The direct, indirect and opportunity costs associated with the recruitment of new legal talent shouldn’t be underestimated.
Costs of a new appointment include:-
- Resources applied to cover for a vacancy until replacement commences;
- The on-boarding process;
- The fees forgone while files aren’t receiving the usual dedicated attention and traction until the replacement gathers momentum and gets up to speed with matters;
- The time commitment by lawyers involved with interviewing of short-listed candidates. This is time not being applied by them to files, colleagues and clients;
- Advertising;
- Sign on bonuses;
- Any relocation expenses;
- Forgoing of supervised fees until the replacement commences to take on the supervisory duties; and
- The cost of practising certificates.
Having invested in the new appointment and incurring expenses in the process – it’s imperative to retain and develop these appointments. When it comes to retention there are never ironclad guarantees. There’ll always be reasons and unforeseen circumstances beyond anyone’s knowledge and control which can arise both pre and post commencement.
The following recommendations serve to avert the risk of losing a valued new team member that the employer can control and manage.
Some retention initiatives include:-
- Appoint the right person from the beginning. Seems trite and common sensical. Although when it comes to retention the obvious isn’t always obvious and common sense isn’t always common.
An effective and ever evolving recruitment program supported by collaborating with a trusted external legal recruitment expert is a recommended collaboration and ideal place to start.
- Create and attentively maintain an inclusive, transparent and positive organisational culture and cultivate at the micro or workgroup/team/divisional level too.
- Develop policies to encourage and support the holy grail of career and life equilibrium.
There’s nothing perfected when it comes to achieving this elusive balance. It’s a journey without expecting an immediate fix.
There are however organizations working harder on ensuring balance is being addressed and actioned rather than being paid lip service to, ignored or relegated to the too hard basket.
- It’s imperative that no important developments within the organization are left to speculation or rumour mongering. Prevent or diffuse rumours by periodic, transparent and frank communications issuing directly from the top – management or from leadership.
- Be and remain competitive with market remuneration and employment benefits.
N.B. Cautionary note – beware of relying on the legal market salary surveys which commonly aren’t the product of rigorous, cogent and professional research methodologies. If not, be prepared for:- “lies, lies and statistics”.
- Provide and encourage learning and development opportunities. Both internal and external along with both the structured and unstructured training.
- Give ongoing feedback on performance and progress according to mutually agreed and pre-defined criteria. The days of the once only annual review are long gone. It’s now an ongoing, inclusive and transparent process. A process now driven increasingly by collective or collaborative team-based results rather than restricted to the individual’s performance in isolation.
- Develop and maintain an effective mentoring program along with a buddy system.
- Display meaningful, caring and thoughtful ways of valuing people and acknowledging their contributions.
A simple and well timed “thank you – well done” from the right/respected/expected person goes a long way, costs nothing and remains priceless.
- Have a flexible workplace program. Continue to re-visit and fine tune the program as necessary or as feedback/sentiment warrants. Today, if you don’t have such a program, are paying lip service to the concept or are simply out of touch then your talent will vote with their feet and join an organization where flexibility is embraced and celebrated rather than be ineffectual or dismissed.
- Develop and encourage opportunities within to have your talent re-skill, upskill, cross skill where beneficial to them and the organization while encouraging external opportunities for them such as secondments to other interstate or international offices if they’re an option. Make them a reality and not a fictitious lure for recruitment purposes.
Facilitate lawyers going in-house or on secondment with a client.
Better the secondee be from your firm and flying the flag than from a competitor firm.
- Devise a clearly defined, communicated and achievable “path to prospects” i.e. a career advancement policy setting out what’s expected both qualitatively and quantitatively to establish the case for career advancement. It also becomes the basis of an agenda at reviews.
You’ve appointed high achievers. Why dumb them down by not setting goals and objectives for them to aspire to, work toward and achieve?
Implementing such initiatives comes with no watertight retention guarantees.
They serve to ensure quality legal talent are not lost due to factors which were known, manageable and capable of addressing and facilitating.
Ian Dhu
Ian Dhu is an Executive Director at FOCUS Legal Recruitment & Executive Search.
Ian has forged a proven and extensive record of successfully advising lawyers to Partner level on making astute career moves for over 30 years along with advising law firms on tailored retention strategies and their implementation which work.
For an obligation free conversation Ian can be contacted directly on:-
Mobile: 0414 32 88 64
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