The three Rs – recruitment, retention… results

Long gone are the days when a professional firm was seen as something of an old boy’s network, prospering within its own secretive network where recruitment would be down to who you know, not what you know. Today, firms must compete ever harder to sustain profitability and, as part of that drive, recruiting the best people has become intensely competitive as well as an absolute necessity.

How a law firm should go about employing its workforce is an expansive area that begins with the very culture of the firm, how it brands itself and how it sells that branding on a larger stage. Perception is everything and, if a firm is to attract the best talent, it must deliver a competitive image that will entice a recruit looking for the most rewarding career move.

It is easy to assume that larger firms will win the best recruits. After all, they have the marketing budget to effectively sell their brand and, in all likelihood, an HR department devoted to managing the intricacies of successful recruitment.

This is to accept, however, that recruits are all looking for the same thing when, of course, we all have differing expectations and ambitions for our working lives. Some will be looking for the City lifestyle, where the incentives will be high in terms of pay and promotion. Others will have different goals and may specifically be looking for the smaller firm that can offer a better working environment or ideology.

Appealing successfully to the right person for your firm is about translating your culture and working environment into a demonstrable message. This will help ensure that you recruit and retain the best people as both employer and employee will know exactly what each is buying into. It may seem like an obvious and rather insignificant point amidst the greater needs of business profitability, but a good message is an inexpensive and effective way of recruiting staff, reducing staff turnover and winning new business from clients. Most troubling of all, it appears that many law firms are

still not getting the message right. For example, how many brochures or websites really differentiate a firm from the competition, whether that be in terms of working ethos or service offerings as a whole? Probably very few, which is interesting considering the competitive advantage that might be won from such a simple strategy.

This issue of Managing Partner includes several articles focusing on recruitment, retention and the modern working environment. It is interesting to see what firms are now doing to recruit and retain their staff. As Anders Hansen of Osborne Clarke demonstrates, the role of management is essential to creating a successful team and is integral to the development of individuals within the firm. However, it is also clear that firms are now following a multi-faceted strategy to manage their workforce, from promoting the benefits of effective leadership to including showers in the offices to improve the working environment (e.g. Donns Solicitors in Manchester). Law firms might once have been seen as elitist or secretive, and few would have picked a law firm for its exciting working environment. All things must change, however, and it looks like the legal profession are as eager as any to subscribe to the modern world.

Caroline Poynton

Editor

Features

Managing your workforce: effective leadership in a people business Free
Who runs your business? At one time, the automatic response of many senior managers would have been a resolute: “I do”. After all, strong leadership of an organisation, whatever its business, is indispensable to success. Managers must be wary, however, of forgetting the role of the team in making a successful business and a good leader will work hard to guide and develop the skills and successes of his people. Anders M. Hansen, managing partner of Osborne Clarke, Denmark, looks at the new responsibilities of managers to their people and examines the criteria on which their performance should be judged.

Nurture your juniors: recruiting and retaining top-level people Free
The interview and selection process is only the beginning of a long road to effectively recruiting and retaining high-quality people. Many firms are keen to boast the long-working records of employees who started with the firm many years previously. However, the process of recruiting the right people and then developing their careers from junior to, hopefully, senior level is a delicate process requiring time and dedication from management. David H. Maister, a management consultant at Maister Associates and Patrick J. McKenna, a partner at Edge International, describe the strategies firms should employ to make the most of an invaluable asset, their people.

Law firm profile: Donns Solicitors, Manchester Free
Donns Solicitors has experienced impressive growth over the past five years with a 600 per cent increase in its client base. In the Inner City 100, which recognises the fastest growing companies in the UK, Donns was ranked 64th – it was the only firm of solicitors featured. Caroline Poynton takes a tour of the offices and talks to the firm’s managing partner, Hilary Meredith, about the development of Donns, its past success and where it goes from here.

Making the right hire: talent + fit = success from the start Free
Recruiting the wrong person can have dramatic consequences for your firm, from increased workplace stress and interpersonal conflict to unproductive employees and high turnover. Kevin Joyce, a practising attorney and founder of The Quantum Group LLC, takes us through the hiring process, arguing that there’s a lot more to successful recruitment than checking academic records and references.

A study in post-merger success: effective planning, technology and CRM Free
Managing the process and aftermath of merger is a far from easy task that frequently results in failure rather than increased profitability and enhanced geographic reach. Caroline Poynton talks to Gillian Khan, marketing director at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), about how an effective client relationship management (CRM) strategy combined with the proper CRM technology infrastructure can help firms ensure business as usual despite the distractions caused by merger.

Coaching and mentoring as a tool for improving performance Free
Many might think that coaching and mentoring techniques are the latest in a long line of fads adopted by businesses trying to get ahead of the game. However, a significant number of law firms are buying into the idea and it’s proving hugely popular at the assistant/associate level. Lena Baillie, an HR consultant at Longbridge International, examines the firms that are using coaching and mentoring to improve their working culture.

Developing a deeper preference: the key to developing a long-term client base Free
What message are you sending out to potential clients? Does your website and your firm’s literature spell out the qualities that differentiate you from your competition? Looking at most law firm websites, it seems unlikely, as differentiation seems to be lost within the abundant use of the terms ‘professionalism’ and ‘integrity’, making it unlikely that a potential client would notice one firm any more than another. Nina Cooper, a senior consultant at Dragon Brand Consultants, argues that firms shouldn’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd even if some clients don’t like what they see.

Attracting top talent: how to win the war Free
A careful marketing and branding strategy is an important tool in building a firm’s image and reputation. If done well, it will not only bring in more business, but also top-level employees that will sustain business profitability in the long term. However, how can small and mid-tier firms, that often lack the budget required for extensive marketing campaigns, still recruit the best? Keith Robinson, operations director at totaljobs.com, examines recruitment strategies and how any size of firm can make the most of even the most difficult market.

Creating a better working environment: Free
It can be difficult for smaller firms to compete with the salaries and incentives offered by larger firms to prospective and existing employees. However, as Nina Ries, an attorney at Newell, Campbell & Roche LLP, argues, an employee’s choice of firm can be based as much on the working environment and quality of life as the offered salary and bonus schemes.

Regulars

Interview: the work/life balance Free
Birmingham commercial firm, Putsman.wlc, has launched an HR initiative that offers employees a choice of working patterns including flexible hours and working from home. For businesses as a whole it’s a dramatic, and perhaps risky, step to take. For a law firm, it’s a whole new ball game. Caroline Poynton talks to Julia Holden, managing partner at Putsman.wlc, about the initiative and what it means for employees and the firm as a whole.