Dr. Caldwell is the founder and managing partner of Caldwell.
A good business strategy relies on striking a balance between employee happiness and customer satisfaction.
Successful companies learn how to walk the line between keeping their teams happy and providing excellent customer service. But in the legal field, balancing employee and client experiences is a tightrope walk. As most firms operate on billable hours, employees are caught between two tricky alternatives: working longer hours to earn more money or setting boundaries and earning less. And even if those boundaries are healthy and reasonable, workplace culture can affect how they are perceived, for better or worse.
Not just a trending topic, workplace culture has been placed under a microscope since Covid-19 restructured corporate norms and employees placed a greater emphasis on maintaining a work-life balance.
Data collected by the American Lawyer revealed that more than half of the legal professionals surveyed claimed greater anxiety, fatigue and other negative feelings surrounding their work. Citing pressures from the job caused by working long hours and weekends, an inability to shut off and the lingering effects of Covid-19, the reactions are in response to an industry-wide emphasis on traditionally placing clients and financial gains above employee wellness.
Whether looking at a small team of five to 10 employees, a major global firm or an in-house team, business leaders across the legal field deal with billable hours and a client-first mentality, both of which contribute to these feelings of distress.
How can business owners tactfully address these issues, improve the workplace experience and maintain client happiness?
While it may be difficult to alter client behaviors, business leaders have control over their workplace culture. As the managing partner of a law firm, I have identified a few simple ways to both boost employee morale and increase customer satisfaction.
Lead With Love
Employees respond to empathy. Encouraging your leaders to share their experiences—the good and the bad—will build connections between employees. Affirming an understanding of the effects of challenging cases and late nights on a lawyer’s personal and professional life can humanize your leadership teams and build trust. Leading with love relies on respect and compassion for people, where actions support your core values.
Establish Core Values
Emphasizing a team-first approach to your business will reflect overall employee satisfaction. In this profession, business leaders often decide to either move forward or disengage from difficult cases and clients.
Establishing values that protect your team and enforcing them in challenging situations demonstrates exemplary leadership and brings teams closer together. When employees understand their needs are prioritized, they will respond with loyalty, enthusiasm and quality work.
Support Employees
An April 2023 report by The Muse shared that 34% of respondents cited toxic workplace culture as contributing to their decision to leave a job. Legal professionals know that law firms are only as good as their lawyers, which relies on attracting and retaining quality employees.
Firms must find ways to keep employees happy, healthy and engaged. Providing mental health resources, setting specific working hours and supporting employees when faced with difficult clients are a few ways to uphold business values and foster a positive environment.
Find Creative Ways To Give Back
Taking on pro bono clients is a great way for firms to give back, but investing in your community takes that work a step further. Invite employees to share ideas to engage with the local community through volunteering, donating or providing outreach services. This encourages employees to get involved and look forward to positive experiences on difficult days.
Establish An Employee-First Culture
In addition to conducting regular check-ins with employees, providing access to mental health services, embracing diversity and monitoring billable hours, business leaders should implement practices rooted in core values that support employees and their communities.
As business leaders, difficult decisions must be made in the short term to improve business in the long run. This might not always resonate with employees, but finding ways to connect with and prioritize employees can improve workplace culture and productivity as a result.
Tuning into the firm’s morale will serve as a guide toward decisions that can benefit the team as a whole. By leading with love, compassion and a general interest in helping others succeed, firms can transform the legal profession and rewrite the narrative of pushing employees to work beyond their boundaries. Once established, trust and positive sentiments toward the firm can yield a more motivated workforce with happier clients.
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