Why change is necessary
Peter Scott
Peter Scott Consulting
Why adapting to change is necessary
“It is not the strongest of the
species that survive nor the most
intelligent, but the ones who are
most adaptive to change”
Charles Darwin
‘Origin of species’
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The forces driving change
The changing needs of clients
In order to provide clients with what they
want, law firms need critical mass
Breadth and depth of resource - people
- Rise of the national firms
- Global firms
- Need for consolidation
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Other drivers of change?
Technology
Economic forces
Globalisation
Political forces
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Impact on legal profession?
This will happen to your talent unless……
TALENT
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£
Are you struggling to
attract and keep good
people?
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Why partners leave law firms
1
1
2
2
Personal reasons
Pushed out
Total number of mentions
Number of times as 1st or 2nd reason
Profile of firm
11
Equity sooner
4
Culture of firm
15
7
25
10
21 25
More opportunity
Quality of work
33
21
26
Financial
0
10
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20
29
30
40
Do you have mechanisms to
prevent the attrition of high
quality performers?
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If you have lost good people for
any of those reasons…….
Face up to reality
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What is the real cost of replacing people?
Disruption
Recruitment fees
Training of new recruits
Effect on morale of people leaving
Loss of relationships/clients
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Face up to your sacred cows
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How to improve your chances?
Carving up the profits is not a
substitute for making sufficient
profits
Is your average PEP above or below
the average PEP in your markets?
- if below, you will be AT RISK
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Reward
Your values
and culture
strategies to
help attract and retain
the best people
Career
Development
Performance
Tracking &
Feedback
Training
&
Development
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Your values?
What is valued in your firm?
Do you reward what you value?
Do you invest in what you value?
What does it take to succeed at
your firm?
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Do you invest in what you value?
Values
Skills & Behaviours
Performance Metrics – Quality /Quantity
Performance Review
Closing the Performance Gap
Learning & Development Strategy
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Reward
Your values
and culture
strategies to
help attract and retain
the best people
Career
Development
Performance
Tracking &
Feedback
Training
&
Development
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Reward - focus on the BIG ISSUES
Align your reward strategies with
your firm’s objectives
- to help the firm achieve its
VISION
-its ability to COMPETE
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Reward
Your values
and culture
strategies to
help attract and retain
the best people
Career
Development
Performance
Tracking &
Feedback
Training
&
Development
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Do you have a transparent partner
admission / progression process?
Do you have an associate / partner
development programme in place?
Do you ask your people about their
career ambitions?
Do you focus your investment in people
to advance your and their objectives,
rather than sheep-dipping people
through training courses?
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Do you have succession planning strategies?
“Ahh….only 5 more years to go”
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Reward
Your values
and culture
strategies to
help attract and retain
the best people
Career
Development
Performance
Tracking &
Feedback
Training
&
Development
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Do you invest in what you value?
Values
Skills & Behaviours
Performance Metrics – Quality /Quantity
Performance Review
Closing the Performance Gap
Learning & Development Strategy
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Performance metrics
Do you measure what
matters?
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To build your ability to attract and retain….
Do you have systems to
manage relationship conflict?
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“Relative worth”
“I’m so
marvellous..
…so why is he
earning more
than me?”
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Are we all going in the same direction?
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Maister’s “Predictive package”
“Client satisfaction is a top priority at our firm”
“We have no room for those who put their personal agenda ahead
of the interests of the clients or the office”
“Those who contribute the most to the overall success of the office
are the most highly rewarded”
“Management gets the best work out of everybody in the office”
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Maister’s “Predictive Package”
“Around here you are required, not just encouraged, to learn and
develop new skills”
“We invest a significant amount of time in things that will pay off in
the future”
“People within our office always treat others with respect”
“The quality of supervision on client projects is uniformly high”
“The quality of professionals in our office is as high as can be
expected”
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A final thought….
“Change before you have to”
Jack Welch
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Any questions?