Converse...Much more than a pair of shoes
If you follow us on social media you may have noticed a recurring theme in our company wardrobe, and you may have asked yourself – why is everyone so obsessed with wearing Converse, taking pictures of Converse, and writing about Converse? Why are they so special to the LHi family? To anyone else, a pair of Converse is just another pair of shoes but, to an LHi-er, a pair of Converse is much more than that.
Globally, within the group, we award different types of Converse to reflect certain milestones throughout people’s LHi journeys. These shoes have become highly sought after, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were walking into an office of the Converse company when walking into one of our global locations. They are on display everywhere, and rightly so!
We have five different types of Converse here at LHi (currently) and not forgetting a special one-off limited-edition pair. But what does each colour shoe represent?
Younger You Converse (White)
Before he became our CEO, Jim Denning, during the annual leadership summit, presented a concept that has become part of the fabric of LHi Group. The ‘Younger You’ concept is a philosophy whereby, as a leader, you are committed to making the journey for those following in your footsteps (your Younger You) easier than it was for you when you started out. Naturally, this philosophy encourages Managers to go above and beyond for their teams, creating opportunities and paving a much clearer path for them to succeed in their careers. So, when you are promoted to Manager level 2 (M2) within LHi, you receive your very own pair of Younger You Converse stamped with the year your recruitment journey started. This personalisation with this significant date serves as a reminder of what it was like at the very start of your recruitment career and to always make the life of our “Younger You” better.
Whenever a new Manager is promoted to M2 they receive a pair of these converse along with rainbow laces in support of world PRIDE.
Exceptional Performance Converse (Red)
Our red Converse are awarded for exceptional performance. When awarded, they are stamped with the year you achieved this exceptional performance milestone. This edition was only recently introduced in 2020 and there have only been seven pairs of these Converse given out so far.
The first pair was received by Gregorio Giuffre (Lawrence Harvey, New York) for achieving 10 placements in a single month. The next pair was awarded to LHi’s Director and Head of Marketing, Kim Pasteau for creating the company Vision that is now an integral part of LHi of who we are. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpm6JjXb00I&ab_channel=LHiGroup). Ed Parkes, our CFO wears a pair with pride after guiding us successfully through the pandemic and Dan Lambert (Lawrence Harvey, London) received a pair in 2022 for nine consecutive months of hitting at least a hat-trick of deals. A pair each went to Rae Patel (Lawrence Harvey, New York) and Sam Keay (Piper Maddox, New York) for both generating over a million dollars in revenue. The most recent pair went to Tom Clough (Lawrence Harvey, London) for an exceptional billing performance as a rookie.
So, the question is, who will be the next LHi’er to receive a pair of red Converse?
MVP Converse (Yellow)
Every year we have the end-of-year LHi awards for both the US and the UK & Europe, where we come together to look back at the past year and celebrate each other’s success. There is one award that is the most desired, the LHi MVP Award.
This award is voted for by each LHi’er in the company and is for the person that they believe has made a real difference to them personally and to the group that year. The votes are counted and verified to crown a champion on both sides of the Atlantic. As well as receiving the ultimate accolade and the coveted MVP trophy, these LHi’ers are also gifted their very own pair of yellow Converse with “MVP” printed on the side.
With so many great humans in the LHi family driving the business forward, the competition is tough! Since their introduction in 2021, the yellow MVP converse have been awarded to Anne-Marie Butts (CPO), Myles Jackson (Senior Director, London), Cat Cappell (Vice President, New York), Charlie Walker (Divisional Manager, New York), and Ben Richardson (European MD).
Hero Converse (Grey)
The original ‘Converse philosophy’ was centred around leadership however, not all leaders have to be people leaders. The Grey Converse celebrates those that lead by example and choose to pursue our ‘Hero’ career route rather than Management. These amazing people set an example and the benchmark for what is possible from a sales perspective and operations perspective at LHi.
The most recent recipients of the grey Converse in LHi are Ian Ashe from our Contract & Compliance department in operations for being promoted to OS2 (Operations Specialist Level 2) and Zak Harvey from Lawrence Harvey in London for being promoted to M2 as a sales specialist.
10-Year Converse (Black)
I know what you’re thinking, 10 years… that’s such a long time, I bet no one has them? Well, you’re wrong. Currently, five people in LHi have a pair of 10-Year Converse (stamped with the year they started their LHi journey printed on the side) awarded in celebration of their loyalty and a decade of dedication.. Along with a black pair of Converse, any LHi’er that celebrates their 10-year anniversary in the Group also receives the ‘Gift of Time’. They can either decide to receive a luxury watch of their choice or enjoy a month’s paid sabbatical.
Currently, Mike Bott (CSO), Michael Georgiou (USA MD), Anne-Marie Butts (CPO), Ben Richardson (European MD), and Janna Connolly (Business Services Manager, USA) are all recipients of the exclusive black converse.
LHi’s 20-Year Anniversary Converse
In 2022, LHi Group celebrated its 20-year anniversary. To mark this special occasion, our Marketing Team designed a limited-edition Converse that would be part of a competition and could be won by anyone in the Group. Only four pairs were up for grabs, all you had to do was enter the prize draw. All monies collected were donated to charity and we’re proud to say, the limited-edition Converse raised over £1,000 with over 200 LHi’ers purchasing a ticket.
The lucky winners were Laura Caswell in LA, Zane Himsworth in New York, Charlene Kohler, and Zak Harvey in London. We know there are a few extremely jealous people in the group!
If you’re interested in finding out more about our 20-year journey and how we celebrated this milestone, click here.
So now you know why to us Converse are much more than just a shoe. We are so proud of everyone that has a pair and wears them with pride and we can’t wait to give out many more in the years to come.
Want to know more?
We are always on the lookout for ambitious individuals that love the sound of what we do. So, if you can see yourself walking in these shoes, get in touch with our People Team to discuss a potential career at LHi.
UK & Europe People Team at recruitment@wearelhi.com
US People Team at recruitmentUSA@wearelhi.com