With ‘salary wars’ raging across the legal sector, business service leaders and HR are facing a growing headache in finding support resources. As gaps in administrative support make life more difficult for already pressured fee earners, this can, in turn, pile further pressure on lawyer retention. But there is an alternative to the cycle of departures, exit interviews and ‘emergency’ hires: engaging a support service partner to deliver accessible, stable, easy to engage with, and efficient services to your lawyers.
“If a firm tells you they aren’t having to look a little bit harder to fill vacancies and retain people, they’re either lying or are one of the few that don’t have enough work to go around.” The Lawyer sums up the recruitment struggle currently playing out in the UK’s largest law firms.
A September 2021 Korn Ferry survey shows 55% of professionals believe employee turnover will only increase in the coming year. This is already playing out across the legal sector as law firms increase salaries in a bid to keep or attract staff.
Earlier this month, Travers Smith raised its NQ pay package to £127,000, with trainees starting on £50,000. Ashurst, Slaughter and May, and Simmons & Simmons have all increased their NQ salaries to more than £100,000. As The Lawyer says, hyper salary inflation shows no signs of slowing in 2022, with many firms budgeting for more salary hikes and bonuses in the year ahead.
The pandemic has brought about lasting operational and cultural change. It’s time for operational leaders to think strategically about legal support services that are accessible, easy to engage with and work efficiently, so that fee earners are able to achieve high productivity levels in the hybrid working world.
Ruth Davison, Operations Director at Intelligent Office says, “Working through the pandemic has changed attitudes to work. Some people are leaving the profession, while others are moving to firms who offer more flexibility. One way to keep fee earners happy is to ensure they have the right support, from documents produced quickly and without mistakes, to trusted PAs and administrative support.”
In addition to a highly mobile fee earner population, law firms are also struggling to retain and replace PA and administrative support talent. The ‘Great Resignation’ will take experienced people out of your business, particularly those facing a less flexible return to office working. With fierce competition for digitally savvy talent from other sectors, law firms may find it hard to resource these vital support roles.
From its three UK Intelligent Services Centres, Intelligent Office supports legal and professional services firms with a wide range of solutions. These include virtual PAs, document production, design services for pitches and presentations, data visualisation, risk and compliance, and legal administration.
“I think people will be surprised by the range of services we deliver from our Intelligent Services Centres and the flexibility we offer, including pay as you go options. ISO27001 accredited IT infrastructure and processes allow us to operate securely for more than 50 law firms, working seamlessly with their on-site teams,” adds Jo Styles, Director of Business Development.
Outsourcing to Intelligent Office can deliver both service improvements, including workflow management and extended operation hours, and reduce office costs. Existing clients include Stephenson Harwood, Bird & Bird and Hogan Lovells.
For a conversation about operational solutions that give fee earners the support they need, wherever they are working, and reduce the amount of time they spend on non-chargeable administration, contact Jo Styles – jo.styles@intelligentofficeuk.com or 07753 497940.