Finding a new job is tricky. Knowing where to look and assessing the opportunities that are available can be baffling. Yet that doesn’t stop many solicitors looking for their ideal job. The Law Society published extensive research in 2015 on how to develop legal careers and enhance the return on talent. The findings showed that 26% of solicitors planned to move jobs within a year, rising to 35% among millennials.

So how can solicitors navigate the choppy seas of recruitment to success? A clear plan and an experienced recruiter at your side make a lot of difference. Our two-stage guide gives you all you need to know.

Stage 1: Planning

Job search methods

The legal job search has undergone significant change in recent years; much like other professions, solicitors are looking to the internet more and more when searching for their dream role. Our 2018 Salary Survey shows that the use of the internet in legal recruitment continues to grow and includes channels such as social media. There’s still a place for more traditional methods of recruitment, however, you’ll need to be online to give yourself the best chance of success.

Don’t forget about the power of your network either! Word of mouth and personal referrals can be a powerful way to get in front of the right person. Alert contacts that you’re looking for a new role, attend seminars, events and put yourself out there. It could well be a case of who you know, not what you know.

Understanding the opportunities that are available

Be clear about what’s on offer out there. Assess which skills are in demand in your region or city. Are yours in surplus or high demand? Do you specialise in a particular area of the law, or do you have broader skills such as experience working abroad or in a coveted sector that could be an asset? There are opportunities out there, but it’s having the patience to figure out how they could work for you that will give you the greatest advantage when you put yourself in front of a prospective employer.

Consider your personal development and aspirations too, and what a new job means for your aims. Would you be willing to move for a job, commute, or learn something new? Balance your needs and expectations versus the demand and reality of what’s available.

Stage 2: Enlisting help

Recruiting the right recruiter

A recruiter is potentially the job seeker’s best friend – but to put your trust in them to find the right role, you’ll need to feel sure that they understand the job requirements. A specialist legal recruitment agency can be a real help here. Sixty-eight per cent of firms say that they prefer to use specialist legal recruiters to source candidates: partnering up with a recruiter who has industry contacts and a fine-tuned knowledge of the legal sector gives you the best chance at getting in front of the right people.

Clarity on skills: a two-way street

Make it really clear to the recruiter just how your skills and experience fit with what the firm is looking for. They will then be in a strong position when putting you forward for consideration. Equally, ensure that you’re comfortable with what’s being asked of the candidate by the firm. That way, when you reach the interview stage you’ll feel calm, prepared and confident and will make a good impression.

Landing your dream role isn’t easy. And when you’re eager to get stuck into something new the process of job hunting often feels endless. However, if you spend a little time doing your research and enlist the help of an experienced recruitment professional it makes a great difference. And when the recruiter knows the legal industry and the intricacies of your role the weight of job hunting is taken off your shoulders – and you’ll be in an exciting new post before you know it.

If you found this blog of interest you may like to read our other post on 5 Tips for handing in your notice.
Or if you’re looking for that perfect role, then check out all the vacancies we have available, and please do register your CV with us.

Legal talent; often it feels as though there isn’t any! And it’s not just a feeling either; Clayton Legal surveyed law firms nationwide and found that more than 70% of firms believe that a skills shortage is one of the biggest obstacles their firm faces in 2018. And while the statistics make for sobering reading, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are specific steps firms can take to give themselves a better chance of attracting, and retaining, the very best talent. A strong employer brand and a reliable recruitment partner could make the difference your firm needs.

Building a brand: need to know

If you were asked to name a famous brand, there’s probably half a dozen or more that you could name off the top of your head. We’ve all heard of consumer brands like Coca-Cola, but what about employer brands?

An employer brand should be to your potential employees what your market brand is to the people that buy your services. It should be appealing and should essentially portray your firm as somewhere desirable to work – as it is, no doubt. An employer brand might showcase the following aspects of your firm:

• Success stories – what have people achieved since working in your practice?
• Culture – is it work hard, play hard, or do you encourage staff to pursue a healthy work/life balance?
• Type of work – is the work varied, challenging and interesting?
• Training and development – what opportunities are there to enhance skills, and how might a solicitor grow their career with you?
• Benefits – apart from salary and financial reward, what are the benefits of working for your firm over and above another?

Reassurance

Post-recession and post-Brexit, solicitors want to know that the law firm they decide to work for is a solid investment of their time and professional training. Firms need to reassure potential candidates that their prospects are good and that they fit together in terms of values.

A strong employer brand shouldn’t just work to attract new talent, it should help to retain existing talent. In fact, one of the most effective ways to devise a strategy for creating an employer brand is to communicate with your existing staff. Find out what motivates them, what they would like to see more or less of, and how their experience could be improved upon and you’ll have a good idea of what potential employees are looking for.

Getting the right support for your brand

Having an employer brand is a valuable asset and should pay dividends in the long term. A great employer brand, however, takes time and dedication to create, establish and maintain. And all the while the war for the top legal talent rages on. The very best legal talent work hard and it’s hard work to attract them to your firm too!

Working with a recruitment partner alongside your own brand-building activity can be incredibly beneficial. An established recruitment agency will already have their own brand and a good reputation, which reflects well on you and provides reassurance to the candidate. What’s more, a recruitment agency, especially one that specialises in legal recruitment, will have their ear to the ground and be able to keep you informed of candidate feedback, motivations and other considerations to be aware of when establishing and maintaining an employer brand.

Not just a helping hand

Clayton Legal’s report on Employee Branding firmly establishes it’s a key driver in recruiting the best legal talent. It doesn’t appear that the skills shortage will be coming to an end any time soon. The advantage of working with a recruitment partner is that while you’re busy building up your employer brand, they can access their existing pool of talent to find you the best candidate.

An agency that understands the legal job market is key too. They can use their extensive knowledge of the sector to filter out the very best talent that matches up with your needs. And while the skills shortage isn’t likely to disappear overnight, it can take a weight off your shoulders knowing that a professional is handling your firm’s recruitment.

If you’re thinking of creating an employer brand or think that your existing brand needs re-developing, then why not get in touch with Clayton Legal? We’d be happy to chat about employer branding or help with finding the best legal talent for your firm.

If you’d like to find out more about the benefits of using a specialised recruitment company, have a look at our blog on how to get the best out of your recruitment company.

Job satisfaction is something that’s frequently held up as the pinnacle of working life. Yet more often than not developing a career offers the real satisfaction, not just having a job. Performing tasks because they have to be done feels a lot different to working towards a greater cause that’s leading your career somewhere. So, whether you’re just starting out or you have decades of post-qualified experience we’ve put together a list of factors to consider when looking for a firm that offers a career not just a job.

Junior level: getting off to a flying start

When you’re just starting out, the training that takes you over the line to become a qualified solicitor is so important. Whether you take the route through university as a law undergraduate, or you take another academic subject, you need to feel confident that a firm has the right processes in place to support you on your journey to professional practice.

Look out for firms that have established training programmes for graduates and, crucially, have a record of success. When you’ve invested time and money in education and training to develop your career, a firm that can confidently support the move from trainee to qualified practitioner is invaluable; if the foundation is shaky then everything built on top will be unstable too.

Life in the middle lane: taking it up a gear

With a few years’ experience solicitors are in a good position to make decisions about their career that can bring exciting new ventures and opportunities. At this point, adding strings to your bow is a good idea. This could be about increasing your value as a whole. For example, you could take a Law Society-approved management course and be able to supervise an office with three years’ PQE. This increases your responsibility and makes you more valuable as a whole. It gives you skills that aren’t just law-related, such as people management and other soft skills, broadening your skill set.

If you’re thinking of making a change or heading in a certain direction this point in your career would be a good time to do so. Look out for a firm that matches your interests and can offer training that deepens your knowledge as this will allow you to carve out a particular route for your career. On the flip side, firms that cover a lot of different areas of law may appeal. Although you may stick with one general area, being exposed to different aspects will keep things interesting. Being a generalist adds variety to working like, so if that appeals look out for firms that can support this. Secondments can be a good way to broaden your skills too, without committing wholeheartedly to a particular direction.

Don’t stop growing: senior career progression

For many solicitors, reaching the status of partner is the pinnacle of their career. And while industry figures suggest that the number of partners nationally is declining, partners constitute a significant proportion of solicitors making up nearly a third of the profession. If this is something that interests you then it can be a good idea to look out for firms that are growing. You may stand a better chance of reaching a senior level if there is room at the top. Keep an eye out for firms that have clear strategies in place for developing partners, have clear succession plans and have established processes for dealing with this.

Progressing to the level of partner is much more than evidence of ability, it offers some significant benefits. Being a partner brings with it the chance to make an impact on the profession and to take the firm in a certain direction that you envisage. It also enables you the chance to influence and offer help to those below you and shape the direction of their career, as yours was by your seniors.

Whatever stage of your professional life you’re at it’s important to keep thinking about the future and how the present builds towards that. Keep in mind that as you move up the career ladder what you want from a career may change and the firm that fitted your objectives may no longer do so. Of course, building a career entails having a job, but remember to keep thinking about how that job feeds into your overall career – if it doesn’t then maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.

If you found this blog interesting, please look at more of our blogs on how to get a promotion and the secret of success, or if you’re looking for that perfect role, send us your CV. Alternatively,  you can check out all the vacancies we have available.

A work-life balance is something that we’re often told we need, yet many of us are guilty of throwing ourselves into the work part, forgetting about paying the same attention to the rest of life. So how can you tell if your work-life balance is off kilter? We’ve put together a guide to help you recognise warning signs, how to achieve a more balanced situation, and why it all matters.

Signs your work-life balance is out of sync

The first step to achieving a more harmonious work-life balance is recognising when there could be a problem. If you’ve experienced any of these symptoms it could be a red flag that your work-life split is off balance:

• If you rarely leave the office at 5.30pm it could be a sign that your work-life balance is weighing too heavily towards work. Of course, everyone has those days when something urgent crops up at 5.25pm, but if it’s just you and a few stragglers at 6 o’clock, perhaps your work-life balance needs some attention. If it’s just you and the cleaner in the office at 7.30pm every evening, it’s time to start asking questions.

• You go to work, go home, eat, mindlessly scroll through Netflix and collapse into bed. Maybe you don’t even eat at home, you heat up a supermarket meal in the microwave and eat at your desk. You’ve no time for the gym, socialising or after-work activities. You’ll likely feel exhausted and have little interest in anything once you leave the office: these are clear indicators that you’re mentally drained and suffering from overwork.

• Feeling irritable and resentful towards your job, boss, company, or colleagues is a sure sign that your work-life balance is out of sync. There’s no denying that work can be stressful, and colleagues can be, how shall we say, trying at times. But feeling that way regularly, even daily, is a clear signal that your work-life balance needs reassessing.

How to achieve a work-life balance

When you’re in the cycle of working late and taking work home, either physically or mentally, it can be difficult to get out of the habit. One way to break the cycle is to schedule activities for after work. You could have dinner with a friend or loved one or make plans to go to an exercise class or running group with a friend: anything that involves meeting up with someone else. The activity isn’t important, the key thing is that you’re compelled to leave the office by a certain time and not let someone you care about down.

And if work has got you feeling blue, try incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Not only is exercise good for your physical health, it improves mental wellbeing too. Build exercise into your daily work routine and try cycling or, if it’s practical, running or walking to the office. The physical activity will boost production of endorphins, the body’s ‘happy hormone’, and blast away stress. Not into high-impact activity? Even a stroll around the block at lunchtime will help raise the heartrate, boost endorphins and just expose you to some fresh air and sunlight – that can’t be so bad, can it?

Why a work-life balance matters

There are many reasons to recalibrate your work-life balance if it’s swung too far in favour of work. Perhaps the most significant question to ask yourself is that if you’re not spending non-working hours with loved ones, or pursuing things you enjoy, are you truly contributing to your or their happiness? As the saying goes, nobody ever wishes on their deathbed that they’d spent longer at the office. Most people have to work to live of course, and it’s great if you love what you do. But give your happy hormones a boost and share that passion with the people that matter most. Because – and grab a tissue now, we’re getting deep here – it won’t be your boss, or your client, or Dave from accounts that’ll be by your side until the last.

On a lighter note, doing things outside of work makes you more well-rounded. Playing sport isn’t just good for burning calories and boosting endorphins, it enhances teamwork skills. Being surrounded by work all of the time leaves you mentally drained and with a disinterested attitude to everything else. Different activities stimulate different parts of the brain and can help you think differently, and therefore perform more effectively, while you’re at work. Plus, hobbies are enjoyable! And who would say no to a little more fun?

If you found this blog interesting, check out more of our blogs or if you’re looking for that perfect role, check out all the vacancies we have available.

Want some tips or advice? Call the office on 01772 259121 and speak to one of our experts

After 2017’s climate of uncertainty, largely triggered by Brexit, UK law firms are understandably cautious going forward. However, on the whole, they are demonstrating their robustness by expressing a desire to continue with business as usual. In fact, our latest white paper, The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Legal firms in 2018, reveals that a significant majority (66%) of firms are looking to increase their headcount over the coming year. Of those businesses, 4% expect to increase staffing by 5% and 11% predict that it could be by as much as 30%. So, clearly there is considerable optimism about the opportunities for headcount growth in the coming year.

However, there appears to be challenges ahead surrounding the availability of labour. Around two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed say a skills shortage is their top concern for 2018 and 20% cited staff retention. And with business lobby group British Chambers of Commerce saying that skills shortages reached ‘critical levels’ in the last quarter of 2017, it is now vital for firms to retain the talent that they already have. So, which retention strategies can be used to incentivise existing staff to stay?

Flexible hours

The most important thing is to consider what your staff value the most. New research from HSBC reveals that 89% of employees view flexible working as a key motivator – more than the 77% who were influenced by financial incentives. Yet our survey found that only 33% of respondent firms offered flexible hours and fewer still provided part-time options. While it is encouraging to see that practices are increasingly aware of the demand for adaptable working patterns, those that don’t offer them to staff – and at all levels of seniority – risk losing them to businesses that do.

Remote working

Our survey revealed that 22% of firms offer staff the opportunity to work outside of the office. And, in a profession where long hours are the norm, there’s no doubt that many employees would welcome the opportunity to dispense with their commute on occasion. Does your firm make use of the technology available that facilitates this, such as cloud storage?

Training and development

In its recent Human Capital Trends report, Deloitte found 51% of companies rated ‘investing in talent’ as an urgent priority. Consequently, it is a surprise that none of our survey respondents cited training and development as a key retention offering at their firm. Millennials, in particular, will be hard to attract without excellent training and development programmes: a recent report by PwC found that 74% of the millennials it surveyed said that learning new skills to remain employable was something that they valued highly. And, over a quarter said this was the most important factor in making an organisation an attractive employer. Given that this generation will make up three-quarters of the UK workforce by 2025, firms cannot afford to overlook their needs: doing so will mean that they could fail to engage with a large share of skilled talent over the coming years.

Bonuses, sabbaticals and other offerings

Of course, while our research shows that flexible hours, remote working and training opportunities are important ways to invest in and retain staff, they aren’t an exhaustive list. Other benefits such as bonuses, sabbaticals, employee discounts, paid volunteering leave and a holiday allowance that increases over time, are just some of the other ways to incentivise staff. The best way to find out what your staff would value is to simply ask.

Not only are these methods excellent ways to keep staff engaged, they will also make your firm more attractive to potential recruits. At a time of significant skills shortages, are you doing all that you can, to attract and retain?

To request a full FREE copy of the report, click here.

​Furthermore, to speak to the team about your recruiting needs, call 01772 259 121

What characterises a millennial?

The defining characteristics of millennials – those born between 1980 – 1996, according to Pew Research – have been documented across a whole raft of research (notably from PwC and Deloitte), articles and books in recent years. The general consensus is that theirs, is a generation with a world view inevitably shaped by significant events such as financial recession, technological revolution and the rise of social media. As a result, they have less inclination to be motivated by money alone, a strong need for work / life balance, a commitment to their personal development, technological savviness, a preference for flexible working, an attraction to work which has social or charitable impact and a keen interest in diversity.

How millennials are changing the legal landscape

This crop of young lawyers is having a transformational impact on the workplace: according to legal services provider LOD, firms are moving from a ‘dormant, low-tech, individualistic system to a dynamic, high-tech, collaborative one.’ As In-House Lawyer magazine points out, over the first half of the 21st century, millennials will replace Boomers as the dominant demographic group throughout society: since law will be no exception, it is vital for employers to consider the ways in which they attract and retain millennial talent. Factors which have traditionally worked in the past, such as financial rewards, do not appear to inspire this generation in the same way.

Top tips for motivating millennials

With this in mind, here are our top tips for attracting and keeping our partners of the future.

1. Create an agile work environment.
   Millennials are used to wireless, mobile technology that gives them the flexibility to work wherever they need – or choose to. Offer remote working where possible and provide a secure means of access to the information needed to do their jobs when they aren’t in the office.
2. Dispense with rigid hierarchical career paths.
   Research shows that millennials are inclined to be peripatetic: they will move from place to place and are unlikely to want to follow a highly structured career path to partnership at one firm. Instead, build alternative career paths that still allow top talent to prosper.
3. Provide workload predictability.
   Of course there are times when work will inevitably ebb and flow but, where possible, try to ensure that workload can be anticipated in advance. The new generation of lawyers will graft hard but they value work / life balance so highly that if they can never make personal plans, they are unlikely to willingly remain in a role.
4. Develop an inclusive culture.
   A generation that has grown up with social media is one that understands the value of an open platform of interaction, collaboration and dialogue. Again, a hierarchy where voices are kept separate will not appeal. Instead, form project teams of various levels of seniority which encourage participation, mentoring and feedback between generations.
5. Utilise their tech savviness.
   It’s clearly a fallacy that every millennial is an innately skilled programmer, but they are certainly more likely to be aware of the technology available to them. Manually sifting through paperwork will appeal even less when they know that there are faster, more efficient methods, if only the firm would invest in business intelligence or data analytics. Use their understanding of technology to drive innovation.
6. Seriously consider diversity.
   Don’t just pay it lip service. The law firm of today should be fully committed to a culture of inclusivity. Set targets for diverse representation.
7. Promote charitable and community involvement.
   It is important for millennials to feel that their vocation is worthwhile: financial reward is rarely their sole motivator. Involve them in work with social meaning. As a firm, consider the ways in which money and time can be used to benefit good causes.

So, leaders of law firms should be mindful of the fact that today’s millennials will be the partners of tomorrow, Succession planning now is vital: firms must attract and retain the best millennial talent in order to ensure the longevity of their businesses.

To find out how Clayton Legal can help you plan for the future needs of your firm, contact us today.

Take a look at some of our other blogs to gain more insight into the legal sector.

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The New Year is an ideal time for a fresh start and, as a result, more people decide to make a career move than at any other point. So, with companies likely to see a significant increase in the amount of applications from which they must shortlist, how can they ensure that they pick out the right candidates? Here are our top five tips.

1) Before you begin to look at the applications, it’s vital that you define your ideal candidate. Use your job description and person specification to create two checklists: the essential criteria and desirable criteria needed to do the job. The standards are likely to relate to all of the following key areas, plus any others that are relevant:  education, work experience, skills and knowledge, competencies and personality traits. Be very strict about the criteria you term ‘essential’: these should relate to the qualities and traits of top performing employees in the role.

2) The next step is to begin the shortlisting process. At this stage, some employers choose to utilise the services of a specialist recruiter that knows the market inside out: they can identify the right talent quickly and may already have people among their network of candidates that might fit the role.

3) If shortlisting in-house, do so in stages.

Stage 1: Go through the applications and discard any that don’t meet all of the essential criteria. You now have a list of candidates who can all do the fundamentals of the role. At this point, it is also worthwhile noting where applications have come from so that you know where to advertise future vacancies.

Stage 2: Decide how many candidates you want to interview. Go through the remaining applications, weigh them against each item in your list of desirable criteria and record the number of criteria they meet. Some recruiters like to use a spreadsheet as this helps them to rank candidates at a glance. During this stage, you should also check that there are no inconsistencies in their CV and that spelling, punctuation, grammar, presentation and attention to detail are in line with your expectations.

4) You can now decide who to select for interview. It is important to think outside the box here: you may have a list of desirable criteria, but it’s unlikely that an individual will meet all of them, so decide which combination will have the most impact. Also, if you are replacing a current post holder, don’t have a vision of replacing like with like: think about what they could do when they joined, rather than what they can do now.

5) In addition to notifying the candidates selected for the next stage, ensure that you also contact everyone who applied –even if there were hundreds- to thank them for their interest, but letting them know that, unfortunately, this time they have not been shortlisted for interview. A superior candidate experience is crucial in today’s skills short environment. After all, a candidate that isn’t the right fit for now might just be, in the future.

If you have a vacancy and would like to talk to us about how we can help you shortlist the right person for the job, contact our specialist team of recruiters.

The relaxation afforded by the Christmas break gives many busy legal professionals an opportunity to reflect on their careers. And, of course, January is a time for fresh starts and resolutions about the direction you want to take in the New Year. So, if you plan to make a career move, here are our top tips for lining up the right job.

Assess

Firstly, assess your current role and responsibilities. What are the positive aspects and what do you find is lacking? Now think forward to the end of next year. What would you like to be doing career-wise at that point? Are you seeking a change of organisational culture? Also consider your current strengths and achievements: where have you added value? Which areas do you need to develop? Do you need more training or experience in order to compete with other candidates? Many jobseekers find it helpful to talk to a specialist recruitment consultant about the current market and the prospective options available to them.

Research

Once you know what you’ve got, what you want and why you want it, you can move onto the next step of identifying potential employers that will help you to achieve your future career goals. Research and create a list of firms that you would like to work for, as well as making notes on what they can offer you and what you can bring to them. Again, if you have a recruitment consultant, they can help you shortlist firms that could be the right fit for you based on their network.

Update

The end of a year is a good time to revisit the basics and make sure that your CV and online presence reflect your achievements. Take time to update your resume and ensure that your LinkedIn profile is complete: add new specialisms and adjust the key words in your profile so that they reflect the aspects you wish to be associated with going forward.

Develop

Before applying for a role, it makes sense to put yourself in the best position to compete. Think back to when you assessed the areas in which you could develop. Recognise and utilise training opportunities provided by your current employer, or find a local or online short course in a relevant area. Consider how you could gain additional exposure and opportunities to demonstrate your skills and knowledge, such as writing pieces for your company website or a professional publication, or by volunteering on a committee. Think about where you are active outside of work: now might be a great time to find professional associations or groups where you can attend meetings and network with people who are in the field. Attend seminars and thought leadership events to ensure you are at the forefront of your industry and able to take advantage of the opportunities that are available.

Initiate

The final step is to find that job. If you haven’t already, register with a good specialist recruitment agency and discuss precisely what you are looking for so that they can contact you as soon as an opportunity arises. Revisit your shortlist of potential employers and see who is posting jobs, or make speculative applications. Let your network know about your job search as this might reveal an opportunity which hasn’t yet been advertised. Dedicating just ten minutes a day to, say, emailing a contact who works in a field of interest, could be fruitful.

If you’re looking for a new challenge in the New Year, get in touch today to see what opportunities we have available.

You may also like to download our guide on How to Develop Your Legal CV.

Take a look at some of our other blogs to gain more insight into the legal sector.

What are the five main generational groups?

Today’s workforce comprises five generational cohorts, each spanning roughly fifteen years, all of whom have grown up in differing social, historical and economic contexts. Most people have heard of ‘Baby Boomers’ (people born between 1945 – 1964), ‘Generation X’ (1965 – 1979) and ‘Millennials’ (1980 – 1994). However, a new ‘Generation Z’ of those born in 1995 or later is emerging and, as the state pension age continues to rise, we are seeing more people working who are pre-Baby Boomers.

Can they work together effectively?

We can assume, quite logically, that employees of different generations will have unique traits shaped by the contexts in which they grew up and also that they will typically be at different stages of their careers. However, because times have changed so much between 1945 and today, it is also often presumed that employees will have varying motivators and aspirations depending on their age and will behave differently at work as a result. A global survey of 2500 executives by Future of Work Consortium, found that almost a quarter believed that ‘inter-generational cohesion’ was the most significant risk their company faced, suggesting that these multi-generational workforces create a climate of tension and misunderstanding.

But it’s not that simple. While each generation will have unique traits – for example, Millennials and Generation Z have been immersed in technology from birth – often they have more in common with each other than not. Ron Zemke, co-author of the book Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Boomers, says: “Generational conflict is more likely to arise from errors of attribution and perception than from valid differences.” The key to effectively leading such a varied group of staff is to understand and respect differences, but avoid assuming people fit negative stereotypes. In short: treat staff as individuals.

So, with that in mind, what are the top tips for law firms with a multi-generational workforce?

1. HR professionals and leaders must create a culture where diversity is recognised and each generation’s different experiences, knowledge and viewpoints are respected and welcomed.
2. Create effective and collaborative multi-generational teamwork by publicly identifying each person’s skills in the group, i.e. “Claire practised in France for many years so could advise here.”
3. According to HayGroup’s thought paper, it is a myth that different generations need different management styles to engage and motivate them. Instead, firms should ensure that leaders are equipped to adapt their styles so that they focus on individuals, rather than attempting generation-specific leadership.
4. Employees, should receive coaching as individuals with their generational needs and career stage in mind. For example, Generation Z may be in most need of an onboarding and socialisation programme as they enter the profession and Millennials are likely to look for support as they seek advancement, particularly as managers.
5. Provide real time feedback, not just annual appraisals, so you are in tune with each employee’s ongoing needs for support.
6. Research shows that training preferences vary between generations. The CIPD’s Tapping into Talent report found that Generation X and Millennials preferred independent learning using computer-based training or the internet, whereas Baby Boomers and pre-Baby Boomers preferred more traditional classroom or paper-based training. Ideally, training should be tailored to individuals or a mix of both types used where possible.
7. HayGroup’s analysis of five million employees’ data found that all generations cite exciting and challenging work as the primary reason for staying at their company. Younger generations – unsurprisingly, as they start out in their careers – seek ‘opportunities to advance’ as the next most important factor, whereas at 55 plus, ‘meaningful work’ replaces advancement opportunities. Seek feedback from employees on how far these needs are being met.
8. Be forward thinking. Technology allows us to work anywhere, but many law firms still insist that people work at their desks. Digital natives such as Millennials and Generation Z may find this frustrating.
9. Consider how far remuneration packages appeal to each generation. Much has been made of most Millennials’ current inability to purchase property. According to a NexGen survey by PwC, most would now choose workplace flexibility, work/life balance and the opportunity for overseas assignments over financial rewards.

So, putting stereotypes of each generation aside, ultimately employees want the same thing: to be challenged at work and to have a good manager who acts as a coach and helps them achieve their specific career goals. Is your firm making the most of a multigenerational workforce?

To discuss how Clayton can find the right people for your firm, please contact us

Take a look at some of our other blogs, to gain more insight into the legal sector

What exactly is Artificial Intelligence?

Lawyers have been making good use of LegalTech – software which allows them to do their work in a way which is more efficient and cost-effective – for some years now. A number of repetitive, labour-intensive manual processes such as reviewing documents for relevant information can now be done through automation, which enables professionals to devote more time to strategic work. But the most pioneering strand of this technology is Artificial Intelligence (AI) – software that has the capability to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. When this kind of technology is used, it promises to be faster and more accurate than a human. In a profession where attention to detail is everything and mistakes can be costly, it pays to be aware of what AI can offer.

How law firms are currently benefitting from AI

So, how is AI transforming the everyday practice of law? The most common way is during the process of document review. Once, routine tasks such as drafting contracts and analysing legal documents were often delegated to junior lawyers. Now AI can be used to proofread and intelligently detect errors such as inconsistencies and omissions far faster and more accurately than a human, which dramatically speeds up the preparation of complex documents.

AI is also expediting the process of research and improving its accuracy: cognitive intelligence applications such as Watson can, for example, search through case law and identify relevant information and patterns, then evaluate and summarise the results. This makes it a valuable tool to lawyers working on due diligence, investigations and compliance related tasks. Staff at Berwin Leighton Paisner, for example, use an AI system to extract and check data when they work on certain property disputes, in a process which now takes minutes rather than weeks.

There are also some examples of AI currently being used in ways which seem more in line with the futuristic, robotic visions depicted in science fiction. A number of firms have been experimenting with AI robotic lawyers -or ‘lawyerbots’ – which can be used to provide legal advice and answer questions over the internet. With development, this could certainly replace the ‘send a request form’ section of many firms’ websites. In addition, AI is being used to sift data to predict outcomes, one fascinating example being the algorithm created by Chicago-Kent College of Law professor Daniel Martin Katz. It predicted the outcomes of 7700 U.S. Supreme Court cases with 70 percent accuracy, making it more precise than the forecasts made by legal experts. As the technology develops, it seems reasonable to anticipate AI being used to review information in real time and conduct risk assessments in order to help deal with potential legal problems before they emerge – pre-empting litigation.

How law professionals will need to adapt

But what does this mean for the future of the legal profession? And will lawyers need new skills? Unfortunately, there isn’t any AI which makes predictions about that. However, we can assume that as more legal professionals come to recognise how useful AI is as a time- and money- saving diagnostic tool, the more they will use it to support their work. It is likely that lawyers, especially those at the junior end of the market who are often tasked with those time-consuming research and review processes, will be freed up to work on more cognitive tasks, necessitating a rethinking of how teams are structured, as well as the responsibilities allocated to individuals. It’s also worth remembering that AI is only accurate when applied correctly, so training in the use of the technology will be imperative.

Why lawyers needn’t fear being replaced by robots

All of this means that where AI was once a futuristic idea, it’s now viewed as something which can be used to complement existing technology and is likely to become as second nature to us as spell checks and predictive text are on our laptops and smartphones. It will always be a tool because it is unlikely to ever reach a human level of creativity and judgement that would allow us to see a court room of robots. And while the legal sector is still in the early stages of discovering the full potential of AI, firms wishing to be market leaders should take advantage of current and emerging technology.

What benefits can your law firm reap by adopting more AI software solutions?

Take a look at some of our other blogs to gain more insight into the legal sector