Recruitment – getting it right first time

Claire Rankovic, recently appointed by leading regional law firm Higgs LLP as its internal recruiter, talks about the challenges and opportunities involved in recruiting the right people first time.

With over 20 years’ experience in legal recruitment working – in-house and at agencies – I believe the competition amongst law firms to secure the most talented and dedicated workforce is the fiercest it’s ever been.

Consequently, ensuring that the recruitment process is right the first time is, in my opinion, vital. The cost of hiring the wrong person is not only extremely high, the detrimental knock-on effect for members of the team and the firm as a whole is significant.  Research has indicated that the overall cost of the recruitment process with agency fees, onboarding and training, potential loss of productivity and the time it takes for the new employee to become effective can be well in excess of £40,000 – a significant outlay for any business.  All the more reason for avoiding mistakes and managing expectations properly.

As a service industry, we are about meeting people’s needs, be it our clients or our employees.

In my experience, the clear benefits of in-house recruitment over the use of a contingency recruiter or agency – valuable though they are – is that the fit in terms of both the needs of the role and the team can be more accurately assessed and met.

We have witnessed a significant change in the landscape of the workplace environment over the last 18 months, a change to which all organisations have had to respond.  In the current candidate-driven marketplace, which we as a law firm readily acknowledge, I see us as being better equipped than an agency to position ourselves in that market with the right company-specific messages.

Flexibility in working practices, shared decision-making and respect for individual beliefs and values are just a few of the messages that sell a practice to a potential recruit, matched to a clear pathway for career progression and personal development. For me, legal recruitment is now more than ever about building strong, sustainable relationships, in order to both reinforce our reputation and treat our candidates well.

Recognising and responding to the significant diversity in our client base is also vital for Higgs LLP and to that end we have a built a team that reflects that situation. Building the trust and respect of the clients we serve is central to what we are about, it’s part of our DNA and the reason why we’ve signed up to the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter.

People are at the heart of any business – large or small – and law is no exception. Without the right people, a business is much less efficient and effective. I see finding the right people as both a challenge for me and an opportunity for Higgs. It is a challenge that is most rewarding when the fit works for everyone.