We have the SRA Handbook, isn’t that enough?
It should go without saying that as a regulated profession, you always act like professionals, but the Handbook and Law Society Practice Notes only go so far. They’re benchmarks that will help you create your policies and procedures, but on their own they won’t be enough to influence the actual beliefs, values and implicit assumptions that are inherent in how your employees and firm operate.
Asking everyone to read and implement a procedure is all well and good, but if they don’t see the point in doing it, have been kept out of the loop that led to its implementation, and don’t know where the firm is headed, then they’ll simply be going through the motions. Sadly, many firms are very good at asking for change, but rarely succeed in channelling it through the whole organisation.
Creating an environment where employees are scared to put a foot wrong, is not one where a sound ethical culture can take root. In public or within earshot they will tell you what they think you want to hear. In private and amongst themselves, they will be living the actual culture, and this is the one that your more astute clients will become aware of. Not the one that your shiny brochures talk about.
Communication is key
Don’t make assumptions about what your employees may think about a certain procedure or policy. Ask for feedback, from the bottom up. Many firms seem to be afraid of asking support staff for their opinion and contribution, when these are the people who often make the firm tick, and without which work would come to a standstill.
You might not like what you hear when you ask for their opinion on how things really get done, and why, but you really do need to know. Sadly very few people are telepathic, so unless you’ve been talking and walking the talk to everyone, and asking the same of your staff, your message may have become distorted on its descent through the firm. You might have thought that certain teams were operating so well because the annual team building away day is a roaring success, when in reality the team managers are afraid of losing their places in the ‘league table’ because of certain competitive undercurrents, and run the teams with a rod of iron. So much so, that staff turnover is high. Do you really want employees leaving and telling other people that you run a dictatorship? Make sure that you know what’s going on, and how things are getting done. Ignorance is no defence.
Can this wait, I'm rather busy?
Me too, but alas, running a law firm is no longer just a case of practising law – you are running a business. When we buy a new car, we don’t just expect to be shown the cars and hand over the cash. We want exceptional customer service from staff who sound like they mean it, a comfy sofa and cup of tea whilst we’re waiting to be served, and a few extras thrown in for good measure.
There’s no time like the present for taking a long, hard look at the existing workplace culture because if it’s not the one you want, it could undermine the firm very quickly. But please don’t expect to be able to instantly make changes. This is something that will have to be taken slowly and steadily if you want to develop a culture that is stable, and powerful in the right way.
First steps – Stage 1
Bring a truly representative cross section of your firm together to form an ethical culture committee, and ask them to be honest. If the culture hasn’t been an open one then this might take some doing and you’ll need to earn their trust. You’ll have to set the example and start being open and honest with them. Explain exactly what you’re up to, what you want for them and the firm, and what sort of ethical culture you’d like to end up with and why.
You’ll need to tackle the decision making processes, communication channels, meeting styles, budgets, management agendas, appraisal procedures, feedback handling and inductions. Get down to the nitty gritty. Of everything that your firm does, ask what its focus is? What is its scope? Is it organised? Is it responsive? Does it actually achieve anything?
Values – Stage 2
Stage one may take months, but only once you’ve gained a firm understanding of how your firm really does things from the bottom up, can you move on to stage two – the firm’s value system. What does your firm say to the outside world? How much of a discrepancy is there between this and what you want it to say? Look beyond the explicit statements as the hidden messages can often say far more. What are your websites, marketing brochures, codes of conduct, press releases, and even engagement letters, really saying? What can you read between the lines?
Cultural assumptions – Stage 3
Now you and the committee are ready to compare what they found at stage 1 – what the firm actually does, with stage 2 – what the firm says, and determine the extent to which the ‘talk’ and the ‘walk’ differ. Even if the differences are small, if they’re still visible then your clients and others will see them too, and decide to go elsewhere, so best nip them in the bud.
Next steps
In the next article we’ll talk about using what you’ve learnt from looking at your firm’s existing culture, to change that culture for the better, and help your firm move forward.
Hayley Crawshaw is a Risk and Compliance Consultant. Her contact details can be found at www.celticcompliance.com