FIRM-WIDE INITIATIVES – CASE STUDIES
(1) DEVELOPMENT CENTRES
A top 10 City firm wanted help to design and deliver an off-site Development Centre for their senior associates as part of their continuing professional development and preparation for the process of becoming candidates for partnership promotion. The Centre provided an opportunity to gather information and feedback as a basis for reviewing career objectives and creating a clear plan for the next phase of the associates’ career.
PCP designed a bespoke programme for the event with practical exercises focussing on client relationship management, business planning, business development and people management skills. The Centre included pre-work and information gathering, group exercises, discussion sessions, role plays (using professional role players), one to one coaching and regular learning capture sessions.
The Centre uses input both from PCP’s coaches and the firm’s partners and members of the Development team. The exercises are observed and confidential moderated feedback is provided to the participants by the PCP coaches based on the firm’s competency framework, to identify strengths and areas for development. The Centre forms one part of a longer programme of support for the individual’s development involving liaison with partners and colleagues, the building of a personal development plan and one to one coaching (provided by PCP) to drive through the implementation of the plan.
PCP has run the Centre for several years and it is regularly updated and refined to reflect changes in market conditions. Many of the participants have progressed successfully to become partners in the firm.
(2) MENTORING
A top 20 firm wished to introduce an effective mentoring scheme as part of an overall career management framework for associates. The firm wished to involve all partners, not just those perceived to be naturally good mentors, to emphasise that this was a key business initiative. Working with PCP a scheme was designed that created appropriate boundaries for mentoring, an effective mentor-mentee matching process and an administrative framework to support the process. Initial and follow-up training was given to the partners and mentees were briefed on what to expect from the scheme and how to make the most of it. Mechanisms were put in place to monitor frequency of meetings, to enable changes in pairings to be easily made and without any sense of failure.
A follow up survey 3 years later showed that nearly two thirds of the mentoring pairings were working effectively, and over one third could identify measurable and specific outcomes from it. The partners who were mentoring also felt that they had developed new skills, built relationships across the firm and learnt more about the values and motivations of a younger generation of lawyers.
(3) ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION
Firms who assess the qualities and characteristics of their lawyers, together with on-the-job strengths and areas for development have a more accurate prediction of how they will perform. Help in pre-selection assessment by an external expert provides objectivity and more robust recruitment decisions, leading to greater certainty that the individual recruited is the best fit and likely to perform well.
Recruitment decisions are important and expensive and having objective analysis carried out prior to selection can help avoid costly mistakes. We use a range of psychometric instruments to help identify individual styles, working preferences and personality characteristics. Initially we will work with you to establish the key characteristics required for the role and agree which psychometrics are the most appropriate assessment tools. We also undertake one-to-one sessions, feeding back results to the candidates. A detailed report is provided to the firm following these discussions, describing the strengths and style of the individual. These can then be matched to the particular requirements and culture of the firm and department. The information provided in our report gives both the firm and the new joiner valuable assistance to support the first steps in a successful career with the firm. The reports are also valuable in identifying development needs and preferred management styles for the successful candidate.
Our consultants are trained in the interpretation and feedback of psychometric tools and have worked with many professionals to provide in-depth analysis of strengths and characteristics. We have worked with law firms and other organisations in assessment exercises and are very aware of the challenges faced in trying to recruit the most appropriate people. We have shown that adding an objective ‘layer’ to a recruitment interview can help add credibility and accuracy to the process.
(4) COMPETENCY PROFILING
A leading global law firm needed to establish clear criteria for a diverse associate population based in a number of different practice groups. The project was seen as a significant step towards moving away from the traditional PQE lock step method of progression and as a tool for managing performance and career development. We worked with the client to establish clear objectives and expectations around the commercial benefits of undertaking the project, identifying key sponsors within the business to support and promote the initiative. We also worked with key management and associate groups to ensure clear understanding around how the competency framework was going to be used and applied.
In order to create buy-in and ensure credibility we established focus groups at partner and associate level to explore and agree the competencies and behaviours that associates needed to display at different performance levels for trainee, junior, mid and senior associate. Using behavioural interviewing techniques a draft framework was established which was discussed and agreed with the initial group of sponsoring partners and associate forums.
A detailed communication strategy was developed and the new competency framework was launched. The framework became a key tool in assessing and managing performance, enabling ratings and compensation to be awarded based on performance. It also gave a clear path for career management purposes through the identification of significant landmarks and for focused development for associates.
(5) 360° FEEDBACK
Feedback, especially from those who work for us, is one of the most powerful catalysts for change. In the partnership culture of law firms it is a particularly important tool in addressing partner behaviour and providing a co-operative setting to address issues and is often more effective than a traditional appraisal meeting.
The dilemma however is in designing and running a feedback process that is believed to be honest, effective and non-attributable to specific individuals. Fully automated schemes tend to become bland fairly quickly, as individuals become careful about what they contribute, whereas a personally moderated and delivered process is usually beyond the resources of all but the largest HR teams.
At PCP we have designed and delivered schemes for a number of top twenty firms over a number of years. This has enabled us to track progress, both individual and departmental or firm-wide, and build up some norms against which to compare results. Brief feedback is given to each partner, leading to discussions about coaching and training needs, and a report given to the firm. Once the process is trusted by both partners and assistants, the results are robust enough to be used as part of the partner appraisal process, whilst still maintaining a strong developmental focus.
BACK TO FIRM-WIDE INITIATIVES