Nurturing talent: How to develop a feedback and mentoring culture

Rebecca Normand-Hochman provides some tips on '¨developing a feedback and mentoring culture

The ability to attract, develop and retain talent has become one of the biggest competitive issues for law firms. Creating a culture in which senior lawyers and partners support the development of others is a cost-effective and powerful way to invest in talent.

Managing talent is now recognised as a business issue of prime importance, but lawyers often lack the experience, vision and tools to do it. This article discusses how firms can significantly increase the performance, engagement and retention of lawyers by giving them the tools to develop and support the development of others.

Feedback culture

Why lawyers need feedback

Performance management is an area that all law firms spend time and energy on. It is, however, rare to find a law firm with '¨a performance management system that truly enables lawyers to develop and grow to their best.

Designing a performance management system that enables lawyers to constantly develop and thrive requires a good understanding of how lawyers work.

Lawyers are often difficult to manage because they tend to:

• need constant challenges;

• have high expectations of their careers;

• be independent and resent procedures; and

• need to be motivated to perform well.

For lawyers, more than other professionals, performance is linked to motivation, and motivation is to a large extent dependent on their ability to measure their progress against clearly defined goals.

Creating a culture by which all supervising associates and partners are expected to give constant feedback on the work of more junior lawyers is consequently a very powerful way of supporting talent development.

Systems and training

For feedback to be directly linked to performance, law firms need to have systems in place by which supervising lawyers and partners can nurture associates and give them the feedback they need.

To become part of the firm’s culture, the ability and skills needed to provide feedback should be incorporated into fee earners’ and partners’ performance systems.

Naturally, training must then be given on how to give feedback effectively. A senior associates’ training session could be structured as follows.

1. Introduction and presentation of the session.

2. Theoretical background on the impact of '¨receiving feedback.

3. Exploration of the skills needed to deliver '¨effective feedback.

4. Exercise in pairs, in turns giving and '¨receiving feedback.

5. Group discussion of the exercise.

6. Conclusion and tips on how to progress.

For partners, individual briefings on how to provide effective feedback may be more suitable, as it enables them to privately discuss any particular aspects they may need help with.

Mentoring culture

Most law firms have introduced some form of mentoring in recent years. It is now common knowledge, supported by years of evidence, that mentoring is one of the best and cheapest forms of professional development.

By developing a mentoring culture, firms can:

• improve overall performance;

• reinforce values and culture;

• significantly reduce turnover;

• build leadership skills;

• increase the number of women making partner; and

• enjoy greater success in change management processes.

It is interesting that mentoring has always existed in law firms. In the past, senior lawyers had protégés whom they mentored and sponsored. This is no longer the case, due in large part to the growing number of lawyers in law firms. But the need is still there and lawyers expect to be guided and supported in their professional development.

To produce the expected results in levels of performance, engagement and retention, a mentoring programme should '¨be carefully designed and implemented. However, many law firms’ mentoring programmes lack one or more of the following key elements:'¨

• senior management commitment;

• clear programme objectives;

• adequate training of the programme coordinator, mentors and mentees; and

• coordination and evaluation of the programme.

Senior management commitment

To a large extent, a mentoring culture only starts to emerge when senior management participate in and support the mentoring programme. By being mentors and supporting the programme, they become role models. They demonstrate '¨their commitment to support the development of others '¨and create a consensus within the firm about the importance '¨of mentoring.

Clear programme objectives

Another key success factor of a mentoring scheme is having '¨a clearly-defined purpose and objectives for the programme. '¨A short and single purpose statement is helpful to publicise the programme within the firm and to recruit and train mentors and mentees.

Having clear programme objectives is also important '¨to enable success measures for the programme to be put '¨in place.

Examples of clear programme objectives include:

• to help lawyers to transition from junior level to mid level, from mid level to senior level, or from senior level to partner level;

• to increase the firm’s diversity;

• to improve networking and communication within the firm; and

• to support the professional development of everyone in the firm.

Training

One of the main reasons why mentoring programmes in law firms often fail or do not produce the expected results is a lack of training.

Training should be compulsory for anyone taking part in the programme. Even senior partners and lawyers with years of supervision experience should be trained and/or briefed in some way about the firm’s particular programme.

A mentoring participative workshop (regrouping ten new mentors and ten new mentees) could be structured as follows.

1. Welcome and introduction.

2. Mentoring in the context of the firm (definition, purpose and objectives, code of conduct).

3. Presentation from a previous mentor and mentee on their experience.

4. Overview of the process.

5. Mentors and mentees in two groups: discussion on skills for mentors and preparing mentoring objectives for mentees.

6. Mentors and mentees in pairs engaging in the first mentor/mentee meeting.

7. Group discussion of key programme dates and '¨next steps.

It is interesting to have mentoring participative workshops which both mentors and mentees attend (with matching having been done before the session). It is also good practice to give every mentor and mentee a written mentoring guide about the particular programme.

Coordination and evaluation

A formal mentoring programme should as a rule include '¨a programme coordinator or manager whose responsibility '¨it is to:

• promote the concept and ensure the commitment of the firm;

• define and implement the process;

• facilitate the running of the programme;

• review and assess the process; and

• ensure continuous improvement.

The programme coordinator is usually someone within the firm who is trained to take on the role and also demonstrates the qualities of a good mentor. The programme coordinator should be supported by the steering group.

In international law firms, it is good practice for each office to have a mentoring coordinator who is able to inspire and lead the programme locally.

Ensuring success

To ensure mentoring is a success in your firm, you should:

• set clearly defined goals for the programme;

• make mentoring voluntary;

• make it available to everyone – not just senior lawyers or women;

• train mentees and mentors;

• include mentoring skills in the performance system;

• have a dedicated mentoring programme coordinator; and

• monitor and evaluate the programme on a continuing basis.

Do it well

A senior partner with over 20 years’ experience recently said how incredibly difficult he found it to motivate his lawyers. The reality is that lawyers are naturally driven individuals. If the onus falls on management to motivate lawyers, it implies that the conditions required for lawyers to develop well are not present within the firm.

Managing talent in law firms may seem to many to be '¨a real challenge, but the good new is that all law firms have the potential to do it, and to do it well.

r.normand-hochman@talentmconsulting.com