaction with others. We want to give our team the autonomy to decide for themselves how and where they want to work and believe the office space will offer something to suit all preferences.”