Managing expectations in the private sector

 

 

Bethany Conquest, Resourcing Consultant	Faith Kelly, Business Manager

                                                                                    

Before the pandemic, homeworking was rarely discussed during the recruitment process. From recollection, only one of our main clients offered one day a week to work from home and that was never seen as a major perk to candidates.

Fast-forward to 2023 and we have noticed that the majority of our clients will offer some version of remote working, often needing to do so in order to keep up with competition. In some cases, it would be easier to discuss a potential pay cut than to explain that they may need to work from the office five days a week.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, there were a small number of firms that opted to push forward with compulsory office attendance, utilising the key worker status where necessary. But for the majority, there was a realisation that business could run, as usual, remotely.

Not only did it work for the firms themselves, but it worked for their employees too. Most people became used to the absent commute and the benefits associated with being at home for personal commitments, such as childcare.

This left some businesses downsizing offices in a bid to cut costs, resulting in a lack of space to accommodate every employee, every day. In turn, many firms adopted a hybrid model, blending home and office working together.

However, the home element of these set ups can become most challenging when taking on new team members. This applies to both the employee joining the company and the team they are set to be working alongside.

For candidates this means that it is sometimes beneficial to expect an element of office working if you decide to embark on a recruitment journey to look for a new role within the legal private practice sector.

Here we will discuss why there isn’t a blanket rule for employees, something that comes down to a number of factors that must be taken into consideration.

 

Abilities and PQE level

When people join a firm and are learning how it works or gaining a better understanding of the area of law, it is, in some cases, important to get the exposure that comes with the office environment. It can be easier to learn from colleagues, one-to-ones may be more practical, and you benefit from in-person constructive criticism.  

For newly qualified (NQ) candidates, being in the office can give off a good impression, whether this should be the case or not. Some people believe that this displays a willingness to soak up all the information, which can sometimes be challenging to do remotely.

Equally, when someone is joining a firm at the NQ level, it’s crucial for the company to gage the person’s current level of experience because everyone’s training contract is different prior to qualifying. Firms can take at least three months to understand who you are and how much support you need.

Office working is generally expected from new recruits, especially those that have recently qualified, leaving many under the impression that it doesn’t impact senior members of staff, which isn’t always the case.

Senior lawyers are usually capable of performing well from home because they often have their own caseload. However, having senior members of staff working remotely can leave their junior counterparts feeling hindered. This usually comes down to their assumption that there’s no one to learn from and it may seem more challenging for them to develop the skills required to progress.

It could be easier for large companies that may have more resources to have a higher level of flexibility. There may be more opportunities for another senior member of staff to help with the training of less experienced employees, or they may be able to swap days in the office to accommodate.

 

Discipline or area of law

This predominantly comes down to how client facing an area of law is. Private client law involves a lot of paper files in hard copy which means that private client lawyers might need to be in the office in order to have those files to hand.

Despite there being different industries where homeworking would be less complicated, most areas of law could go digital if they wanted to. This depends on a company’s willingness to spend on IT infrastructure as doing this would require a team to put everything on a case management system. 

 

Firm preference

By law, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working, and this can include remote working. Your employer can turn down your flexible working request if there is a valid business reason, but often this can also come from an element of preference.

We work with candidates that joined a firm or work at a firm and the partner simply doesn’t like working from home. Even if there’s scope for home working, it’s difficult to get this signed off. Another team, working at the same law firm might be able to work from home because the partner that heads up their team is happy to work in this way.  

 

Everyday habits

Being in the office can allow you to work more collaboratively with your colleagues and gain valuable teamworking skills.

When people work from home, it can be easier to become invisible if you’re not available. Equally, you might struggle to get in touch with a colleague and that wouldn’t be the case if you were sat close to each other.

 

Progression

When it comes to people that are looking to move from one firm to another in order to progress into a more senior position, they may be required to be in the office more often to build up a stronger rapport with staff. Their presence will also allow them to learn how the firm operates internally.

 

What we would suggest

As recruiters, we are speaking to candidates and clients each and every day, talking through their strategies and preferences when it comes to remote or flexible working arrangements. We have often found that asking staff to work three days in the office and two days remote gives the best balance. As an employer, this demonstrates an understanding of the importance of flexibility.

It is also worth taking into consideration some firms’ preferred approach of being entirely flexible with their hybrid model, trusting their staff and letting them make the right decisions for themselves and the wider business on when they are in and out of the office.

It is vital to remember that there will always be stand out firms that offer complete flexibility which can sometimes skew the norms. This is why expectations need to be managed from the outset.

Some firms will offer flexibility immediately, whereas others will promise it after a period of probation. We would advise clients to look at offering this from the start of employment (especially two years PQE+). Not doing so has the risk of leaving candidates wary that this is something that will never be implemented.

Ultimately, if the possibility of working remotely is something that is really important to you, we would also advise speaking about this openly at the interview stage. If this is genuinely something that is ingrained in the company’s policy, they should welcome the conversation and shouldn’t be coy about it.

In this current candidate short market, employers need to think about whether they’re doing enough to attract and, more importantly, retain employees. Look at the current Sellick Partnership roles.

 

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