A Day in the Life of Travers Smith's Kandis Ridley-Burton

In this week's 'A Day in the Life of' interview, Kandis Ridley-Burton shares more about her role as Senior Service Delivery Manager at Travers Smith.

Hi Kandis, can you tell us a bit about your role and your career journey to date?

I started at Travers Smith LLP as a trainee print operator in 2000. It was a hectic, fast-paced, and demanding environment and I loved it. A short sharp shock into the world of legal support as it was called then. We are now called Business Services). I have held numerous roles in the Print team over the years including, Print Technician, Print room Supervisor and finally Print Services Manager in 2016 where I managed a team of 10. This also included a rebrand and professionalisation of the service during that time. In 2021, the Print team and I moved from the Facilities umbrella, into the Technology team where I then became Print and Digital Production Manager, which included taking on some broader services including Records Management and AV.

My current role (which I have been promoted to very recently) is Senior Service Delivery Manager. I am responsible for all the front-line service teams in Technology, including Tech support and Tech training in addition to those teams already mentioned. I am looking forward to getting started and building service excellence into what we do in Tech.

What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day for me starts early. I like to be in the office before the rush so that I can check emails and go through my task list for the day. I then catch up with the Managers and team leads within my team to see where they need any support from me on their workload. With multiple workstreams ongoing, there are always various projects happening at one time, so a project meeting or two is a regular occurrence and I like to have 1:1's with the team in person, if possible, when we’re in the office.

What part of your role do you enjoy the most?

The part of my role that I enjoy the most is the people side. I love nothing more than encouraging others to bring out the best in themselves. With a large team, people do take up the majority of my time and I'm still so fascinated by how it's possible to make a difference in people's lives, just by giving them the autonomy and empowerment to believe in themselves. It's something I particularly value and will never take for granted.

Which top three skills are vital for this role and why?

1. Emotional intelligence: Working with people in different roles on different levels can raise all sorts of situations and it's important to be able to deal with those correctly. Being an active listener and being self-aware is at the heart of building a team's culture.

2. Project and time management: With multiple workstreams in multiple sectors all ongoing simultaneously, it's vital to have the skills to manage those and delegate effectively where needed to meet objectives.

3. Communication: I am a big advocate of communication is key, not only with your team, but various stakeholders across the business. Ultimately people like to feel part of the journey and communicating that effectively can make or break situations in my opinion.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your role?

One thing that has challenged me over the years, which I'm not afraid to admit is having people in your team that report to you who have so much more knowledge and technical ability in certain areas. Before I moved into a leadership role, I was the most technically able member of the team, however over the past eight years in a leadership role, I have come further and further away from the intricacies of each role and as my team grows; it's impossible for me to know the finer details of ever task. I will say though, that I am in awe of my wonderful team and I'm learning from them every day.

How do you help others feel like they belong in your team/promote inclusion?

This is a powerful one. Team culture is often at the forefront of my mind. Happy people equal a productive and high-performing environment in my opinion, so it's something I always actively work on as the landscape of my team grows and changes. I encourage team members to engage with the wider business, join committees, and network groups. I actively encourage a safe environment for discussion in team meetings and no matter what role you have in the team, your opinion matters. We also discuss different social events so that individual needs and interests are met.

Which podcast/YouTube series would you recommend to someone interested in pursuing a career in this area to help develop their skills/prepare them for the role?

I'm not really a podcast listener, but I will say that one thing I do enjoy are the various reels and TikTok videos on corporate leadership. These are short and sweet and very much to the point. I've seen reels on handling difficult conversations, managing upwards, and dealing with underperformance and they are so relatable. I would also like to add here that if you are genuinely interested in a leadership role, to go for some professional coaching. I found this invaluable and it really built my confidence in lots of areas.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

These questions always amuse me as I have been at Travers Smith for the past 23 years and it's hard to imagine myself elsewhere or doing something different. However, with the world always changing, I know that wherever I am, I will be working with teams in some capacity and helping people deliver service.