Spring 2016 issue of Horizons

The fact that the career paths for midlevel associates at these major firms tend to be vague does not favor their respective talent pipelines. Also, when combined with the apparent lack of preparedness related to succession planning, this could result in a crisis that many firms will be forced to endure. The one question that many firm leaders should be asking themselves is, “Can my firm serve the needs of our clients 5-10 years from now with our current talent pipeline?” Some firms may respond by looking for lateral talent and adding additional partners. For many firms, however, the long-term solution starts with what can be done to develop existing associates. What Associates Want Do you know what your associates want? The 2015 Midlevel Associates Survey noted similar attributes among the firms that scored the highest in terms of levels of associate satisfaction: Engaging Work Simply stated, the more interesting the work given to associates, the more motivated they will be to complete it. The obstacles to this lie with consistently aligning engaging work with associates in consideration of the firm’s financial objectives. Unfortunately, not all profitable work may be considered engaging work. However, firms that understand how to create droves of satisfied associates have created a culture that communicates the sense that there is no task too trivial to be done exceedingly well and that, behind each project, is the firm’s collective integrity. The direct opposite is for a firm to hand projects to associates without conveying the “Big Picture” to them, or failing to show them how projects help in achieving the firm’s or client’s objectives. This approach usually fails to create engagement from associates and instead creates a perception that the work is mundane or meaningless.

These two approaches have a direct impact on the level of engagement experienced by associates. Keep in mind that a lack of motivation occurs not because of having too much work, but rather because of having too much “meaningless” work. Technology & Flexibility An investment in a firm’s technology is also important to associates’ level of job satisfaction. This is likely because a firm’s investment in technology, the ability to connect away from the office and the portability of these tools translates into greater flexibility allowed for associates in their day-to-day routines. Client deadlines are demanding and always looming, but the ability to hit those deadlines while tending to personal matters can be a great benefit to team members. Mentoring & Feedback Mentoring associates is arguably the most critical management function your firm can undertake and there are no shortcuts to do this effectively. Firm partners and management have to make a significant investment of time in coaching their associates. It also requires the use of skill sets not usually prevalent, or compensated for fairly, in a large number of firms.

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