Finding the ideal talent for your legal team is the first stage of building a successful business. Once you’ve attracted top-performing candidates to your workforce, you also need to ensure you’re taking steps to keep them around.

And with hiring activity still healthy across the legal landscape, employees have many opportunities to switch firms should they find themselves unsatisfied with their current employment. That means learning how to retain your top talent is more important than ever.

Legal professionals can choose to leave a firm for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they feel they’re not getting enough satisfaction from their role, or they lose interest in the firm’s vision for the future.

Other times, employees may feel they don’t thrive in their current position due to issues with colleagues or managers.

While the cost of replacing a lost employee can be significant, it’s worth remembering that anywhere up to 75% of turnover can be avoided.

That is why it is critical to recognise the signs that your employee might be looking elsewhere.

In this post, we are going to share several signs to be aware of.

1. They’re Avoiding Long-Term Projects and Growth

When an employee decides they no longer want to work with a firm, they often begin to reduce their involvement in long-term projects and strategies for development or growth. They stop envisioning a “future” with the business, which means they generally spend more of their time on short-term tasks and simply “checking boxes” on their to-do list.

When an employee who previously volunteered for various challenging projects no longer raises their hand in meetings or delegates long-term work to other employees. In that case, this could signify they’re not planning on being around for long.

Pay close attention to whether your staff members still invest in their future with the company by agreeing to learning and development opportunities or discussing goals during one-on-one meetings. If your employees no longer see a future with you, change their perspective by offering them insights into progression opportunities, they might miss out on if they leave.

2. They Show Visible Signs of Stress

The World Health Organisation says “burnout” is a significant occupational phenomenon that has increased drastically in recent years. Burned-out and overwhelmed employees disengage from the workplace, show clear signs of exhaustion, and often look for alternative work opportunities. With this in mind, tracking your employee’s mental and physical health is important.

Pay attention to signs of exhaustion, like the heavy reliance on caffeine, yawning, or even a slower-than-usual pace in your team member’s workflow.

The attitude of your employee might begin to change too. They may appear to be overwhelmingly negative towards other colleagues or attempt to isolate themselves from their peers, taking part in meetings less than usual. In some cases, they could even become more argumentative or aggressive. If you notice signs of burnout, speak to your staff member about how you can help them manage their workload.

3. They’re Not as Creative or Intuitive as Usual

When employees decide to leave a business, they stop actively contributing to its growth. You may notice some of your top performers who used to share ideas for development in previous meetings are now quieter when you’re asking for suggestions or advice.

Rather than trying to solve problems with out-of-the-box ideas and collaboration, your team members may simply pass difficult tasks onto other employees. They could stop taking the initiative with their work and may focus on doing just the “bare minimum” to get by.

An employee who’s occasionally quiet during business meetings isn’t necessarily a cause for alarm. However, if your team member seems to have lost their passion for helping the firm grow, they may no longer feel inspired by your firm’s mission or values.

A good way to address this issue is to give your team members regular feedback and let them know how much you value their input. Employees are more likely to contribute when they feel recognised and rewarded for their hard work.

4. They Focus More on External Networking

Networking is important in building a thriving career as a legal professional. It’s not unusual for dedicated employees to visit industry events and connect with other experts on social media. However, there may be a problem if your team members focus more on external networking than on building internal relationships.

If you notice your team members are disconnecting from their internal peers, failing to attend meetings, or spending less time chatting with colleagues, check out their external networking efforts. If they’re heavily invested in adding new connections on LinkedIn and improving their personal brand, this could be a sign they’re looking for a way to branch into new opportunities.

There are a few ways managers and supervisors can tackle this issue. Preventing staff from building external connections isn’t an option, but you can encourage your team to bond with their colleagues through team-building exercises and more consistent internal communication.

5. Their Performance Begins to Suffer

For a legal employee to thrive in their role, they need to do a lot more than just show up and follow the instructions given by a manager. The best staff members are constantly pushing themselves to be their best. However, if your employee is disengaged and disinterested in their work, you may begin to notice performance issues.

You might be able to notice more errors in their work, which they never used to make before. Or perhaps your customers are providing negative feedback concerning a specific employee’s behaviour. Other colleagues may even complain that one team member is no longer pulling their weight around the office.

If your staff member is no longer reaching their targets or making the right amount of effort, the first step shouldn’t always be to engage in disciplinary action. Speak to your team member and discover what’s happening behind the scenes.

Don’t Lose Your Top Performers

In today’s changing legal landscape, issues like disengagement, burnout, and even “quiet quitting” are becoming increasingly common. Fortunately, if you can recognise these signs ahead of time, there are still things you can do to re-ignite your staff’s passion for your firm and prevent them from seeking other employment options.

Pay attention to your top performers, and make sure you’re not actively pushing them away.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The recruitment process for many businesses can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and costly. Add in the tail end of a pandemic, economic uncertainty, and political instability, and the process soon becomes a minefield.

Yet the objectives remain the same for those responsible for hiring within their Law Firm – retain, engage, and motivate their existing people, and attract top talent in line with growth and business objectives.

As businesses in many sectors, law included, battle skills shortages and a shrinking workforce, vacancies remain unfilled and incumbent teams are smaller -putting pressure on service levels, productivity, and ultimately profitability.

When market conditions are challenging, it is easy for Hiring Managers and/or Partners to make rash decisions or have a temporary lack of judgment. Recruiting under pressure can mean that processes aren’t followed in the same manner, including ethical recruitment practices and standards, albeit temporarily.

But what is ‘ethical recruitment’ exactly? And why should it help to guide your recruitment strategy even more so when times are tough?

Ethical recruitment – a definition

Ethical recruitment as a searchable term has a number of definitions that focus on everything from inclusion in your DEI policy to unconscious bias and the legalities of working conditions and non-discrimination.

Whilst the above undoubtedly should be a considered part of your general hiring practice and standards, ethical recruitment in general terms can be defined as ‘practices designed to ensure the highest standards of professionalism, fairness, and transparency’.

In even simpler terms, it is about doing the right thing – and in hiring, that relates to the jobseekers and candidates you are hoping to attract to your firm.

Why is ethical recruitment important?

The last few years in particular have seen a spotlight on the importance of an ‘EVP’ (Employer Value Proposition) – the way, or ways that your Firm differentiates itself from its competitors when it comes to attracting talent.

Fundamentally it is a list of specific and unique benefits an employee can expect to receive when they join your firm – but also seeks to communicate and describe what your company stands for and offers as an employer.

Whilst your EVP should unquestionably be viewed as a tool to impact retention of existing team members (ultimately creating advocacy amongst employees to further engage (and promote) the business from within) it is also an essential part of a firm’s hiring strategy and chance to showcase to the market why your law firm is the first choice for jobseekers in that particular region or practice area.

As well as communicating tangible rewards (remuneration, benefits, bonuses), a firm’s EVP should also seek to demonstrate its vision, values, good standing, and reputation amongst its own customer-base and existing employees.

The recruitment of new members of the team – the end-to-end process, therefore, undoubtedly impacts the latter point here:

Your Firm’s Reputation

Acting with the candidate’s best interest at all times is a fundamental part of ethical recruitment and needs to be considered from the very outset and start of the hiring process. Your firm’s reputation in a competitive market will be a key element in a jobseeker’s decision process – and how you treat potential employees is key.

This includes being honest and transparent in your job advertisements, accessibility, and general communication throughout the process.

Quality of Candidates

Jobseekers, particularly in a candidate-driven market, are looking more intrinsically than ever at their potential new employers. From their corporate social responsibility endeavours to ways they demonstrate their values and vision, legal professionals who are actively looking for a new opportunity are looking beyond salary and the once-heralded annual bonus.

Rather, they are looking for firms that take the time to understand their own ambitions, long-term career aspirations, personal development goals, and motivations.

Demonstrating all of these things in your hiring process will undoubtedly lead to a ‘better’ quality of candidate – facilitating the right long-term fit as opposed to just filling the position.

Financially Logical

If a firm has to backfill a position or is struggling to hire a seat that brings in fees (or business leads), the impact on the bottom line can be significant. Yet making snap decisions in the hiring process can be equally as damning financially.

A recent article in Forbes looks at this exact problem and likens the impact of hiring the wrong person for a role as a ‘crack in a dam’ that you may not notice at first, but in time will ‘deepen, widen’ and ultimately collapse. The cost of a bad hire therefore should not be underestimated.

Ensuring that your hiring process is fair, consistent, and purposeful is key to ensuring you not only attract quality candidates but ensure that those you engage with are already a good fit and committed to a long-term career with your firm.

Putting ethical recruitment at the heart of your hiring

There are a number of steps a firm can take to ensure that ethical recruitment is a considered element of their overall strategy. Whilst not exhaustive, these include:

Recruiting candidates without discrimination

Discrimination in the hiring process often comes down to something called ‘unconscious bias’ that can affect judgement and decisions around who to interview, offer and hire.

Even today, businesses across all sectors struggle with diversity, so having practices that mitigate bias and promotes fairness as part of a wider DEI programme is key.

A McKinsey study in late 2020 found that diverse team members struggled the most during the pandemic and a lack of awareness around diversity, equity and inclusion issues continue to negatively affect employees even now. The data also confirmed that diverse teams tend to achieve ‘more.’ Therefore, it is logical to assume that law firms want to attract diverse talent in a competitive business environment.

So how can a firm seek to mitigate any bias in their hiring?

1. Consider anonymised applications (names, photos, address omitted)
2. Consider skills-based assessments rather than CVs that focus on qualifications and education
3. Ensure your interviews are consistent (structure, flow, question set, interviewers)
4. Consider interviewer ‘panels’ rather than the same interviewer

Move the process forward with cadence

Not to be confused with moving ‘quickly’, moving at an appropriate pace is important as it ensures that candidates in the transactional part of the process (CV review, interview, negotiation) are kept informed of progress and not left wondering about their options.

‘Ghosting’ candidates is a strict no-no. Legal professionals who have taken the time to update their CVs and covering letters, engage with a recruiter or gone through lengthy applications, taken part in virtual or face-to-face interviews, prepared business cases, or in the very least researched your firm and your people deserve the respect and swift response throughout the hiring process.

Once again, tardiness here can impact not only your professional reputation but can also impact your firm competitively if that candidate has a number of options on the table.

Transparency and Honesty

Communication and regular updates are at the centre of ethical recruitment practice. This starts with the job description and associated advertisements which themselves should provide clarity about the role, expectations, and responsibilities.

Individual feedback following applications may not always be realistic due to the volume and time needed to do so, however ensuring that communications around what an applicant can expect should be a bare minimum, ie an auto response that advises that successful applications will be contacted only.

Feedback following interviews however should be mandatory – and regardless of the subsequent decision, should be professional, respectful, and honest.

Partner with an Ethical Recruitment Partner

If you are responsible for hiring at your firm, whether that is your sole remit as a Hiring Manager, or an element of your role in HR or even as Partner, ensuring that ethical recruitment runs throughout your supply chain is key, including the use of recruitment agencies that you partner with.

Selecting ethical agencies is harder than it sounds, but there are some key things to look for that echo the main points above:

1. They have a good reputation
   …Check their website and general digital footprint for case studies and testimonials from other law firms AND jobseekers. Whilst on the face of it these focus on the outcome of a ‘filled role’, what else can you ascertain about how the candidate was treated, or the service that the consultant provided to the firm?
2. They are affiliated with an organisation or membership body that focuses on excellence and good practice
   …Recruitment as an industry is not legally regulated, yet many agencies choose to be part of a professional body that is dedicated to quality, professionalism, and trust. These organisations (such as the REC or APSCo) ensure that the agency is informed of any legislative changes within their sector and also provides members with the information, intelligence, ideas and support they need to be compliant and act in the best interest of clients and jobseekers alike.
3. They take the time to understand the role, your firm, and your requirements
   …Building long-term professional relationships is the sign of an ethical recruitment business. They are not interested in just filling a role and moving on to the next, but take time to understand your challenges, your motivation, and your specific requirements in detail before representing your firm with their candidate pool.
4. They only shortlist candidates that are a fit
   …In a similar vein, agencies that scatter-gun CVs that are irrelevant only demonstrate that they have not understood the brief or your firm, or indeed the candidates that they represent in the market.
5. They adhere and respect your own processes
   …Whatever your individual role in the hiring process for your law firm, you will undoubtedly have your own internal processes to follow – whether you invite speculative CVs, only work with agencies on your PSL, or have a recruitment portal. An ethical recruitment agency will respect these processes and seek the relevant permissions from candidates regarding representation before liaising with you according to your preferences.

In Conclusion

Whether you use the services of recruitment partners or not, ethical recruitment practices are essential to embed and maintain, as failure to do so can damage your professional reputation and general ability to hire, at least from a long-term perspective.

If you do choose to seek help with your hiring via a recruitment agency, then taking some time to conduct your due diligence into their own reputation and processes is essential as failing to do so can certainly come back to bite you, and by association, can be equally as damning.

At Clayton Legal, our reputation and good name in the legal sector has been built up over 25 years, and as members of APSCo, fairness, transparency, and ethical practice is a real driving force that we instil into our own processes. If you are actively hiring at the moment, we’d love to be a part of that conversation and talk to you in more detail about our approach, our market knowledge, and the movement of talent in your region.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Talent planning in 2023 – how can law firms ensure they are attracting and retaining the best talent in a job landscape that has been altered significantly by the pandemic?

In recent years, the U.K. legal profession has changed to meet client demands in terms of staffing, regulatory changes, the services that they offer – all in an increasingly skills-short market.

Skills shortages have become the norm in many areas of law, with mid-level professionals the most sought-after demographic; digitally skilled employees are also in high-demand, particularly since the pandemic.

Rapid growth in certain areas of law this year, namely Property Law, Conveyancing and Family Law, has only added to the challenge of finding exceptional candidates who say ‘yes’ to your job offers.

Today, we look at what factors are going to affect talent planning in the legal sector in 2023, and what your law firm must do to react.

Planning Your Talent Pipeline to Avoid Potential Risk Factors

Starting the new year by focusing on filling your talent pipeline is a must for any law firm looking to hit the ground running next year, and hit their hiring KPIs.

Identifying potential future roles for your changing law firm is a must. Think about how your organisation is likely to change, or areas you want to expand into.

There may not appear to be any signs of your current team leaving, but when you assume that no-one is planning to leave, this puts you in a risky position.

If your top family law solicitor handed in their resignation tomorrow, would you have anyone lined up to take their place?

With such a strain on many areas of law currently like family, property and commercial, the team’s workload would become unmanageable if a position lay vacant.

Working on your talent pipeline involves a focus on your employer brand; your online presence. Are you promoting your brand online as a great employer? Is your website mobile friendly? Do you regularly engage with legal professionals across your socials?

Building your talent pipeline takes work, and it’s easier when you work with a legal recruiter who will guide you through all the various stages involved.

Don’t let the potential risk of an unexpected vacancy get in the way of your success this year – start planning your talent pipeline now.

Finally, let’s look at how next year’s budgets could affect your legal talent planning.

Getting the Most Out of Your Budget

Legal business leaders understand just how essential budgets are going to be in 2021.

You will only have a set amount towards recruitment, and in our post-pandemic world, budgets are getting tighter everywhere.

One way businesses try to save money is by slashing budgets, but what smart law firms do is make sure that they are getting the most out of the funding they do have.

This means working with a recruiter who guarantees your investment and offers money-back guarantees to ensure peace of mind, like Clayton Legal.

When you are working with a tight recruitment budget, getting the best ROI is vital.

The cost of a bad hire can run deeply into your business. From interruptions to workflow, wasted time and training costs, and the cost to re-hire – wherever you are spending your recruitment budget next year, it needs to be with a recruiter who will guarantee your investment.

Talent Attraction – What do Candidates Want?

Knowing what you want from your legal candidates and finding them are two very different things. Our recruitment services are often called in when employers are struggling to find candidates with the right skills, attributes and attitude – the right mix can be hard to find, especially in a world where legal job roles and priorities are changing.

From the candidates we speak to, we have identified three areas to focus on which will help you attract and retain top legal talent.

Training and development – The pandemic might have got in the way of learning and developing in your law firm this year. Still, the most valuable candidates are looking for companies where they will be continually developed.

Digital focus – Alongside legal and personal development training, legal employers who are keeping ahead of the digital curve will also attract the best talent. Law firms that struggle to offer comprehensive digital tools and training in a world where remote working is on the rise could fall behind.

Flexible arrangements – Since the pandemic, employees are more aware of the benefits of a hybrid working culture. Employers who can offer the choice to work from the office, from home or a mix of the two will attract a broader range of candidates.

In an ever-increasing skills-short market, failing to offer what candidates are really looking for could affect your recruiting process.

Getting your recruitment offer right is just one factor involved in talent planning.

Talk to Clayton Legal today about how we always guarantee your investment, and how our expert recruitment process will add value to your law firm.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

We’re living in a world where the demand for talent significantly outweighs the number of available candidates in search of legal roles. More than half of U.K. businesses are experiencing skill shortages, and countless worldwide organisations struggle to fill critical positions.

Factors like the Great Resignation, the rise of remote working, and changing employee priorities have made it harder than ever for legal leaders to fill their employment pipeline. In this environment, businesses must access the right support.

A specialist legal recruitment partner with expertise and experience in your industry makes it easier to find the people capable of transforming your team. Here’s how you can identify the right one to work with in 2023.

Why Law Firms Need Recruitment Partners

Currently, around 80% of organisations say they have difficulty filling positions due to a lack of available skills.. As unemployment levels continue to drop, the quest for talent will likely become even more challenging for modern brands.

Having a legal recruitment partner can be the ultimate way to stay one step ahead of the competition and ensure your firm can thrive in the years ahead. Companies like ours have spent years cultivating networks that offer extensive access to top talent.

We can tap into “passive” candidates who may not be actively searching for new roles. As recruitment experts, we are skilled at positioning firms to the right candidates by offering help with social media marketing, job description writing, and interview setting.

A legal recruitment partner gives your firm the extra support to quickly track down the right talent and build a pipeline of available experts. They know where to look for talent and can help your business to appeal to every part of the workforce.

How to Choose the Right Legal Recruiting Partner

Choosing the right legal recruitment partner can be a daunting task, especially when there are so many options available. The key to selecting the right partner is to carefully evaluate all of the factors that they bring to the table. A legal recruitment expert has the potential to save firms time, money, and headaches in the search for legal talent. However, the success of your new strategy will depend on your ability to choose the most suitable company for your business. Here’s how to get started.

1. Look at Their Brand Presence

Branding and online presence are growing increasingly important to the recruitment landscape. Countless candidates check a company’s “employer brand” before deciding whether to work for them. They’re also increasingly active on digital channels when searching for jobs. Around 90% of candidates now use social media in their job search.

To ensure you can adhere to the changing recruitment landscape, you’ll need a legal recruitment partner with an excellent image and a strong online presence. After all, if the company fails to market itself effectively online, it may also struggle to promote your vacancies.

Search for active social media pages across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. It’s also worth looking at how frequently your legal recruitment team shares thought leadership content and blog posts to support their sector.

2.Prioritise Industry Experience

Every industry has its specific nuances to consider when it comes to recruitment. People in the technology landscape are looking for different things from their employers than those in the engineering space. These groups have different messaging, unique priorities, and different expectations. As such, finding a recruitment partner who knows your space is important.

A specialist legal recruitment partner will understand your landscape and the kind of candidates you’re trying to reach. They’ll know how to position your job descriptions, what types of copy and content will attract employees, and even where to look for passive candidates.

A recruiter with a good knowledge of your sector will also be able to match a specific individual’s skills more easily to the goals and requirements of the role in question.

3.Explore Recruitment Service Options

Different legal recruitment partners can offer different kinds of services to their clients. Some work on specifically filling roles as they emerge in the company, while others fill talent pipelines with various candidates. This may even involve reaching out to the 70% of candidates who aren’t actively searching for a new job when you’re hiring.

Various recruitment partners can also offer different levels of assistance with the recruitment process. Some can help with writing job descriptions and social media posts, so you can improve your chances of reaching the correct audience with the right language. They may also offer help with your interview and shortlisting process.

Some recruitment agencies will offer ‘contingency’ recruitment services whilst others can speak to you about ‘retained’ – normally a fully-tailored recruitment service, typically suitable for more senior hires who aren’t on the active market,

The level of assistance you need and the extent of the service you’re looking for will help you to determine which partner is right for you.

4.Check Case Studies and Testimonials

Reviews and testimonials are an excellent way to get a behind-the-scenes look at the kind of support you can expect from your legal recruitment partner. Your chosen company should have a website to showcase case studies and details about previous client interactions.

Look through the messages left by other clients and legal professionals, and find out as much as you can about how happy they were with the speed, accuracy, and guidance offered by the recruitment team. Aside from checking the company’s website, you can also look across the general digital footprint for additional business comments.

A recruitment company’s social media page can be an excellent place to look for quick messages from happy clients or posts showcasing recent reviews.

5.Get in touch 

Finally, once you have a shortlist of the legal recruitment partners you might want to work with, it’s worth reaching out and arranging a time to talk. A conversation with your recruitment partner can help you to answer a lot of questions you might have about their service, how much support they can give, and how they’re going to communicate with you in the future.

Speaking to the recruitment experts also allows you to test their knowledge and build a rapport for future interactions. A good recruitment company should be ready and willing to arrange a meeting with the stakeholders in your time where you can discuss all of your concerns. Depending on their location, they may offer various forms of communication, such as video conferencing, calling on the phone, or face-to-face meetings.

Whether you already have an internal team responsible for hiring, or you outsource this to sector specialists, using the services of a reputable legal recruiter can add a huge amount of value to your hiring strategy. Finding a partner that can act as an extension to your own business and is flexible and adaptable in their approach is key.

Ultimately, in our 25-year experience, all legal clients we speak to are looking for four things – speed, a reduced workload, personalised relationships and ultimately, results.

And, although time is a precious commodity (in law, particularly), doing your due diligence in selecting and identifying an agency you can trust to deliver is time well spent in the long run.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced Legal specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

Taking the right approach to training your legal hires is one of the most important things any employer can do. The right education and guidance sets your employees up for success in any role and ensures they can thrive in your law firm.

What’s more, today’s legal employees crave training more than ever before.

A 2021 global workforce report from Randstad revealed that the vast majority of employees worldwide (especially those in the younger age brackets) believe they need to upskill to keep up with the labour market changes since the beginning of the Pandemic. Some other studies show that around 40% of staff members worry their skills will become outdated in today’s quickly-evolving landscape.

However, according to the same studies, 49% of employees want to enhance their skills but are unsure where to begin, and this correlates with the findings from the aforementioned report, which saw the majority of survey respondents say that they are unsure of which skills to acquire due to the rapid changes occurring in the global workforce.

For those in leadership positions at your law firm, the focus areas for training an initial new legal hire should revolve around developing critical soft skills. Most of your new team members already have the technical talents required for their roles. However, you can always look into upskilling and expanding this knowledge later.

Your legal team members need help with the critical skills that will define their future with your law firm. Here are the three areas you need to focus on.

Skill 1: Goal Setting

Goals are critical in any legal role. According to research from Harvard Business School, people who successfully visualise and write down their professional goals are often 20% more successful. Goals act as a compass in any career, giving direction and guidance to your team members.

Start by providing your legal employees with a clear insight into your firm’s core values and expectations for their work. This will help them monitor and measure their performance to ensure they’re delivering the right results. Next, arrange for a meeting during the onboarding process, where you can set different types of goals with your new team member, such as:

• Short-term goals: Define what your new employee should be working towards during the first few months of their position in your firm. As a manager, outline what you’d like to see from them, and ask what they would like to accomplish during this time.
• Long-term goals: Ask about where your employee sees themselves in the future. Do they want to work towards a promotion or a higher-paying role? Together, you can outline a plan for how they can make their targets a reality.
• Development goals: Where would your employees like to improve their skills or become more proficient during their time with your firm? What training opportunities would they want access to, and where do they feel they need the most help?

It’s also worth providing your employees with key tips on improving their chances of successfully reaching their goals. Discuss the difference between setting realistic and unrealistic targets, and look at how you can help your employee to become more focused.

One option could be to set your new legal team member up with a mentor, so they can constantly get feedback on their progress. It’s also worth having regular meetings with each employee throughout the year to see whether they’re accomplishing their goals and what you can do to assist them.

Skill 2: Relationship Building

Relationships form the foundation of any strong firm culture. Research shows positive relations between employees and their managers and colleagues lead to better job satisfaction, increased retention, and boosted productivity. However, many legal employees struggle with creating the right connections throughout the firm.

During the initial onboarding process, when you’re bringing your new team member into your law firm, introduce them to the people they will be working with. Some bonding activities can be extremely useful during this stage to help with breaking the ice.

Next, provide tips on strengthening your team members’ relationships with colleagues and managers. For instance, you can encourage them to:

Be proactive in offering help: Employees who constantly look for ways to support and assist their other legal team members are more likely to be appreciated by the rest of the team. Encourage your staff to be proactive team players.

Take part in meetings: While not all of your business meetings may be mandatory, many provide networking and communication opportunities. Asking staff members to participate in regular video and in-person meetings will help to strengthen bonds.

Develop emotional intelligence: Training your employees on how to demonstrate good emotional intelligence is fantastic for enhancing their relationship-building abilities. They should be aware of how to recognise and understand the emotions of others.

Communicate constantly: Make sure your legal team has a strong culture of constant communication and collaboration. Everyone should feel included in conversations, and every team member should feel as though they have a voice.

Network whenever possible: Allow team members to attend events and networking opportunities. This is a good way to help them expand their relationships in the legal industry and feel more confident communicating with others.

It’s also helpful to have diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which highlight how each team member should show respect for their fellow workers. If any of your employees seem to be isolating themselves from the group or show a negative attitude towards others, jump in and see what you can do to fix the problem.

Skill 3: Productivity

All legal employers want productive, efficient, and engaged team members. While the support you give your employees in the form of the right technical skill training and tools will help to enhance productivity, there are also steps employees will need to take themselves.

Ask your staff members how they currently pursue productivity in their workflows and where they’re most likely to struggle. If your team members are working in a remote or hybrid environment, they may need more assistance with scheduling their work and ensuring they adhere to deadlines.

Introduce your employees to different methods of boosting productivity, such as:

• Arranging their to-do list: Some employees will find it easier to tackle the toughest jobs first thing in the day. Others will prefer to start with easier tasks and work on complex challenges later. Encourage your staff members to discover what works for them.
• Taking regular breaks: While pushing your employees to be productive at all hours of the day is tempting, we all need breaks. Help your employees to take time out when they need it, by allowing them to step away from their schedule from time to time.
• Tackling one task at a time: Teach your employees that multi-tasking is rarely the best way to generate the right results when it comes to productivity. Breaking large tasks into smaller pieces and working on targets one at a time is more likely to generate results.
• Managing energy (not just time): Give your employees the freedom to adjust their work schedule according to when they have the best sense of focus. In today’s hybrid and remote work world, giving your employees more autonomy can boost productivity.
• Leveraging useful tools: Certain tools and technology in the workplace can assist with productivity. For instance, some team members might use time-tracking applications to discover how long they spend on different tasks. Others might organise their day with a centralised project management system.

If any of your employees are struggling with productivity, it’s important to reach out and find out what’s happening. The problem could be with their schedule and how they organise their day. Alternatively, you could find your employees are experiencing the early stages of burnout. Either way, you can work together to develop a plan to promote the best workflow.

Finally, remember that the success of any new hire depends as much on the kind of training and guidance you give them as their own input and engagement into their work. Getting this part of the onboarding process right not only provides them with what they need to thrive at your firm, but can also help to improve employee retention, and avoid high employee turnover.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Attracting and hiring the most suitable candidates for your law firm or business is becoming an increasingly complex process. In the age of the “Great Resignation”, and still in the throws of a post-pandemic society, legal professionals have grown more discerning about where, how, and when they want to work.
This shift has meant, by proxy, today’s top talent has endless opportunities for employment, not just from local businesses, but global teams hiring remote employees.

Yet a much documented skills-short market, and a seemingly permanent loss of talent from the labour force means that even despite more flexibility from employers, future employees need to feel ‘wowed’ to have their heads turned.

To thrive in this competitive landscape, business leaders need to know how to create the most compelling job offers, in order to stand out to the most suitable candidates.

The question is, as legal employee preferences and priorities continue to evolve, how do you ensure your job offer has the right impact? Here are some of the top strategies you can use to improve your chances of your candidates saying “yes”.

1. Revisit and Asses Your Company Culture

Culture is growing increasingly important to today’s legal candidates. 46% of employees say company culture is vital to inform their decision of which business to work for. Top performers are consistently attracted to organisations that share their personal values, ethics, and priorities.

What’s more, many of the best candidates in the market today want to see evidence they’re going to be employed in a purpose-led job with genuine meaning. Assessing your company culture and how you highlight your values to your candidates is an important step in making your offer more compelling. Ask yourself what kind of values you highlight in your job descriptions, your business website, and even the reviews and testimonials shared by existing employees.

Does your business reward teamwork and innovation? Do you have a strong focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to ensure everyone feels aligned in your workforce? Making a company ‘culture’ tangible isn’t easy, but should run through the DNA of your business, including any externally facing communications and collateral where possible.

2. Refine Your EVP

After you’ve ensured you’re communicating your company’s ‘culture’ through self-written messages as well as social proof through employee testimonials, it’s time to start looking at your Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Your EVP is essentially everything you offer your candidates that sets you apart from other employers in the specific practice area and/or region in which you operate.

While there’s more to a good EVP than salary, it’s worth making sure you’re paying your employees what they deserve. Research the typical pay rates for the kind of jobs you’re trying to fill, and make sure you take the value of your candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience into account.

Recruiters in particular have a wealth of knowledge here and can offer pragmatic guidance on salary averages based on the specific role(s) you are hiring for. Many actually publish Salary Guides to download for reference as well.

Beyond a competitive pay package, you can also improve your EVP by looking at your wider benefit offerings, flexible working patterns, and more.

Once you’ve defined your EVP, make sure it stands out wherever you’re going to be interacting with candidates. Share information about your benefits and opportunities on your website, and discuss options with potential talent during the interview process (a great way to test how they land and would be received by potential new hires).

3. Focus on Empathy and Flexibility

In the last couple of years, the priorities of many legal candidates have evolved in a few key areas. Perhaps the most important factors most jobseekers are looking for today, are empathy, and flexibility. Demonstrating empathy as an employer shows individuals that you respect their needs, and want to contribute to their general good health and wellbeing.
Creating wellness initiatives designed to keep employees healthy and happy is a great way to make your job offer more appealing to all kinds of candidates. Share information on your site about mental health days you’ve offered for your staff, or the on-site support you offer for the personal needs of your employees.

From a flexibility perspective, think about how you can adapt to the new working styles of top legal candidates. Many of today’s professionals are looking for opportunities to work from home, even part-time, to give them a better sense of work/life balance – while others also relish the chance to collaborate in an office environment. Are you able to tap into these needs?

You could even go a step further and experiment with concepts like the four-day work week (a pilot of which is running in the UK at the moment) to give your employees the potential of longer, more rejuvenating weekends. One great way to show empathy and flexibility at the same time is to ask your candidates about their specific needs during the interview process.

4. Demonstrate Opportunities for Growth

Today’s lawyers want to know there’s a future in any company they’re going to be working for. According to Gallup, 59% of millennials prioritise opportunities to learn and grow when deciding which jobs to apply for.

Making sure your candidates are aware of the opportunities they’ll have to grow in your business will make your job offer more compelling. You can discuss the promotion paths you’ve offered in the past with your candidates during the interview, and outline the training and educational opportunities offered within your job description.

You might even let your possible hires know about the onboarding process you’ll use to welcome them into your organisation, during which you can both work together to outline a path for progression through the company.

It’s also helpful to share information about the development opportunities you offer online. Videos and written testimonials from employees who have achieved their personal and professional goals with your business can make a huge impact.

5. Work with a Specialist Recruiter

Finally, if you really want to ensure your job offers pack a punch (and are accepted!), it’s worth investing in some specialist support. A sector specialist will know exactly what it takes to align the right candidates with the correct employers from day one. They can help you to seek out people who are actively looking for the benefits, and culture you offer, and already have a bird’s eye view of general market conditions and who else is hiring in your vertical.

Recruiters can save you time by sorting through your job applications and eliminating anyone who might not fit well with your company. They can also provide advice on how you can position yourself to your candidates when you’re writing job descriptions and conducting interviews.

With a specialist recruiter, you can boost your chances of a “yes” when you need it most by building a pipeline of suitable legal candidates, all carefully chosen to match your business needs.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Though some of the challenges of hiring in the last couple of years are beginning to diminish, the legal sector is still a skills-short market. Trends like the “Great Resignation” and an increasing demand for global, remote work are leading to massive turnover for all kinds of companies.

Since any law firm can’t thrive without the right employees, it makes sense for every business leader to think about how they can improve their hiring strategy in this new landscape. Ensuring you have the right plan in place can help you to attract the most sought-after talent, improve your chances of employee retention, and strengthen your employer brand.

Here are some of the hiring strategies generating powerful results for law firms.

1.    Adapting to Your Candidates’ Changing Priorities

The first step in ensuring you can successfully hire and retain legal talent, is knowing what your candidates really want from their employer. In the last couple of years, the evolving workplace has led to the development of new priorities for many staff members.

Today’s employees still want to get the salary they deserve, but they also want:

• Empathy: A focus on respect, empathy, diversity, and inclusion will be crucial to attracting candidates in any environment. Showcasing your empathetic side will help you to attract employees who share the same values as your business.
• Flexibility: Today’s employees want more flexible roles. With the rise of cloud technology, it’s possible for some legal jobs to be more hybrid, remote, or flexible than they once were. Some companies are even exploring concepts like the 4-day work week.
• Development: Your employees want to see a future with your company, and a path for them to improve and enhance their skills. Have meetings with your team members to identify their current and long-term goals, and how you can help them reach them.

2.    Leveraging a Specialist Legal Recruiter

Recruiters are one of the most valuable tools you’ll have in your hiring strategy, particularly when they specialise in your industry. An experienced legal recruiter will be able to help you identify the most important things your candidates are looking for when you’re writing your job descriptions and interviewing potential employees.

Recruiters can also save you significant time in collecting applications from a diverse range of backgrounds. Their existing presence in the industry means they already have access to various environments where they can find people to fill your talent pipeline.

With a recruiter, you’ll also have access to support and guidance to help you with everything from improving the interview experience, to making your job listings more impactful.

Just remember, to get the most out of your legal recruiter, you’ll need to walk the line between clarity and flexibility. It’s important to be clear about the things you really want from your candidate, but don’t get lost in the search for the perfect unicorn employee.

3.    Enhancing Your E.V.P.

In today’s digital world, employers have endless opportunities to learn more about their potential candidates by looking at their social media profiles and personal brand. However, it’s worth remembering your candidates also have the same opportunity to evaluate you.

Before considering whether to accept a job offer or even send in an application, most of today’s candidates will research your brand. It’s important to make sure your offer and E.V.P. (Employer Value Proposition) stands out.

Start by assessing your current employer brand, and what you communicate to potential staff members. Are you active on social media, constantly sharing valuable information about your company culture and the growth of your team members? Do your employees talk positively about you on social channels and review sites?

Next, consider your job offer and how it compares to roles available from your competition. Are you delivering the same level of flexibility for your new candidates? What can you provide that your team members can’t get elsewhere? Remember, organisations who implement a successful employer brand cut their cost-per-hire in half!

Your legal recruitment professional will be able to help you with cultivating the right employer brand.

4.    Upgrading the Candidate Journey

In today’s changing landscape, employers need to make sure every stage of the candidate journey is as convenient and engaging as possible to avoid losing the attention of top talent. With the help of your legal recruitment agency, look at every touchpoint you’ll have with your candidates, and how you can update them to suit the current trends.

For instance, are you posting your job listings on social media, so they’re easy to find, and making sure it’s easy for your candidates to learn more about the role on your website? When candidates apply for a role, how will you interview them?

Video and remote interview processes are becoming increasingly common, particularly for remote and hybrid roles. You may also need to think about:

• Following up with candidates: How will you keep your candidate engaged by following up and providing insights into their progress?
• Onboarding: How will you onboard your team members when you decide who to hire, and how can you make them feel like part of the team as quickly as possible?
• Diversity: How will you ensure you’re making hiring decisions without bias, and you’re respecting the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion?

5.    Planning a Comprehensive Strategy

Finally, it’s worth remembering that being prepared will save you a lot of time, effort, and money in today’s skills-short market. Rather than just rushing to fill gaps in your legal team when someone leaves your workforce, it’s worth thinking about your long-term talent strategy.

Work with Clayton Legal to build a talent pipeline, filled with diverse professionals from different environments, who can add something valuable to your team. When creating this pipeline, don’t just think about the skills you need now, but the expertise you may need in the future.

A good talent pipeline will mean you always have somewhere to turn to access crucial talent when your company needs it most.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 3,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The Legal landscape has changed drastically in the last couple of years. Job opportunities are becoming more flexible with the rise of remote or hybrid work and the four-day work week, which started as a trial in the UK in recent weeks. 

Even the way law firms source and assess new candidates for roles has evolved, with an increasing number of virtual and video interviews as well as new software being developed since the pandemic. 

On top of all these changes, hiring managers and employers are also facing new challenges in employee retention, with the “Great Resignation” now causing significant talent turnover.  

In a skills-short legal environment, it’s important to ensure you’re taking every precaution to not only find the right new legal professional but prepare them for long-term success within your law firm.  

A successful onboarding strategy could be the key to providing your new team member with all the support, guidance, and insights they need to thrive at your firm. 

Here are the onboarding strategies you can use to empower your legal hires. 

1. Start with Preboarding

Employee “preboarding” is essentially an introductory step before the more intensive onboarding process begins. Today, as the competition for top legal talent continues to grow, talented candidates are increasingly looking to work with employers who make them feel valued, not those just paying the highest salary. 

Just as your new team member will be working hard to prove you made the right choice by bringing them on board, you want to demonstrate they’ve made an excellent choice by deciding to work for you. An introduction email as soon as your candidate accepts your job offer can set you off on the right track to building a great working relationship. You can even use this email to give your new employee some useful information such as parking on their first day, start times and any other useful information that could help them out.  

Start by welcoming your candidate onto the team and let them know the names of some of the people they will be working with. Next, include valuable information your employee might need, such as videos highlighting information about your brand identity and general updates about the new firm they are joining.  

2. Adjust the Onboarding Process for Different Roles

Do you have an onboarding plan? View our report here on a Quick Guide To Onboarding New Legal Talent.  

Certain parts of the legal onboarding process will be the same for all employees. You’ll need to introduce every new team member to the company culture in your business and the kind of values you’ll expect them to adhere to. However, this doesn’t mean an onboarding process should be entirely one-size-fits-all.  

Adjust the steps you take in the onboarding process based on your new employee’s needs. For instance, ask yourself what kind of software and tools the team member will be using from day one, and provide them with training support or video guidance on setting up new accounts.  

Think about the specific members of staff your new employee is going to be working with and arrange for a video or group meeting where you can all get to know each other in an informal and friendly setting.  

Creating a streamlined and personalised process for each employee will ensure your new candidates aren’t overwhelmed by information that may not be pertinent to them when starting their new role.  

3. Focus on Inclusion

The needs of today’s employees are beginning to change. While all team members want access to great development opportunities, a good salary, and fair benefits, they’re also looking for an immersive company culture and a sense of inclusion within their teams.  

Today, 64% of employees say diversity and inclusion is a crucial consideration in their decision to take a job offer. As soon as a new candidate agrees to join your team, start focusing on how you include them.  

Ask new hires about their preferred pronouns and names and introduce them immediately to the people they will be working with. Allow your employees to sit in on video meetings even before their role officially starts if you’re not going to be sharing sensitive information and add them to your group messaging boards. 

Make sure every team member feels like a crucial part of the team, regardless of whether they’re working in the office, remotely, or on a hybrid schedule. 

4. Build a Training Plan for Development

Great onboarding isn’t just about welcoming a new legal employee into your team and ensuring they have all the information they need about your business. You should also be looking for ways to build a foundation of a long professional relationship between your law firm and your hires. 

Around 93% of employees say they would happily stay with a company for longer if they felt their managers were investing in their careers with training and development. During the onboarding process, you can begin helping your employee see a future with your brand by working on a professional development plan together. 

Set up a one-on-one meeting where you discuss what the future might look like for your new team member and what kind of goals they would like to achieve while with your firm and in later life also. Discuss how you can help your employee reach new heights in their career and what your training opportunities look like. 

5. Collect Feedback Regularly

Finally, the only way to ensure your onboarding process is having the right impact on your legal employees is to ask them about it. Collecting feedback is an excellent way to determine whether you’re giving your new team members all the support and guidance they need.  

Ask your new hires what they feel you did well in the onboarding process and what they would like to change if given a chance to go through it again. Pay attention to productivity levels after your employees start their new role and look at how they might change when you add further steps to the onboarding process.  

The feedback you get should guide your future onboarding strategies, helping you build a more comprehensive experience for every new hire.  

Great Onboarding Starts with the Right Hire 

Remember, a great onboarding process can be a powerful tool, capable of improving new hire retention by around 82%. An excellent onboarding process will always start with the right hiring decisions. Improve your chances of bringing the right people on board by working with a specialist legal recruitment team like Clayton Legal. 

We can help you improve yours by taking care of the pre-onboarding and sourcing of talent. If you want to find out more call us on 01772 259 121. 

Next Steps 

If you’re reading this article because you are looking to hire your next legal hire, call one of the Clayton Legal team on 01772 259 121 and let’s have a conversation to explore your options. With our help and market insight, your hiring process can be smoother and quicker – and get you the outcome you’re looking for. 

About Clayton Legal 

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal IT personnel to Practice Managers. 

Whether you are building your legal team or are looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here. 

The interview process can be a gruelling task for all parties involved. When most hiring managers think about the complexity of interviewing, they focus on the challenges facing the person being interviewed. However, those hosting the interview also have their own hurdles to overcome too.  

From avoiding unconscious bias, avoiding ageism, and making sure you sell your candidates on the idea of working with your law firm, there are several important points to keep in mind as well as remembering all the main points covered at the end of the session.  

Here are some of the top strategies to follow as a legal professional hiring manager if you’re concerned you might not be getting the most out of your interviews. 

1. Know Your Interview Options 

The first step in ensuring you can master your interviews as a hiring manager is knowing what methods you can use to best connect with potential candidates.  

Today, the traditional face-to-face interview isn’t your only option. Video interviews have increased by 67% due to the pandemic and the rise of remote working with technology advancements being key. As hybrid employment options continue to thrive and companies look for ways to streamline the interviewing process, video conversations will likely grow to be more common in many law firms throughout the upcoming years if not already popular.  

But not forgetting, there’s also the time-old classic of picking up the phone for simple phone interviews as well to simply hear the person who could potentially be working with you. 

Each type of interview has its own challenges to consider. For instance: 

• In-person interviews:
  You’ll need to think about where you’re going to host your interview, whether it’s a welcoming space, who will attend, and whether the candidate will present or just have a simple face to face conversation. 
• Video interviews:
  Consider what kind of video meeting software you’ll be using, the background you’ll have in your video, and how you can present yourself as professionally as possible over a webcam. Always test the sound and camera quality beforehand and check whether all those participating are visible on screen. 
• Phone interviews:
  Ask yourself whether you may need to record any phone interviews to go back over them later and how you can ensure you get a promising idea of what the candidate is like based on voice alone. 

2. Avoid Inappropriate Questions 

Inappropriate questions are becoming more common than you would think in legal interviews. While certain topics of conversation can feel like polite small talk at first, they often cause more problems than you’d think. For instance, asking people about what they did on the weekend can create an unconscious bias if you also have a shared hobby with them – but also at the same time, could be harmless conversation to break the ice. 

Unconscious bias could favour one candidate over another because you like certain things about their lifestyle or personality, which have nothing to do with the role or the ability to complete their tasks. 

Some other questions to avoid are: 

• Where do you live?  
• How did your childhood shape your professional life?  
• If you could choose a different career, what would you choose?  
• What is the worst trait of your previous manager? 

All the above questions could be classed as too personal, too confronting and encouraging speaking badly about others – all traits you want to avoid when interviewing someone for the first time and something you don’t need to hear to assess their capabilities for this role. 

3. Interview Styles and Formats 

There are many kinds of interviewing techniques that today’s business leaders and hiring managers can use, including competency-based or collaborative interviews, presentations, and group interactions to get a real feel for the potential candidates. 

Interviews are always best performed with two people from the hiring company, which can help avoid bias. It also gives those hiring the chance to discuss different opinions on those they are interviewing and not decide based solely from one person’s perspective and therefore giving the candidate a fair chance. 

Other methods are to consider using a first and second stage interview format before the final decision is made. In today’s environment, many first and second stage interviews can take place over Zoom or Teams so that it suits all parties involved. Carrying out interviews online also gives you more chance to interview more people, without the need for travel, time allocation and gives the candidates a better chance of being able to partake at a time that suits them and you best. 

4. Generalise Your Interview Questions 

Standardising your interview questions makes it easier to assess your candidates when you have interviewed several people for a role. It also means you’re less likely to allow unconscious biases to get in the way of your hiring decisions because you’re evaluating everyone based on the same set of guidelines, criteria, and questions. 

Create specific competency-based interview questions for the specific legal role in question, which allows you to score each potential employee based on their specific values, behaviours, and results.  

For instance, you can ask questions like; “share examples of times they’ve acted as a leader” or “shown exceptional teamwork”, and then make notes about their responses. Assigning scores to answers will also help you see who you should be shortlisting based on their answers compared to others if you are interviewing a larger number of people. 

Your interviews need to maintain a level of flexibility. It will be logical to ask follow-up questions to elicit more detail at times when needed if the candidate doesn’t elaborate themselves. 

“Tell me more about X or Y or why you decided to do B or C” are classic follow-up questions that work well to get more of an understanding of the candidates’ experiences.  

To make sure you know about a candidates’ hard skills, behavioural and soft skills there are some questions that LinkedIn Talent Solutions suggests you cover.  

• “Say you’re negotiating a contract or administrative action or settlement in which the parties are far apart in what they want. Use a past example of this to talk me through your negotiation process.” 
• “What would you do if you were asked to work on a case, contract, or business scenario that gave you ethical qualms? Has this ever happened to you—and what did you do?” 
• “Tell me about a time you had to make a tough call that required you to decide between a gut feeling and the strategic decision-making of outside counsel.” 

5. Make Notes and Follow Up 

Finally, make sure you take notes as often as possible as you progress through the interviews. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of the conversation and then forget everything you needed to know about the candidate when you come back to review later.  

Always set aside some time at the end of each interview to gather your thoughts and catalogue what stood out to you most about the candidate (good and bad) before heading into another interview or meeting.  

Making notes can also help when you’re following up with your candidates by allowing you to provide a more contextual and relevant message and feedback, should they be successful or not. Showing you remember what you said (like any requirements for their starting dates or training they need) shows the potential candidate you’re invested in working with them and that you are attentive to what they were talking about during their time with you. 

Remember, if you’re struggling with your interviewing process, it’s often helpful to seek some help from a specialist recruitment company like ourselves that can help with a lot more than just finding you new candidates – we can also give you advice on how to interview more effectively, with tips on questions you might need to ask. 

About Clayton Legal 

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers. 

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here. 

The last few years have certainly seen monumental shifts in the hiring landscape from talent shortages to remote and flexible working.

There is more to come. The impact of the war in Ukraine and rising inflation due to fuel costs and supply chain issues will undoubtedly impact even more candidate decisions to move for more money as the year progresses.

At the end of 2021, there was a record 1.2 million vacancies according to the O.N.S. across all sectors in the U.K. More than fifty per cent of companies reporting staff shortages said they were struggling to fill vacancies.

Unemployment continues to decline, falling to 1.4 million in the three months to October 2021. While unemployment is still above levels before the pandemic, it is now below the average level in the five years before the beginning of quarter one of 2020.

Before we dive into the legal landscape, let us look at recruiting across other sectors first, which naturally will impact the business growth of the legal sector.

The Hiring Trends Index

The hiring trends index reveals that vacancies reached a record high in quarter one, although the growth rate is slowing down compared to the end of last year.

In the recruitment sector, this is known as a candidate-driven market. This is demonstrated by the fact that over forty per cent of businesses have increased their recruitment since the start of the year.

Most companies plan to keep hiring this year, with only 4% planning to decrease recruitment in Q2 2022.

A few points of note from the index, which are present across many legal firms in the U.K., is that companies are seeing an increase of over 20% in hours worked, resulting in one in ten employees leaving because they ‘feel’ overworked. This is connected to over a quarter of employers being concerned about their staff’s mental wellbeing.

All parts add to a complex hiring equation playing out for legal firms across the U.K.

The War For Legal Talent Will Get Worse

In a recent Law.com post, several U.K. law firm leaders were interviewed about their predictions for 2022. The war for legal talent was a key area for discussion on the back of an increasingly dynamic legal landscape in 2022.

Though several leaders predict a slowdown of the transactional surge that occurred in the last half of 2021, they anticipate a rise in restructuring, insolvency, and dispute work, which will continue to fuel what many call an “unsustainable” war between firms to attract the best.

In today’s marketplace, firms need to consider their benefits package overall. Though increased pay rises and higher salaries will carry on, law firms will have to focus more on aspects such as their company culture, the quality of clients they work with and how they look after and develop their staff.

This was backed up by a recent post in The Guardian, where Jon Boys, the labour market economist at the C.I.P.D. confirmed what is happening across the country. Employers are working harder than ever to keep their staff ‘happy’ and do more for them, be that better clients to work with or the option for flexible working.

As a result of market conditions, many firms are coming to the Clayton team seeking advice on how to improve their employer value proposition in the market, from salaries to looking at alternative working patterns that offer greater flexibility.

Work-life balance is no longer simply a buzzword in the H.R. departments of law firms that want to attract the right legal talent for their growth. Working hard is a given in most law firms; however, many legal candidates are actively considering moving to a more empathetic firm that will allow them to create some balance in their lives.

Alison Brown, an executive partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, a respected international firm, when interviewed by Law.com, also commented that firms need to create a culture that appeals to people. Giving people the best work with work-life balance would be the differentiator when legal candidates choose their next employer.

In summary, candidates are willing to move firms, but with an abundance of choice in such a competitive market, it remains a challenge for employers to truly stand out and offer compelling job opportunities in a Firm that has an already strong employer brand, and is able to articulate it’s vision, culture, and wider employer value proposition.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.