Like most industries, the legal industry has not traveled unscathed through the Great Resignation, with movement of professionals between firms (and out of the industry altogether) escalating as North America ploddingly battles its way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consequently, firms are increasingly finding creative and meaningful ways to retain employees. While paying well and having talented supervisors who know how to make employees feel appreciated and satisfied in their work remain strategies of prime importance, law firm leadership is working hard to enhance relationships with employees, an effort which may well pay dividends on the retention front.
Here, we outline some of the strategies that firms have been exploring to enrich the employee experience and retain staff in the face of the Great Resignation.
Showing Purpose: Connecting Meaningfully and Regularly on Topics Professional and Personal
“Talk to your employees” is age-old advice. And today, it is becoming especially important for supervisor-employee conversations to revolve around a range of topics in addition to project status. These conversations are now more than just “check ins”; they are discussions that help to share firm goals and visions, mentor or guide the team member, and provide transparency and “inside baseball” information. This can be done by talking about short- and long-term goals, professional satisfaction, challenges that people may be facing that are impacting their job, ways they can better support each other, etc.
Particularly during this period of increased remote work, it can be easy to allow employees to slip into the background or be left out of the loop. Although they may be perfectly content in their work, without a sense of purpose they may become unmotivated and dissatisfied, and/or develop a sense of ennui that leads them to start seeking out alternatives. By regularly soliciting feedback and communicating meaningfully with employees, firms have found that they can play an active role in maintaining their staff’s happiness and holding turnover at bay.
Showing Understanding: Demonstrating Flexibility, Whatever Form That Takes
The pandemic forced upheaval upon people’s routines. Many struggled mightily to maintain their work-life balance. Others thrived, as time vampires like daily commutes and in-office distractions were eliminated from the equation. Firms responded by demonstrating greater flexibility in schedules, work location, etc. to keep things running smoothly.
As we are emerging from the pandemic, numerous firms (and companies) largely continue to be flexible to individual situations and needs, at least in the short-term. There is recognition that moving too abruptly from extreme flexibility to imposed rigidity will likely lead to employee disengagement and cause some to seek out new opportunities, if only to maintain the flexibility they had during the height of the pandemic. Firms are now endeavoring to strike the right balance between being accommodating while ensuring that they are not losing the winning culture that makes them such a great place to work.
This flexibility can take various forms. Most prominently, this could mean working out a remote or hybrid schedule, provided that such arrangements do not adversely affect an employee’s productivity and the output the firm requires. It could also mean being flexible on a day-to-day basis to allow employees to handle non-work-related complications that arise, with the understanding that deadlines must be met and work can be done outside of the 9-to-5 timeframe. In addition, some firms are investigating whether alternative work schedules will ensure they are getting their employees “best time” – times where they are not distracted by other events of the day that need to be addressed.
These are not “imperatives” for firms to follow – firms may find these particular approaches do not work. The key is to find ways to be flexible that DO work for both the firm and its staff. Firms recognize that good employees will get the work done that needs to be done—and will do it well—under a variety of circumstances, and by showing they are attuned both to their employees’ individual situations and to what needs to be done to maintain firm success, they will be well-positioned to navigate through the current industry-wide challenges.
Showing Worth: Ramping Up the Benefits
“Benefits” have traditionally been seen as health insurance, 401(k) plans, vacation time, and HSAs/FSAs, and all remain important elements of a good benefits package. On top of these, many firms excelled at offering additional tangible and intangible benefits during the heart of the pandemic, and they are now looking at how to incorporate these “lessons learned” into daily practice. This means maintaining some of the benefits that became more common during that time, while also researching other ways to provide support to their workforce.
For example, if an employee has times they need to pick up/drop off children at day care during “core” business hours, and it presents no conflicts with that person’s work, then firms may decide it is worthwhile to look into the feasibility of schedule flexibility. Additionally, access to mental health resources remains critical. Even with the worst of COVID-19 seemingly behind us, many are having difficulty adjusting to the resulting changes in society or are still being affected by pandemic-era happenings. Firms may want to explore providing a pipeline to benefits like counseling resources and mental health apps like Calm or Headspace.
Finally, supporting employees’ physical and mental well-being is a central concern. Does the firm have a fitness center on-site or provide discounted rates to nearby gyms, offer healthy menu options in its lunch facility, provide regular or periodic access to a nutritionist, and/or have tools in place to guide employees when they are struggling with wellness issues, such as physical ailments or substance abuse? Firms have found that if employees feel that their firm can provide a good safety net, the temptation to leave is significantly reduced, even when they have good offers on the table to go elsewhere.
Although the Great Resignation will continue to have an impact on the legal world, firms are demonstrating that they are adaptable and have the tools necessary to show employees that they are important to them, and that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere. By emphasizing genuine care and concern for employee well-being—be it through regular communication, renewed flexibility, enhanced benefits, or other gestures—firms are making increased efforts to keep their employees engaged, happy, and onboard for the long haul.
For further reading on this topic, feel free to read Forbes’ Top Five Tips For Retaining Employees During The Great Resignation, Reuters’ report Culture, Not Cash, Is Key to Lower Turnover at Law Firms, SHRM’s How to Retain Employees During the Great Resignation, and Dice’s 6 Ways to Create a Winning Culture During the ‘Great Resignation.’