Case study: Matthew Paterson

Tell us about your career at Baillie Gifford.

I joined Baillie Gifford in December 2011 as an assistant in the Client Communications Team. Initially, my role was focused on producing presentation materials that our client relationship managers and directors would use in meetings with our institutional client base. My role in the team broadened over the years and, in the latter stages of my time in the team, my role focused on automating our materials.

In February 2020, I had the opportunity to move within the Clients Department and became a Senior Client Service Associate (CSA) in the Global Services Team. Initially, I started working across our international strategy teams. This role changed over time as the broader department worked through a restructure. I am currently the CSA in one of our regional client service teams, and I am responsible for helping service clients predominantly based in the United States. My role covers various aspects, from focusing on our reporting requirements to refining our processes and best practices in-house to enhance efficiencies and quality of service.

What prompted your move to become a CSA?

Initially, I wasn’t actively looking for a new role, however, when the CSA position was first advertised internally, it was a role I wanted to pursue. The main draw for me was the opportunity to become fully integrated into one of our client service teams, something which had always appealed to me. The ability to take a more hands-on approach to servicing our clients was the biggest factor and as I have grown in my role, it is something that thankfully I have been able to get much more involved in.

What have your biggest challenges been?

Naturally, when you start a new job, you want to hit the ground running. A month after changing roles, the UK was unfortunately put into lockdown when the global pandemic hit. This made trying to integrate into a new team more challenging and meant that effective communication was even more critical than it had been in the office environment. Another initial challenge was the shift in mindset more generally. I gained a completely new perspective, although I was still working with a lot of the same stakeholders, I had to adjust my communication style and approach. I also had different access to systems which I had used frequently in my previous position. Learning to use them differently took a bit of time. Although these were challenges initially, they have ultimately led to me being much more resilient. I have a much better process of approaching any challenges that arise in a more proactive and efficient manner.

What support have you been given?

Baillie Gifford really is brilliant at offering support to its employees, and this comes from the top down. I have been given a lot of support whenever needed. I thoroughly enjoy working in my team, and I have regular check-ins with my line manager who helps drive my goals for the year ahead. I think working in the office again has helped me substantially. Most of the team is in the office on a regular basis. I get a lot of energy from collaborating and socialising with others and this has helped me in my role. There are various levels of support I have been given over the years, the firm has a wide range of experience and has a very open culture. You are encouraged to ask questions and share ideas with colleagues, and these simple things go a long way to helping develop knowledge and understanding.