Why people choose to work for you

If asked the question ‘who is the best employer in the world’ many of us would say Google.  They are a company that has been put on a pedestal as a fabulous employer.  Google have a strong employer brand.  Not only do they have a great culture but the benefits offered to staff are astounding – from on-site healthcare and wellbeing services to in-house cafes, bringing your dog to work, flexible hours, financial planning services and lifestyle courses such cooking or learning an instrument.
 
While most legal firms are simply unable to compete with the Google offering there are many things that can be done which will assist your firm in becoming an Employer of Choice (EOC).  The overall formula for success is to make people want to work for you rather than your competition.  It is important to create an ‘employer brand’ i.e. why you are better than the legal firm down the road. 

There is significant upside to being an EOC.  This includes:

• Maximising the potential of your staff and therefore increasing the success and overall profitability of your firm;
• Attracting the best staff in the marketplace and ‘punching above your weight’;
• Retaining staff for the longer term and reducing the cost of staff turnover; and
• Being able to recruit directly from the marketplace rather than having to use expensive recruitment agencies to attract applicants.

To become an EOC you need to:
 

1.Create a fantastic culture

This is a precursor to anything else. The culture of a firm is its ‘personality’ i.e. the shared assumptions, values, norms and beliefs of the firm.  This governs the attitude of the people working in the practice and how they behave.  Culture has a strong impact on how people dress, act, interact with each other and perform their jobs.  It is the social and psychological environment of a practice and is unique to each and every legal firm.  A good culture is a competitive advantage as it can lead to greater productivity, innovation and success.
 

2.Create an employer branding strategy

This is different to your firm branding strategy.  You will need to work out what type of employer you want to be and what you want to be known as in the market place.  (As an example you may decide that you want to be known as an employer of the best calibre lawyers and a firm that pays higher than market remuneration.)
 
Once you have done this, you need to work out how you are going to get your employer brand known in the legal industry job marketplace.  Make sure that you formally document your strategy and break it down to a series of tasks which are assigned to the most appropriate person in your firm.  Most of all, ensure that there are timeframes and key performance indicators in place to assess whether your branding is successful.
 

3.Develop your employee benefit offer

Employee benefits are the crucial ingredient to becoming an EOC.  You need to work out what your target employee wants from an employer.  Ask your current employees for ideas, research what other organisations are doing and develop an offer that is sustainable and practical for your particular firm.  There is no one vanilla solution for this.
  
Ultimately your offer will depend on:

• How big your firm is;
• Where your firm is located;
• How diverse your workplace is;
• The values and beliefs of the partners in the firm and their attitude towards staff;
• Your financial resources; and
• The skill levels available in your firm to design and implement the offer.

Make sure that you clearly outline who is eligible for the benefit, policy details relating to the benefit, how to apply for the benefit and any administration that is required to manage the benefit.  For some benefits there will a cost to administer the benefit within the practice (normally time).  Some arrangements may have tax consequences so it is important to obtain professional advice where relevant, particularly with salary sacrifice options.
 
Once you have finished, create a brochure that can be given to current and prospective staff members.  Incorporate your employee benefit into your interview process.
 
Finally, make sure that you get feedback from your staff on your employee benefit offer on a regular basis and review the offer, at least annually.