Our Integrated Mentoring Can Help Your Firm In Five Ways

After you integrate mentoring into your firm’s culture, here are five outcomes you should expect to see:

• Better retention and deeper firm loyalty: According to employment studies, a person's poor relationship with her supervisor is the single biggest reason for employee dissatisfaction and departure. In fact, employees' satisfaction most often is tied directly to their experience with the person they report to. This is especially true for Generation Y, a group of young people who need feedback and meaningful work. Older generations worked and kept our mouths shut, and we tend to think young kids should do the same. But they don't. They just leave.

• Improved teamwork: People who communicate work together better; it’s that simple. When goals are articulated, there is a sense of shared enterprise. Employees who feel they matter are more productive. Far less time is wasted in back office speculation and sniping.

• More business development and more attention to client relations: The practice of law is difficult. It takes most attorneys more than three years to consistently and effectively wield the tools of the trade. Then one day they look up and realize that legal work doesn’t grow on trees, as our parents used to tell us about money. This realization usually comes as a shock. But it doesn’t have to—not if their seniors have been including them in client conferences.

• Increased business acumen: Many lawyers finish their careers without knowing what’s involved in running a firm. This is not to suggest that everyone can or should evaluate accounts receivable. But lawyers do need to identify business talent. Even those lawyers whose strengths lie in other areas can benefit from having an overview of law firm economics. The firm will also benefit by having lawyers who understand and support business decisions, and who know how and why they have to contribute.

• Shorter learning curves: Obviously, people learn faster when taught. Instruction also saves time because those being taught don’t end up reinventing the wheel. If you tell lawyers what is important and how to accomplish it, they will be more productive. By rewarding good work and catching small mistakes before they can mushroom, your workforce will be more effective and congenial.