I recently met with a practitioner who was probably one of the most fortunate within the profession at present. Unlike every other firm I have spoken to in the past year, two years, etc, they were experiencing absolutely no difficulties in recruiting or retaining their personnel. This was put down to firm culture. They took the view that if they looked after their staff well, the staff would look after the clients well, and that seems to be exactly what is happening. Not only did staff not leave, they also recruited their friends when positions come up at the firm. This is despite the firm being located around an hour away from its nearest CBD, disputing the historic opinion that professional staff are attracted to highly paid positions in the city.

So you may ask, how or what do they do? Don’t we all believe we treat our staff well? Firstly, it’s really important to understand that this firm has a different ownership structure to most. That is, it has less equity holders based on its size, with essentially double the level of fees managed per partner. As a result, it produces an exceptional return for the owners, and profitability is not a concern, hence the ability to reward staff well. What’s more, the leadership only work half the week. However, despite all of this, staff are not interested in employee share schemes or other forms of ownership, they just wish to remain as employees, which is probably an indication of how well they perceive their employment. Probably not great for future succession though.

That said, let’s delve a little deeper:

  • Staff salaries, whilst probably slight better than market, certainly didn’t seem over the top
  • A couple of senior employees have been provided with electric vehicles due to their ecofriendly outlooks
  • Staff are only expected to work standard business hours, although a couple do work back on occasion
  • Staff are not really monitored based on chargeable time but rather around ensuring work completion and deadlines are met
  • Monthly massages are offered to staff whilst in the office
  • Whilst staff are able to work from home, they all prefer to attend the office
  • Regular functions are held with anniversaries, such as 10 and 20 year of service celebrated
  • Staff are rewarded with items specific to their interests/needs
  • The leadership team is now considering a bonus or profit pool, albeit staff have previously declined such offers
  • Upon moving into new premises, the staff designed the layout of the office
  • Senior staff have significant interaction with clients.

I’m sure there is more to the benefits that help keep these staff happy and engaged, however it was music to my ears to hear from a firm that wasn’t experiencing staff issues, albeit their slightly different or unusual approach. As mentioned however, much of this approach is enabled via the firm’s different ownership structure and less significant focus on profit.

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