What firms are doing to win the ‘war for talent’
Outsourcing and hiring global talent are just a couple of ways in which SME law firms are overcoming talent
The pressure to compete with increased salaries, alongside a push for more work-from-home options, are challenges these firms face when attracting and holding onto lawyers. Faced with new realities, a mix of practice managers, managing partners and HR leaders that LPM hosted at a roundtable with PractiveEvolve in November last year, talked about how they are rethinking old ways of working to survive.
Some firms have resorted to outsourcing services like marketing content and IT support to teams and individuals living outside the UK to reduce costs without compromising on quality. Others have started to hire foreign nationals on Skilled Worker visas in a bid to win the war for talent. But these strategies also come with their own challenges — such as how to embed a ‘one firm’ culture across both onsite and remote teams, or navigating the complexities of visa sponsorship to employ foreign nationals.
Expanding the talent pool to non-British citizens, several said, offers an opportunity to inject new skills and perspectives into their firm, enriching the cultural diversity of their business at the same time. One managing partner commended the work ethic of foreign professionals and said productivity levels at the firm had increased as a result.
To retain its junior lawyers, one firm invested in HR systems that support remote work and flexible hours. It also provided those lawyers with support to encourage resilience in the face of intensifying client demands and is working on fostering continuous learning and career growth.
The perennial problem of succession planning also came up, with many noting the younger generation is not as interested in becoming partners. However, one managing partner dissented, saying young lawyers were very interested in becoming partners but with different ideas about what the path to partner should look like.
One leader said it had adopted an employee-ownership model, with promising initial results as engagement and productivity levels have risen across the firm — partnership is no longer the Holy Grail, some leaders agreed.
While talent management continues to puzzle SME leaders, many seem to be responding by tapping into the global talent pool, offering more flexibility and HR support, and seriously considering their succession plans.
