Partnership acts as a proven and trusted mechanism through which to inspire, cultivate and reward talent — such is the assumption.
As a result, partnership has, to date, acted as the cornerstone to a law firm’s employment proposition.
Throughout this year, a number of studies have highlighted the challenge faced by law firms in their bid to retain key talent at associate level and the shift in expectations of the millennial generation that are now entering the firms. This poses fundamental questions to the traditional career model, the answers to which imply that tweaking at the margins will not be sufficient.
For Generation Y, the delayed gratification of partnership will not be as appealing as it has been for previous generations of employees. This generation, raised on the immediacy of the internet age, expect instant reward, satisfaction and feedback for their efforts.
Time for a rethink
A considerable disconnection lies at the heart of the deal between employer and employee. To solve this problem it is first vital to understand that, while the destination partnership is still a highly compelling reward, it is the journey to partnership which needs to be remoulded in order to engage and retain Generation Y on its path.
Today’s lawyers are well connected, sophisticated and accustomed to having their say; they rightly expect the same behaviour from their firm. This means having an infrastructure that supports communication and, just as importantly, seeks feedback on the effectiveness and means of communication.
While the dissemination of information through a range of media (such as the intranet, firm-wide magazine and practice-group specific alerter updates) is helpful, platforms for two-way communication are also vital.
Clifford Chance addressed these issues through the creation of interactive ‘open forum’ events, led by management
and designed to discuss firm strategy and to take questions from all attendees.
The door is open
In turn, these are further complemented by regular ‘Open Door’ breakfast and lunch meetings with members of firm management, for which participants register in smaller groups for more in-depth interactive discussion of day-to-day issues and concerns.
These provide the opportunity to obtain substantive comment and to report on follow-up. Immediate feedback on the form and substance of these communications is also gathered in order to continually improve the methods by which ideas are shared.
Additional roles may be helpful to benchmark career progression, but the mere creation of new titles is not sufficient: this generation of lawyers demand merit and meaning and very quickly see through empty attempts at placation. Therefore, at Clifford Chance, the introduction of a senior associate designation is coupled with a senior associate induction programme that involves the discussion of the senior associate role, strategy training, client case studies and practice management education.
Again, immediate feedback on the utility and substance of the programme is sought from all participants to which there has been a consistently positive response, but also highly constructive ideas for improvement.
Formal appraisal programmes transparently tied to development benchmarks and competencies are essential, but more frequent opportunities for developmental discussion must also be provided.
Partner support
Trainees should be assigned supervisors and monitoring partners, while each lawyer needs a career development partner for more informal discussion, advice and guidance. Intensive development and assessment centres, targeted at various career stages, further complement these mechanisms.
The output from these programmes should be a detailed report (linked to the appraisal competencies) outlining development areas and strengths so that lawyers get comprehensive personal feedback and can continually capitalise on their skills.
In order to refine work allocation, roles and development, Clifford Chance also commissioned a formal survey of all lawyers to enable them to comment candidly on new initiatives, including the senior associate role and career development partner communications.
By using the energy of the associate population to co-create compelling and sustainable solutions, firms will ensure that communications and programmes will continually evolve to remain developmental and relevant.
These are solutions that do not just mimic perceived best practice, but are in keeping with the firm’s own values and culture, ensuring current and future legal talent is not lost but fully engaged and retained within the firm.
Andrew Robins is a senior consultant at Penna and Laura King is people partner at Clifford Chance.
LWAssistantSept2007