Staff with Equity Aspirations are only ever Going to be Short Term Hires

Staff with Equity Aspirations are only ever Going to be Short Term Hires
Over the past year our firm has been assisting practices in search of senior employees with partnership aspirations. Our Equity Opportunity service, while relatively new has highlightedtwo trends within the industry in relation to Practices searching for equity partners.

Many firms have senior employees who the current equity holders don’t consider ‘partnership material’; one of my favorite sayings. However, this doesn’t dissuade these personnel from their aspirations of being equity holders. In such cases, the firm in search of a new recruit with partnership aspirations will send a very clear message to the current senior personnel that their future progress to equity will not be taking place at this particular firm. Understandably, this results in these personnel searching for equity opportunities elsewhere and spelling their likely departure from your firm. In short, you will soon be recruiting.
The other alternative, and perhaps the most potent aspect for consideration, is where a firm interviews a senior hire who has equity aspirations but only engages them as a long term employee, rather than a future equity holder. This firm needs to recognise that whilst the recruit has agreed to a position of employment, their true desire is to be an equity holder, whether this be at your firm or another practice. They will continue to search for partnership, sooner rather than later and in some cases, much sooner than expected. Therefore, the effort the current firm goes through in integrating this new hire will often be wasted.
Consequently, the benefits associated with the continuity of employment will be short lived, often with the training and integration walking out the door before the firm can truly benefit from the effort instilled in such employees.

A little something to keep in mind during your future recruitment endeavors.