Our people, culture and careers

Watts it all about…

Our people are at the heart of everything we do.

We’re proud to create a culture where everyone can come to work, feel part of a community, be themselves and thrive.

Accountancy isn’t all about number crunching, it’s also about understanding what our clients need and building lasting relationships.

We aim to create a culture where our people feel engaged, valued and happy. Many organisations focus solely on colleague engagement, but at Haines Watts, we believe that true, sustained engagement must also encompass colleague happiness.

Each year, we conduct a colleague survey to assess the effectiveness of our people strategy activities. In 2024, the results were very encouraging. Our Colleague Net Promoter Score continued to improve, reaching +8 overall, with some offices achieving scores as high as +80. Additionally, 82% of colleagues responded positively to all the survey’s happiness-related questions, and 77% responded positively to engagement-related questions.

We are determined to continue investing in our people, as we believe this is key to fostering and sustaining our unique and thriving culture.

Meet our people

Every individual has their own story to tell. And when it comes to personal and professional journeys at Haines Watts, no two stories are the same.

Graeme Jack

Manager

Having undertaken both of our talent development programmes, hear how Graeme has been continuously progressing since he joined Haines Watts.

Hear Graeme's story

Lucy Briggs

Manager

Lucy explains how she joined Haines Watts as a school leaver and worked her way up to manage a team.

Hear Lucy's story

Routes into the industry

Many of our partners fell into the industry and when it comes to carving your career at Haines Watts there’s no set path. Whether you are a recent school leaver, graduate or experienced professional looking to build a rewarding career, there’s no single route into our industry, we offer apprenticeships, graduate schemes and various different roles for those looking for a career change. Our team are there to help you along the way and help you develop your career with Haines Watts.

Read about our Apprenticeships

Progression and Development

Our Career Growth Proposition shows you the potential career paths at Haines Watts. We are passionate about creating opportunities for people to develop, and we encourage you to lean into who you are as a person. You will build a solid foundation as you progress from Trainee to Manager, but from there, what would you prefer? To become an authority in an accountancy specialism. Or, are you more energised by relationships with clients and teams? There is room for both career paths at Haines Watts.

Our in-house development programmes will support you with developing both technical skills and discovering the person you are, whilst enabling you to forge strong client and colleague relationships.

What makes us different?

Talent development

Our accredited talent development programmes have been curated to help individuals to thrive. From aspiring managers to the next generation of leaders, the 12-18 month long courses offer the tools to build towards a successful future.

Wellbeing and benefits

We know that life doesn’t stop at the office door. Whether it’s access to an online GP and a comprehensive employee assistance programme, mindfulness classes or cashback, we offer over 40 benefits to support with physical and mental wellbeing.

Giving back

Supporting our local community is something our team are really passionate about. Speaking to the next generation about the industry, raising funds and volunteering our time for causes close to our hearts are just some of activities our team undertake to give back to the community.

Listening to our team

We aim to create a thriving culture where our people feel engaged, valued and happy. That’s why we collect anonymous feedback from our team, ensuring their voices are reflected in our overall business strategy and direction. In doing so, we were recognised as a Best Companies Top 10 Accountancy firm.

Study support

Each year we're delighted to welcome more great people to our team through our national trainee programme. Our study support packages ensure that our trainees can have enough time away from the office to concentrate working towards their qualifications.

Connecting with our teams

As a team, we always strive to create valued, long-term relationships. Not just with our clients, but with each other too. As well as all-team meetings and bi-annual get togethers, our individual teams have regular social events. Whether that’s sports events or even pottery making classes.