I am the office manager in Moscow, and in 10 years I've seen my workplace transform from one tiny office to the big, beautiful one we moved to after the Bruckhaus merger with Freshfields. I organise all of the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth and efficient running of the Moscow office. I also supervise the support staff, which means everyone from secretaries to translators, drivers and cleaners. I'm also responsible for recruitment and believe that finding the right people contributes to a successful office life. That's a huge job in itself and I recently started working with a dedicated HR manager. Our first big job together has been carrying out the annual appraisals for all these people. It's important to give each person feedback, especially in these challenging times.
I am responsible for reporting to the partners and acting as liaison between administrative support and the senior management. I also work closely with one of the managing partners. He's a financial partner, so I'm not exaggerating when I say he's responsible for almost everything! In spite of that, he always finds time for me, and at our weekly meetings I can always rely on him to be helpful and constructive. I think about any problems beforehand, put forward suggestions for solving them, and we make decisions together.
The highlight of my time with the firm has to be getting the
whole Russian office involved in a show about the history of dance.
It took me months to organise and we went to Turkey for three days
and every single person took part. I'll always remember one dance I
performed with many of my colleagues: it was a great team building
exercise that stayed with us long after we returned to the
office.
To be successful you need to be decisive, communicative, tactful
and innovative!
Practice area:
Administration