Page 8 - Partnership

S8 | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 | Partnership

Professional Development:

A Key Element of Law Firm Culture

ticipate, but support their participation, even

if it requires time away from their desks. This
means creating room for their team members
to take courses and promoting time for the
“white space” needed to put those new skills
to use. Law firm management should also
participate in workshops, CLE courses and
other programs that are offered. Leading by
example creates greater buy-in across the irm.

At Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, professional
development is one of the irm’s core pur-
poses and it is ingrained in everything that
we do. Our irm established the Professional
and Individual Goal Program (P&I) to offer
all attorneys and staff the opportunity to
complete a goal within a year that the irm
will help support. Our support has included
sponsoring employees in continuing educa-

tion, certiication courses, professional mem-
berships and conferences.
Supported goals have included an associ-
ate publishing a book on law irm internships,
several of our attorneys and paralegals receiv-
ing certiicates as Certiied Fraud Examiners,
an attorney improving foreign language skills
through personal tutoring, an associate further
developing leadership skills and executive pres-

ence through professional coaching, and sup- CK
porting our managers and their team members TO
in obtaining various certiications and becoming BIGS
involved in industry associations.
empower them to drive their own career leadership across industries where, according Our annual Professional Enrichment Week
BY ALAN TARTER
advancements.
to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2015 is dedicated to providing employees with best
In many law firms, attorneys and staff survey, culture and engagement, building lead- practices in productivity, stress and time man-
The legal industry is a competitive job quickly hit a ceiling in their personal and ership and the need to transform and acceler- agement, technology, itness, nutrition and

market. From compensation and prac- professional growth. At our irm, we consider ate corporate learning and development are inancial health that could be implemented in
tice management to culture and work/life that to be highly demotivating and have devel- the top three issues facing businesses today.
the workplace and at home. Speakers include
balance, law irms are challenged with creat- oped a culture focused on helping all of our stress management coaches, inancial advi-
ing incentives to attract and retain top tal- attorneys and staff to reach their personal Challenges in Developing a Program
sors, personal trainers, nutritionists, tech-
ent. Now more than ever, law irm leaders and professional goals.
nology professionals and eficiency experts.
must create an engaging environment that By budgeting for professional develop- A comprehensive professional develop-
promotes learning and creates growth oppor- ment programs and dedicating sufficient ment program can be challenging to imple- Foster Leadership, Promote From Within
tunities at every level.
irm resources to manage them, irms show ment from both a cost and operations
In the Society for Human Resources Man- employees that they are personally invested standpoint. A solid program should include: Internal talent development is a key factor

agement’s 2015 Employee Job Satisfaction and in their careers. By implementing a profes- integrating professional development during in succession planning. Hiring internally has
Engagement Survey, 42 percent of employ- sional development program, irms can better the onboarding process; ongoing assessment signiicant advantages. Existing employees are
ees rated professional development as very retain the skilled employees and attorneys and management; developing a culture of already well-versed in irm procedures and
important to their job satisfaction and 47 per- essential to its long-term success.
learning including providing adequate time business priorities, have established relation-
cent of employees noted the importance of to learn; and creating opportunities to apply ships with key stakeholders and have a deep
career advancement.
Development-Retention Connection
new skills.
understanding of the irm’s clients.
Law irms also have to adjust their strate- Additionally, while law irm structure or Firms can also provide leadership oppor-
gies to keep up with a changing workforce. A high employee turnover rate in any stafing may not always lend itself to formal tunities by creating dual roles. For example,
According to The U.S. Bureau of Labor industry is damaging to business operations. promotions, the irm can develop an atmo- attorneys might be encouraged to serve as

Statistics, in 2015 millennials became the From an operations perspective, the loss of an sphere of both formal and informal mobility. dedicated practice group leaders, supervi-
majority representation of the workforce. employee impacts productivity and ultimately Employees must feel that they can advance sors and mentors or serve on committees. A
In a recent PwC Millennials at Work sur- client service. The time spent replacing, train- by taking on new responsibilities and offering secretary might serve a dual role supporting
vey, personal learning and development ing and integrating new talent can be substan- ideas in their current roles.
aspects of a departmental practice manage-
was their irst choice beneit. This makes tial. From a culture standpoint, turnover can Law firms should also demonstrate ment initiative.
professional development an increasingly have a negative impact on overall morale.
top-down support in which leadership should We encourage employees interested in
important aspect of succession planning. The cost of employee turnover versus the encourage and reward development.
assuming leadership roles to take on discrete
By investing in its future leaders, law irms beneits of retaining well-trained employees projects that enhance their ability to lead

will ensure that employees have the right versed in company policies and procedures Add Professional Development to Culture
teams and initiatives.
skills to match the irm’s growing needs and
make employee retention a top priority. Pro-
viding employees numerous opportunities A commitment to professional development Support Entrepreneurship
to develop and apply new skills keeps them should be embraced by your management
ALAN TARTER is managing partner at Tarter Krinsky engaged and motivated.
team and partners. Firm leadership should It is also important to foster entrepre-
& Drogin.
These facts have caught the attention of
not only encourage their direct reports to par-
neurship. At our irm, we believe » Page S11