Highly skilled legal professionals set your firm apart and finding individuals with the right talent takes time and resources. This is why firms need to consider the importance of retention, rather than just focusing on recruitment.

Yet it’s something that firms can struggle with – even the big players aren’t immune. The most recognisable names in London saw retention rates of newly qualified solicitors as low as 74%. Retaining talent isn’t a cost-cutting exercise, it makes your firm much more competitive in the long term.

Cost of recruitment

Recruiting new talent is a cost to your firm. According to research published by Glassdoor, the average time it takes to hire a new recruit in the U.K. is 27.5 days. This means one-twelfth of a year is spent on reviewing CVs, carrying out preliminary interviews, secondary interviews, communicating with recruiters and checking references. Factor in multiple hires, and that figure increases significantly. Considering the amount of resource, time, money and effort hiring takes, it’s evident that concentrating efforts on retention becomes far more beneficial.

Onboarding is the first step towards retaining talent. Yes, of course, it’s more effective to retain existing talent than recruit new talent, but sometimes a new hire is what your firm needs. Your firm needs to start looking after them even before they start. A welcome pack that explains benefits and expectations makes the perks of working with you clear to solicitors. Prompt, clear communications are professional and ensure candidates remain happy to work for you.

Brexit might be a source of uncertainty for many industries, but it seems to have sharpened the mind on one thing – ensuring your staff feel valued. CIPD found that 26% of organisations ‘report a greater emphasis on developing existing staff’. The report also highlighted that more organisations are involving employees with their business strategies and encouraging them to contribute their own ideas.

Management is your best defence

When your employees feel secure and supported at work they are less likely to look elsewhere. Management must demonstrate excellent leadership skills, this isn’t just managing a caseload or a team of solicitors with exacting standards, it means having good soft skills too.

If you want to keep hold of staff, then you must also encourage them to manage themselves and be invested in their careers. Maintain regular contact with them through formal appraisals, informal and open discussions and put the ball in their court. If they feel that they have a say in their own work and career they’ll be more engaged and more likely to remain with your firm.

Training and development

These two words are the most important words in your vocabulary if you’re going to successfully retain staff. If your legal talent doesn’t have what they need to do the job, then their focus and energy will be put towards finding a new position elsewhere.
The SRA has a whole section of its website dedicated to how solicitors can plan their development. Investing in your people shows that you’re committed to them and will increase commitment from them.

Remember that legal skills, especially in disciplines such as conveyancing, are in short supply. So not only will developing your staff make them more likely to stick around, it will mean that your firm doesn’t feel the effect of the skills shortage. And employing highly skilled legal professionals with subject expertise will make your firm more competitive in the long run, as they’ll be better equipped to handle client demands.

Your recruitment agent and retention

Using a recruitment agency can be very beneficial to retaining talent. There are many advantages to working with a partner when it comes to retention, and perhaps the two most important factors to consider are the personal touch and a recruiter that specialises in your market. A recruiter that takes the time to build relationships with you, the client, as well as candidates makes retaining that talent easier later on. A positive working relationship that starts on the right note will ensure that the candidate feels happy to stay with your firm for the foreseeable future. A recruiter that specialises in the legal market understands the sector and is better able to represent the role to candidates. Candidates that feel the job matches up to their expectations are much more likely to stick around than those who feel the reality is different.

Recruitment costs vs. benefits

Recruitment takes time, effort and resources. There’s no denying that the right hire at the right time can make a huge difference to a firm, yet a revolving door of talent increases the cost of recruitment exponentially. Retention starts to look a lot more appealing if you weigh the cost of recruitment against the benefits of retaining staff. Time spent training and looking after your best talent will pay you back dividends, with happier staff you’ll have happier clients, and your firm will be all the more competitive.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, you might like our other post: Legal talent drought: How to attract the best talent against the odds.

And if you’re recruiting now, you can talk to one of the team on 01772 259 121, or you can register your vacancy online.

A high-performing team is what any employer would want. A high-performing team of solicitors that is efficient, drives profits and gets results might not be as far off as you think.  It takes work and to build an attractive employer brand; writing compelling job descriptions and creating an excellent culture is only the beginning.

High-performing teams require excellent leadership, support in their development and constant engagement – even before your new recruits join the firm. Our guide to high-performing teams tells you everything that you need to build one successfully.

Successfully onboard legal professionals

Building a high-performing legal team requires careful onboarding. There are two stages to this process:

1. Establish what you want to achieve. You need to decide when onboarding will begin, what impression you would like to give to new staff, the tools that will help them do the job and goals you’d like them to meet. The most important thing to think about is how you will measure success and get feedback on the process. If you don’t have the information to work with it’s hard to make future adjustments.
2. Put systems in place to achieve what you want. Prepare the essentials like security cards, work emails and computer equipment in advance. Providing information around basic housekeeping points such as where the loos are, tea and coffee facilities as well as who to approach with questions will help put the new recruit’s mind at rest. And don’t forget that a warm welcome will ease nerves. Let the office know that a new colleague is joining and to welcome them to the team.

High-performing teams need a high-performing leader

According to the Adair International Institute, a three-pronged approach to leadership underpins successful teams. Leaders need to manage the task, the team and the individual in order to get the best results.

The task needs to be clearly set out and defined aims must be communicated to the group. Research by EY into high-performing teams indicates that 44% of team members believe that clear, achievable goals are the most important factor in what makes a successful team. The group needs to understand the task to perform it well and leaders must ensure this happens. Providing resources, establishing responsibilities and offering feedback are critical at this stage.

The team needs support to achieve its goal and leaders can do this effectively by: equipping team members to deal with conflict, ensure morale is high, establish standards of work, and develop leadership in team members. At an individual level, leaders must know all members of a high-performing team well. Awareness of strengths and weaknesses means leaders can effectively delegate and improve management of the high-performing team. This links closely to another key element of high-performing teams: how to manage support and training.

Support high-performing individuals, benefit the team

Awareness of individual weaknesses means that a leader can put in place measures to help them overcome issues and contribute to the team. Praise and recognition at the right time are beneficial in maintaining motivation.

Training is key to keeping the overall team on track. Seeing that an individual needs help in a certain area means training can be given to bring them up to speed. Managing the individual carefully benefits the team because each person has the skills to achieve the overall task aim. When new legal professionals come into the team, working with them to establish a plan for their development means you can cover all bases and fill in any gaps that might cause the team to fall short. section. In turn, you’ll get the very best from your employees.

Get the best from your employees

High-performing teams don’t happen by accident. Strong leadership from the top down keeps the team unified behind a common goal. Demonstrating integrity, inspiring others and problem-solving are among the top traits of an effective leader according to the Harvard Business Review.

There are three stages to getting the best from your employees:

1. Clear expectations: Set out what you expect from the start. Provide definitive goals and milestones to keep the team on track. Decide how the goal will be measured and build deadlines into the process that break the goal down into smaller, manageable chunks.
2. Consistent feedback: Feedback allows your team to keep adjusting and making continual improvements. Explain what you need as the task progresses and you can even encourage peer feedback, carried out in a constructive way.
3. Motivation and empowerment: Show that you value your staff and their effort. Offer praise, reward and an all-important ‘thank you’ when targets are reached to keep employees motivated and focused on the task.

Employee engagement

Building a team of talented legal professionals means constantly engaging employees. Culture, employer branding, and effectively leading your high-performing team are all important. The crucial element is managing performance at an individual level.

This is where deep knowledge of the individuals that make up your high-performing team pays dividends. As soon as a new solicitor, paralegal or member of support staff joins your firm it’s essential to understand their objectives. Engaging them with the work, the team and the task integrates them firmly into the group. You can increase engagement through an ongoing system of performance management:

1. Individual fit with the team: Know what you want to achieve and communicate it to everyone. Make sure all team members are aware of how the goal relates to their role.
2. Conversations are powerful: Communication builds trust and relationships which are both vital to high-performing teams. Engage staff in conversation about your vision, their development and keep coming back to the subject. That way you’ll not only engage employees you’ll join up their development with the rest of the team and business, which will strengthen the team.
3. Agree S.M.A.R.T objectives: Unite team members who share a similar role behind a common goal. Make the goal ‘S.M.A.R.T’ – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound. By making use of their knowledge experience on the job you can create something meaningful which engages individuals and enhances team performance.

High-performing legal teams take time to build and need a clear plan for success. Your efforts will be rewarded with a group of individuals that work in sync with efficiency and precision. Constant feedback, conversation, motivation and inspiring leadership ensure that your team move forward as one, performing highly along the way.

Interested in turning your firm’s staff into a high-performing team? Our ‘Ultimate Guide to a High-Performing Team’ has more and will explain in detail how to create a formidable force. Download your complimentary copy or call us on 01772 259121.

If you found this guide useful, please do take a look at our other blogs and guides and don’t forget you can register your vacancy online.

Long-winded, time-consuming and hard work; if any of those words spring to mind when you hear the phrase ‘interview process’, you’ll be relieved to know that there is a better way. An
interview checklist streamlines the process – whether you’re hiring solicitors or paralegals and support staff, a clear process and list of requirements ensure you appoint the best candidate to the post.

Because it’s not just how the candidate performs in the face-to-face interview that matters. Law firms and recruiters need to prepare too. And with the number of solicitors holding practising certificates on the rise, it’s clear that firms will be coming up against the need to interview more and more candidates.

From the very start of the process to the end, an interview checklist will prepare your firm and recruiter, help you glean the right information from interviewees, and choose the most suitable candidate. You can think of the ‘interview process’ as three steps to success: preparation, the interview itself, and decision making.

Preparation

Successfully hiring the right legal professional requires preparation. The two most important factors are:

• Timings – Don’t try and rush the process as you will increase the risk of making a hasty decision. Ensure that the timings of the interviews work for all involved in the hiring process and leave enough time for note comparison and decision-making.

• Communication – Make sure there is a good two-way flow of information with your recruiter, whether they are in-house or external. If working with an external legal recruiter, establish how information about candidates will be passed to the firm – and how often. Too infrequently and you may miss out on candidates, too regularly and it may be too piecemeal.

• Pareto Principle – The Pareto Principle is the idea that 80% of possible effects will come from 20% of the possible causes. Also known as the 80/20 rule, the Pareto Principle can be applied to interviewing, with the candidate speaking for 80% of the time and the interviewer for 20% of the time. This allows the candidate to answer questions fully, which helps give a better insight into suitability for the role.

The interview

An effective interview process will help those candidates that fit your criteria to shine and will reveal those that are not such a good match. But it can only be effective if careful thought has been given beforehand as to what’s required of the successful candidate. Decide what you’re assessing at the interview stage(s): hands-on skills and knowledge, fit, or potential for development if hiring someone with a view to a training contract for instance.

Before the interview, look over the CV and note any areas you want to ask about. For example, gaps, achievements and why the candidate is moving firms. Notice how the candidate talks about their current employer; any unprofessional comments are likely to be a warning signal.

On the day, ask some initial questions to build rapport. This will paint a fuller impression of the individual than is provided by their CV. Enquire about their experience; the more demanding and senior the role, the more detailed the questions. Be clear amongst colleagues and recruiters what’s skills are ‘nice to have’ and what’s ‘need to have’ – check these off throughout the interview.

Competency-based interview questions give the candidate a chance to answer fully, helping to keep the interview in line with the Pareto Principle. Here are some example questions and responses:

“Describe a situation when you had to work under pressure? How did you approach it? What was the outcome?”

The law can be challenging and often requires quick-thinking. Listen out for positive action and problem solving – the way in which the candidate used their professional experience to work around the issue is likely to be very telling. Even if the outcome was not successful, observe whether the candidate maintained a positive attitude or learnt anything.

“Tell me about a time when you were faced with conflicting priorities?”

A good response might sound like a candidate working through a logical process to resolve the conflict. For example, prioritising by urgency or juggling a caseload while making sure work was systematically completed.

“What do you do differently to your other colleagues who have similar roles?”

This gives candidates a chance to show off their initiative and unique skills. Doing things differently can give your firm a competitive edge, so can be highly valuable. The response ‘Nothing, really,’ is not a great sign if you’re looking for innovation.

Finally, asking a candidate about their career aspirations and progression gives you an idea of how they see themselves in your firm. An assured answer also demonstrates that the candidate has a clear vision for their own progression – and this clarity of vision could be beneficial to your firm and clients too.

The aftermath

Space for reflective thought is important, and it’s a good idea to take some time to compare notes with colleagues and your recruiter. Wait until you’ve seen all of the candidates before jumping to any conclusions – if interviewee number two impressed you and swung your vote, that’s great. But what if the last person on the list is even more suitable?

Finally, relaying the information to candidates – and being able to make a swift offer once the decision has been made – is the last piece of the puzzle. Decide what the process will be for feedback to unsuccessful candidates – and who will deliver it. And once you’ve reached the end of your checklist and are ready to say a resounding ‘yes’ to one lucky candidate, who is the best person to make the offer? Your recruiter will be able to help, although it may be more personable coming from the firm directly.

Working through a process before, during and after will ensure the interview goes smoothly and provides the result you’re looking for. Our interview checklist has all the tips and information you need to make a successful hire. Click here to contact us or call 01772 259 121 to request a copy.

And if you enjoyed this blog, you may also like to read our blog on ‘How to shortlist candidates effectively and efficiently’. Don’t forget you can register a vacancy with us online or give us a call to see if we can assist.

Hiring new legal staff is no easy task. You need to consider qualifications, hands-on experience, area of specialism, salary, bonus; the list of things to think about is endless. Add to that the fact that many areas of law are facing talent shortages and hiring becomes a real challenge. Solicitors are in short supply in a number of specialisms – the Law Society has published findings reaching critical shortage levels.

In the face of chronic shortages, you need to ensure that hiring is efficient and effective. If you can’t find the right person or if your hiring process just isn’t working then your firm will lose out in the long term. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to smooth any bumps in your hiring process.

Tips for hiring the right legal candidate

Follow these steps to help you get it right first time, every time:

1. Act fast: When a candidate with an interest responds you must act swiftly. The longer you wait to get back to someone that shows an interest in working for your firm, the greater the risk of them being snapped up by the competition.
2. Project your brand: Treat your potential employees like you would your clients – show them what’s so great about working with you and demonstrate that your firm is an attractive place to work. For a greater insight into employer branding our blog has everything you need to know.
3. Avoid mistakes when hiring: It is absolutely crucial to get the hiring process right, not just from a business perspective, but from a legal perspective. While this is true of any organisation, it is especially true for law firms. We’re not teaching you to suck eggs here, but the importance of this cannot be overstated. Ensure that the person handling your recruitment is experienced and has a sharp eye for detail so that you won’t be exposed to accusations of discrimination or lack of due diligence. Not only do you not want to avoid hot water, the embarrassment factor of getting it wrong would be significant. Which takes us to our next point…
4. Dodge recruiting blunders: Ensure that your recruitment agency is experienced and unlikely to make errors. Having an external recruitment provider cause an issue would be just as embarrassing and uncomfortable as if the mistake was made in-house.
5. Be clear on how you will go about recruiting: Will the process be in-house or outsourced? Will there be a single point of contact within the firm, or will recruitment be handled by a group of people? Having a clear process in place ensures all parties know where they stand and will enable the firm to respond quickly to candidates, giving you the best chance of hiring the right person.
6. Be transparent: If you’re going to attract the very best legal talent – and retain that talent – you need to be upfront and clear about everything: expectations, culture, the type of work available, salaries and bonuses. Any unexpected surprises could just put potential candidates off your firm, or see them jump ship shortly after joining you.
7. Have a plan for the interview stage: A clear process for assessing candidates is crucial to screening the most suitable legal professionals.
8. Ensure the recruiter understands the job spec: Nobody knows your staff or the vacant position you need to fill like you do. That’s why it’s so important to give a clear, detailed and accurate job description to whoever is doing your recruitment – especially if you’re handing the task over to an external recruiter. Ensure that they understand the job spec entirely, as being able to accurately represent your firm to prospective employees stands you in good stead for finding the solicitor with the skills and experience needed. Plus they’ll be able to filter out what you want to avoid. It may be a good idea to enlist the help of a reliable legal recruitment specialist who has experience of recruiting for the legal profession and is familiar with the intricacies of the sector.

Hiring the right person is tough for any organisation, especially so in the competitive climate of the legal profession. We hope these eight steps will make recruitment efficient and straightforward, so you can successfully appoint the right person to the post. Not only will a clear recruitment strategy and a trusted recruitment partner make the hiring process better, it’ll give your firm the boost it needs to thrive in the long term.

You might also like to read our blog on Talent pipelining for success, and if you’re looking to recruit now, get in touch with us by calling 01772 259121 or Register a Vacancy directly online.

Click the following link to download our latest report on trends in law: The 7 critical recruitment trends in law that will impact your talent pipeline in 2019.

Developing robust and effective talent pipelines is vital for any legal firm looking to grow, or indeed not looking to fall behind the competition. However, according to research from Lee Hecht Harrison, a worrying 30% of employers describe their pipeline as poor or non-existent. But why is building long term relationships with potential employees so important and how can legal firms do it effectively?

The issue is particularly important in the current market because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find and recruit good people, at a time when a number of sectors, including law, are not only suffering from skills shortages, but the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is impacting hiring too. And in order to ensure your firm doesn’t reach a stage where it can’t find the talent it requires, the best practice is to build pipelines for all the areas you may potentially need staff in the short and long term future.

The importance of employer brand

By determining the gaps between available and needed talent, firms can identify the most effective strategies for acquiring and developing those individuals. After all, it’s not easy to tap into and engage with talent pools if they have no idea who you are or what you can do for them. In order to build up this relationship, professionals need to recognise and engage with your employer brand, which takes time. It can’t simply be done overnight.

By building an effective pipeline, your firm can shorten the length of time needed to fill positions, because it will likely already have a ‘warm’ relationship with people, meaning you won’t have to recruit from a standing start. It can also help you to engage with the enormous pool of passive talent in the UK. By developing a pipeline into your organisation you can engage with individuals who would be compatible with your firm, but aren’t necessarily ready to move right now.

Identifying future talent gaps

Another significant benefit of strategic recruitment like this is that it allows you to plan for your talent needs not just now, but years into the future. It’s highly likely that your firm could diversify and break into new specialisms or geographical locations, and employing professionals to work in these new departments and locations requires careful planning. If your firm plans to move into litigation, for example, you can build up relationships with talent in this field way before you’ll ever actually need to employ them. This means that when the time does come round to recruit, you will be prepared and ready, rather than scrabbling about looking to promote yourself to potential employees. It also allows you to gain a much greater insight into the people that you’re hiring and whether they would be a good cultural fit for your firm. Anyone can come across well in an interview, but by engaging and keeping a close on eye on the people in your pipeline, you’ll be able to see if they really would be a good match for your firm.

To read more insights from the team take a look at our other blogs. And if you’re seeking a recruitment partner we should be talking. Get in touch today to see how we can help your firm.

There’s no doubt that recruitment in the legal profession today is very different than it was a decade or two ago. Firms have had to adapt to new hiring processes – online communities, digital meet-ups and candidate data all play a significant role in today’s recruitment.

And with so many different aspects now to consider, the lure of using a big recruitment agency is appealing; the legwork is done for you, the burden is taken away from your HR department, and in the past it’s proved an effective way to access large pools of available candidates.

Yet all this can come at a cost – aggressive third-party recruiters, increasing placement rates and commission fees, and dealing with recruiters that are only interested in fulfilling their activity quotas pose a potential risk when working with a large recruitment agency.

So, what if using a recruitment giant wasn’t the only option besides taking on the recruiting yourself? What if you could benefit from a more personal touch in the hiring process, enabling you to find and attract unique top legal talent that could really help your firm excel?
Here’s why you don’t have to settle for using the big recruitment firms:

• Jobs boards are universal – despite what you may hear, jobs boards are accessible for all, and there’s no reason why you need to rely on the biggest firms to advertise for you. Don’t forget that a cleverly written, engaging job description will help you stand out amongst hundreds of job vacancies advertised in exactly the same way.
• You can get the same level of candidate access elsewhere – don’t be fooled into thinking that it is only the biggest agencies that have access to the greatest range of candidates. It’s not simply a case of volume, you need access to quality, talented candidates that are the right fit for your firm – and that means tailoring the hiring process to meet your specific needs.
• Smaller firms give the personal touch – smaller recruitment agencies can put in the time, effort and legwork to build relationships over time – both with you the client, and with those all-important candidates. The best specialist agencies will have built up relationships with firms over many years, building trust and reputation as they do.
• A credible voice in the legal market is invaluable – specialist agencies will be able to demonstrate detailed knowledge of the legal sector, and you’ll benefit from working with true experts in the field, rather than relying on a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Plus, you can tap into valuable industry help and advice, as and when you need it.
• Speed takes priority – this isn’t always the case but big recruitment agencies will often prioritise filling quotas, meeting targets and making commission, over providing you with the service you’re looking for. Time is money as they say…but what if speed over quality costs you more in the long run?
• They come at a high price – as well as charging high fees for their services, you might also find costs mount up elsewhere too. Failed hires, in particular, are extremely expensive for legal firms, highlighting the importance of investing wisely from the start to find the right candidate to fit your role.
• Sophisticated data analytics aren’t just for the giants – increasingly data analytics are playing a bigger part in recruitment but you don’t have to be using a big recruitment agency in order to access them. Specialist firms will often have a better insight into the data that specifically concerns the legal profession.
• Thinking outside the box pays off – if you want to successfully reach out and recruit a range of legal professionals, you need to be thinking outside of the box. Not only are millennials more likely to jump ship, research shows that 90% of professionals are interested in hearing about new job opportunities…so it’s important you don’t overlook passive candidates, in search of only active ones.

Finding the right fit for your firm is more important now than ever before and having the right recruiting process in place – with a focus on the personal touch as well as just ‘filling the role’ – is essential.
Of course, the most effective way to find, access and attract exceptional legal talent is by ensuring you’re working with a recruitment provider that understands your firm and helps you to get the most out of your candidate search. To find out more about what a specialist firm can bring to the table, just get in touch with us here at Clayton

The New Year is an ideal time for a fresh start and, as a result, more people decide to make a career move than at any other point. So, with companies likely to see a significant increase in the amount of applications from which they must shortlist, how can they ensure that they pick out the right candidates? Here are our top five tips.

1) Before you begin to look at the applications, it’s vital that you define your ideal candidate. Use your job description and person specification to create two checklists: the essential criteria and desirable criteria needed to do the job. The standards are likely to relate to all of the following key areas, plus any others that are relevant:  education, work experience, skills and knowledge, competencies and personality traits. Be very strict about the criteria you term ‘essential’: these should relate to the qualities and traits of top performing employees in the role.

2) The next step is to begin the shortlisting process. At this stage, some employers choose to utilise the services of a specialist recruiter that knows the market inside out: they can identify the right talent quickly and may already have people among their network of candidates that might fit the role.

3) If shortlisting in-house, do so in stages.

Stage 1: Go through the applications and discard any that don’t meet all of the essential criteria. You now have a list of candidates who can all do the fundamentals of the role. At this point, it is also worthwhile noting where applications have come from so that you know where to advertise future vacancies.

Stage 2: Decide how many candidates you want to interview. Go through the remaining applications, weigh them against each item in your list of desirable criteria and record the number of criteria they meet. Some recruiters like to use a spreadsheet as this helps them to rank candidates at a glance. During this stage, you should also check that there are no inconsistencies in their CV and that spelling, punctuation, grammar, presentation and attention to detail are in line with your expectations.

4) You can now decide who to select for interview. It is important to think outside the box here: you may have a list of desirable criteria, but it’s unlikely that an individual will meet all of them, so decide which combination will have the most impact. Also, if you are replacing a current post holder, don’t have a vision of replacing like with like: think about what they could do when they joined, rather than what they can do now.

5) In addition to notifying the candidates selected for the next stage, ensure that you also contact everyone who applied –even if there were hundreds- to thank them for their interest, but letting them know that, unfortunately, this time they have not been shortlisted for interview. A superior candidate experience is crucial in today’s skills short environment. After all, a candidate that isn’t the right fit for now might just be, in the future.

If you have a vacancy and would like to talk to us about how we can help you shortlist the right person for the job, contact our specialist team of recruiters.

We usually use this blog as a platform to offer advice, tips and updates on the legal landscape. However, we’re expanding rapidly and are on the lookout for individuals to join our team. Do you have what it takes to make it as a recruiter? Here are the top five skills you’ll need to succeed.

Confidence

You’ll need to be able to hold your own with people who are experts at what they do, and don’t appreciate their time being wasted and that means you have to be confident. Nobody wants to be consulted on a potentially life changing job move by someone who they suspect might know not their specialist field as well as they say they do. You need to be confident enough to take on new areas of expertise, but also be able to portray that confidence to clients and candidates. In addition, you’ll have to be comfortable picking up the phone and engaging with people who don’t know what your credentials are and likely to be at least mildly sceptical about what you’re doing. Many jobs require people to be confident, but not many where it’s as important as it is in recruitment.

Communication

Along similar lines, you’ll need to be an effective and concise communicator and able to get your point across quickly. You’ll probably be speaking to people who are busy in their current roles and don’t want to waste hours of their lives chatting to a recruiter. You’ll also need to be able to master your email communications and online marketing on platforms like LinkedIn. After all, you’re not going to have much success if your job advert iz ritten lyk dis.

Resilience

It’s not just applicants who face rejection, recruiters do too and you need to be able to take the bumps on the road and still be able to perform to the best of your ability. You’ll have good days and bad – that’s a given – but the secret is being able to prevent the bad days from affecting your output.

Target driven and motivated

At the vast majority of firms, you’ll have certain KPIs to work to. That’s an approach that’s not suited to everyone and not all organisations have the same model, people who are motivated by the idea of working to specific goals will do well here.

Multi-tasking and speed

As a job applicant it’s unlikely you’ll have used just one recruiter to help your job search and organisations are the same and will look to multiple sources for their own talent. This means that if you can move quickly and efficiently, then you’ll be able to beat your competitors. However, you’ll also have a lot to do at once and will likely be dealing with a lot of vacancies and therefore multiple companies and even more candidates. Consequently, you must be able to juggle multiple projects and various tasks simultaneously. You’ll have to keep in mind the details, experience and motivators of a large number of people and this requires a lot of organisational competency. If you can master the idea of ‘less haste, more speed’ then you’ll do well.

Do you have what it takes?

If you’re looking for a career in a challenging and fast-moving, but also highly rewarding, industry and want to join a successful, supportive and rapidly growing organisation, then get in touch with one of our expert consultants for a chat.  And for more insights from the team take a look at our other blogs.

©Depositphotos.com/Olivier26

Sourcing legal talent has always been a concern for law firms, however according to the Law Consultancy Network, recruitment and retention is the single biggest challenge facing law firms over the next twelve months.

The survey, which was produced in partnership with the Law Gazette, found that 50% of law firms identify recruitment and retention as one of the top three challenges facing them in 2017. Cash flow was the second most cited challenge, with 21% of all firms surveyed indicting this would be a challenge over the next year. Respondents also highlighted improving profitability, succession planning and growth as key concerns for the New Year.

Commenting on the findings Andrew Otterburn, Partner at Otterburn Legal Consulting and member of the Law Consultancy Network said, “It is interesting to see that once again the key issue is recruitment and retention of staff – the key issue for most firms over the last two or three years. Cashflow and profitability is also a major issue, and many firms are vulnerable to any slowdown in property, which has boosted income in recent years. It is important that firms build a reasonably strong cash position now, in advance of any potential slowdown.”

Somewhat surprisingly, political uncertainty was only the third most cited option, with just 18% of respondents indicating that it is one of their top three strategic concerns for the next year. However, it is clear that Brexit remains a long term concern for most law firms, with 74% of respondents indicating they are either ‘slightly’ or ‘very’ concerned about the impact Brexit could potentially have. Just one in four respondents claim that they aren’t concerned about the effect of Brexit on their business.

Two thirds of respondents had considered the possibility of a merger in the last six months, the highest figure recorded since the second half of 2014. Firms are also more optimistic about the potential of a merger taking place, with the number of approaches made or received up from 42 in the previous half to 47 in the latter half of 2016.

It’s unsurprising that recruitment and retention of top legal talent is a key concern for law firms. As the legal market becomes increasingly crowded, legal employers need to ensure they are able to create effective talent pipelines and prevent leading lawyers from moving to other firms, after all their profitability depends on the hard work of their partners and associates.

What are the key concerns for your law firm in 2018?

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Given the increasingly competitive nature of the UK’s legal sector, it’s somewhat unsurprising that law firms are constantly looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage over one another and with pressure from the Big Four mounting and the number of boutique offerings growing, practices are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions. Just under half (43%) of law firms are looking to merge with other businesses over this year according to accountancy firm Smith & Williamson’s annual survey.

Mergers on the rise

Feedback from over 100 UK-based law firms found that 43% were looking to merge or acquire in the next 12 months, compared to only 28% last year. Given the increased pressure from new boutique practices and the ever looming threat of the Big Four Accountancy firms, it’s hardly surprising that 59% of the firms surveyed indicated that competitive pressures have increased in the last year. According to the research, firms consider a focus on specialist sectors as the greatest opportunity in the next two to three years, followed by UK expansion and lateral hires.

Giles Murphy, head of professional practices at Smith & Williamson highlighted that “Focusing on specialist sectors can help firms to strengthen their niche and so differentiate themselves. Like any brand, being able to explain and demonstrate why your service is different and superior to the competition is fundamental to taking market share.” He noted that the right acquisition combined with an effective strategy can help firms to scale-up and develop market presence in a chosen niche or region.

According to Murphy there is a growing trend of smaller acquisitions rather than mergers which can result in two companies’ taking years to reconcile roles, remuneration structures, disparate HR policies, and working culture. The latter perhaps one of the most important, as any drastic changes to working culture could result in talent moving elsewhere.

Strong leadership crucial

It’s crucial that there are strong leaders who are dedicated to managing the merging cultures, while the most dominant culture is likely to assert itself over the new combined company, its likely there might be friction at a variety of levels. Issues at partner level are likely to set the tone for the entire practice, so it’s vital that the managing partner has a clear idea of how to tackle any discrepancies in culture.

It’s also important to emphasise the firms’ new core values, and ensure that all lawyers are aware of how they add value to the practice. Consultation should play a large role in establishing these key values, if the opinions from partners on both sides are not considered it’s unlikely they’ll be adopted effectively.

Identifying the key influencers throughout the firm is also important, often these may be senior partners who are reluctant to rack up too many non-billable hours, but they will play an important role in the cohesion of the two firms. It’s crucial to educate them on the new culture as their peers will likely look to them to set the example moving forwards.

Mergers give firms the opportunity to expand their niche or to venture further afield, and ultimately improve their turnover. However without strong leadership, they can leave firms focusing inwards, rather than outwards at the new potential that mergers bring, so a strong set of core values and a plan to tackle cultural integration is vital.

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