We spoke to Andrew Dean about how he starts his day, how his typical day has changed, and how he manages his workload…
How do you get ready to start your day?
A walk with a coffee, and then when I get back home, I run through my list of priorities from the previous evening to see if any of those have changed as a result of emails coming in overnight.
What is something you do every day without fail?
I make sure I get outside for a walk every day – even if it’s just round one of the local parks, otherwise it’s very easy to come to the end of the day without having left the house. It’s also really good to have that clear start and end to the day, which the commute used to give.
What’s changed about your typical day over the last few years?
I joined Mercer & Hole five years ago as a senior, so my typical day included more detailed work and travelling out to client sites to carry out fieldwork on audits. My typical day now revolves around planning and reviewing work, calls with the team and clients, and planning the timetable of work over the next 3/6 months.
What is the most satisfying part of what you do?
Completing an audit and seeing the completed accounts filed at Companies House is very satisfying, especially after a particularly long running or complex audit. Also, positive feedback from a client for the work the team has done is a great reward for the hard work.
Which social media platform do you visit every day?
Instagram for friends and family, and Twitter (embarrassingly) for football news.
Tell me about how you manage your ‘to do’ list.
A mix of Outlook reminders and lots of post-its. And at the end of every day, I write out my key to-dos for the following day – I find it really beneficial to get it all down into a list, and it helps me to keep work at work and not have those things on my mind during the evening.
What was the work highlight of 2020 for you?
It’s been a very strange year, but I really appreciate how we’ve still tried to stay connected through calls, quizzes, weekly emails from partners, wellbeing sessions, competitions, and videos. The wine tasting evening was good fun too!
St Albans