Following employee dissatisfaction from return-to-office policies, lingering economic turbulence, and an increased demand for tech-savvy professionals, Big Law could face an influx of turnover amongst business professionals and support staff.
The article notes a recent study from Thomson Reuters surrounding law firm office attendance policies and themes, which found that a majority of firms have different policies for lawyers and non-billable professionals. The latter were found four times more likely to report the policies affecting them to be much more rigid and twice as likely to classify the enforcement of them as aggressive.
The study also noted that there was a higher reported rate of job dissatisfaction among non-billable staff. This, coupled with the findings surrounding return-to-office policies, helps draw the conclusion that potential for turnover amongst these employees is much higher in the current environment.
“I do think we are going to see an ongoing churn of talent coming and going out of law firms, especially at firms who do not have a clear and articulated talent strategy that includes an employee value proposition as well as clearly defined paths for career development” said Jennifer Johnson, Founder and CEO of Calibrate. “Add in the fact that most people appreciate the flexibility that a hybrid work model provides, firms who do not address this holistically will lose talented people to those who do,” she added.
The article goes on to discuss additional factors in the accelerated churn of business professionals including an aging workforce amid economic turbulence. Retirements among experienced professionals are noted as a “ticking timebomb” as these individuals are relied on by firm leadership and have mostly likely received the brunt of an increased workload following pandemic-related cuts.
