What It Means to Work at McArthur Scott

By Fiona McArthur

McArthur Scott is coming up for nine years old now, which honestly feels surreal to say out loud. Because when I started this business, there was no grand plan sitting in place. No investors. No fancy office. No certainty it would work. There was me, second-hand furniture, my wee red car, and very genuine periods of wondering how I was going to afford printer paper the next month. Every client who trusted us in those early days took a leap of faith on me, and I have never forgotten that. I still carry that feeling now, nearly a decade later.

I think that is why I care so much about the people who join this business and the experience our clients receive from us. Because this company was not built through luck. It was built through care, hard work, pressure, long hours, mistakes, lessons, stubbornness, resilience, and people genuinely giving everything they had to make it work.

What I have realised over the years is that McArthur Scott is not the right environment for everybody, and I actually think being honest about that is important.

For a while, because I am emotionally led and because I care deeply about people, I probably over-prioritised “niceness” when hiring. But I have learned that being nice on its own is not enough to thrive here. The people who succeed here are usually the people who genuinely care. Care about clients, care about standards, care about the team, care about improving, care about getting things right. They take accountability naturally, they want to solve problems, and they get genuine satisfaction from doing good work and helping people properly.

That matters here because our clients are trusting us with huge moments in their lives. People are buying homes, moving families, taking out mortgages, becoming landlords, selling properties they have lived in for decades. These are emotional, high-pressure, high-trust situations, and our team sits right in the middle of them every single day. So this has never felt like a business where people can completely emotionally disconnect from the work and still thrive long term.

That does not mean people need to work themselves into the ground or become consumed by the job. I do not believe in that either. But I do think the people who love it here are usually people who enjoy momentum, responsibility, growth and being trusted to make an impact. 

There is a lot of energy in this business

-This is not a silent office where everybody sits behind screens waiting for the day to end.

-It is clients walking in nervous for their first mortgage appointment wondering if they can actually buy a home.

-It is homeowners crying when you read out an offer they never expected to achieve.

-It is first-time buyers collecting keys together.

-It is mortgage offers arriving.

-It is sales being held together when things get difficult.

-It is viewings, negotiations, problem-solving, celebrations, pressure and excitement all happening at once.

-It can be intense, but for the right people it is also incredibly rewarding.

What makes me proudest now is not actually the awards, although I am hugely proud of what the company has achieved. It is the people who have grown here.

Some of the strongest people in this business joined with no experience in the industry. Over time, they have built confidence, skills, relationships, professionalism and careers they probably never imagined for themselves at the start.

That is something I care deeply about continuing. Because if the right person comes into McArthur Scott and proves themselves, there genuinely is not a fixed ceiling on what they can go on to do here. 

-If someone wants to become an adviser, we will support them.

-If someone wants to specialise, grow a department, lead a team, build a stronger social media presence, improve systems, help shape the future of the business or create opportunities that do not even fully exist yet, I am always willing to listen.

I love ambitious people. Not in an ego way, but in the sense of people who want to contribute, build, improve and make things better. At the same time, I care enormously about protecting the culture of the business because I know how much impact one person can have, positively or negatively, inside a small team.

I wanted McArthur Scott to feel different from the stereotypical toxic high-pressure environments people often associate with sales and property businesses.

I never wanted fear-based leadership.

I never wanted people shouted at.

I never wanted humiliation culture.

I wanted high standards, accountability, warmth, support and good people all existing in the same place.

That does not mean we get everything right all the time. We absolutely do not. We are constantly learning, refining systems, improving processes, strengthening training and trying to become better as a business. But the intention has always been there.

I think one of the biggest things people notice when they join McArthur Scott is that people here are seen. Effort is noticed. Attitude is noticed. Care is noticed. Growth is noticed. People who contribute and genuinely want to move things forward tend to grow quickly here because they are trusted quickly. And ultimately, that is probably what I am looking for now more than anything else.

Game Changers

People who care enough to make an impact.

People who want to improve things rather than stand still.

People who understand that good businesses are built by teams of people consistently doing good work, looking after clients properly and taking pride in what they do.

McArthur Scott will never be “just a job” to me.

And the people who thrive here feel the same way.