As the world of work continues to change at pace, leaders are grappling with multiple challenges around talent attraction and retention, workplace culture and intergenerational differences. So what strategies can firms put in place to futureproof their business?

This was the theme of a recent Totum Partners and Managing Partners’ Forum event for legal leaders, held at MacFarlanes’ headquarters in London.

Hosted by Totum’s Founding Director Tim Skipper and Momentum Business Consulting Founder and ex-Clyde & Co Global HR Director Pauline Caldwell, the event examined the findings of a joint survey into four key areas: the challenges shaping people agendas; workplace culture and its impact; talent strategies across generations; and the evolving nature of hybrid working.

Skipper started by examining the key issues dominating our survey respondents’ people agendas. More than half (51%) said productivity and performance measurement was the biggest challenge they currently face, with 39% citing evolving leadership expectations and capabilities and 37% choosing culture and employee engagement. Adapting to AI and automation, driving transformation amid economic pressure and attracting key talent were all tied for fourth on 34%.

Next, the forum looked at the challenges most likely to disrupt people strategies in the future. Unsurprisingly, economic uncertainty and cost pressure (61%) ranked first, with leadership capability and succession planning (49%) and AI and the impact of automation (46%) making up the top three.

One forum member expressed surprise that AI was viewed more as a future challenge than one for now. Caldwell responded by sharing a recent Harvard Business Review article, which suggested that the transformation impact of AI will come, but not in the instant revolution we are being sold. Whilst individuals are using AI, measurable efficiency gains at an organisational level remain elusive.

She also shared details of how some firms are encouraging employees to use AI, both for work and in their personal time. One example is that of Shoosmiths, who are tying bonuses to AI use, offering a £1million bonus to its collegiate pot if the firm collectively makes one million prompts on Microsoft Copilot.

Finally, Skipper shared some comments from survey respondents on what changes they would make to their business around key themes like leadership accountability, performance and reward and work models. Suggestions included ‘making leaders truly accountable for how they lead and role model, culture – not just financial outcomes’, ‘improving succession planning and prioritise developing future leaders’, and ‘redesign bonus and promotion frameworks to reward inclusive behaviours, collaboration and innovation’.

One attendee commented that leadership capability was an interesting area. “Nobody wants to talk about succession planning or admit that they should be training their successor until it’s too late. It’s an interesting dynamic with the board – they always avoid it,” they said.

Another expanded on the theme: “It’s very uncomfortable to talk about replacing your own role. But, as a team, you should be open about it. It’s about navigating politics and emotional sensitivity,” they said.

Workplace culture and talent strategy

When it comes to workplace culture, 81% of our survey respondents believe they have a positive or very positive culture at their firm. Nearly half review their workplace culture annually (49%), with 24% doing so every two years and 10% only when a new Managing Partner is appointed.

When asked what three traits best embody their firm’s culture, our respondents chose collaborative culture (59%), a high priority on client service (49%) and wellbeing and work life balance (46%) as their top three.

Caldwell picked out some traits that she was surprised to see lower down the list.

“It surprised me to see being financially well-managed down at 22%. We don’t necessarily associate that with a good culture, but without it you don’t have a firm or culture at all. Innovation and change being at 17% is also a surprise, seeing as how much we talk about the importance of innovation,” she said.

A positive culture is key to attracting new talent, with 71% of respondents saying promoting a strong and inclusive culture is effective in talent attraction. Nevertheless, many firms are facing skill shortages and intense competition for talent in certain areas.

Our survey asked participants to choose the key skills gaps they currently see in their firms. AI and automation (76%), people management (49%) and leadership (41%) made up the top three. At the bottom end, just 5% chose problem solving, 12% adaptability and 22% communication.

Intergenerational workplaces

With five different generations now in the workplace, firms are increasingly looking at how to build a cohesive culture while maximising the potential of each talent pool. However, progress is slow. Our survey found that just 5% of firms have a specific strategy to attract and recruit those aged 50 and above, with just 10% having processes for fostering intergenerational practices in the workplace. More encouragingly, 32% say they are working on it.

Those that do have a specific strategy on intergenerational collaboration tend to focus on team building activities (40%), unconscious bias training (38%) and communication workshops on different generational styles (33%).

The forum then looked at the importance of certain workplace factors broken down by different generations. Here, the data shows that some generational stereotypes aren’t necessarily true.

For example, our survey found that recognition is most valued by those aged 18-24 and 25-34, with job stability valued most in the 25-34 age group, running counter to the narrative that younger generations want to job hop.

Similarly, a commitment to responsible business is valued most by those aged 45-54 and 55+, despite being something that is regularly associated with younger workers.

“As leaders, we often forget to tell junior colleagues when they’ve done a good job, simply taking it as a given. It’s vital to remember how important this can be to them,” said one attendee.

Another commented that despite supposed differences, the vast majority of employees in different generations simply want to get along and collaborate. “The overwhelming feedback we see is that people want to work together and learn from each other. Multigenerational workplaces should be a positive thing,” they said.

Hybrid working

Our final section examined the ongoing state of hybrid working in firms. All firms that responded had an established hybrid working policy, and, despite the noise, 80% said they were not considering increasing the time people were expected to come into the office. The most popular working pattern among firms was three days in and two days remote, with 51% choosing this option.

When asked what the primary reason was for employees spending time in the office, 80% said to improve collaboration and communication, 68% wanted to strengthen company culture, and 36% said it was a preference of leadership. 

One attendee discussed the importance of in office time for trainees, noting that they had compared performance of trainees who joined during covid (and thus faced a remote induction) versus those since. “We found performance is overwhelmingly much lower among the covid cohort – remote training had a huge effect on them,” said the attendee.

Interestingly, 39% said they were monitoring employees’ attendance in the office. When attendance was not satisfactory, most firms reported informal conversations rather than punitive action, with 95% getting managers to discuss the issue and 38% asking HR to do so.

Finally, Skipper suggested that anecdotally, more and more firms are taking attendance into consideration at annual appraisals and in bonus discussions – borne out by 13% of respondents  suggesting this was the case in their firm.

Five takeaways from the event 

• Agenda priorities will differ depending on who is being asked. Partners will often have a financial focus, while management teams will focus on operations
• Succession planning is a sensitive subject for leaders, but more needs to be done to identify future leaders and prepare firms to move forwards
• Multigenerational workforces are a reality, but stereotypes often don’t match reality. Communication is key to engagement across all ages.
• Hybrid working policies are established and few firms are looking for employees to return to the office. Those that do focus on partners and trainees.
• AI adoption and implementation in firms remains at the individual, rather than organisational level.

If you are interested in learning more about the issues shaping firm’ people agendas, either through an in-person presentation or event, please contact Tim Skipper [email protected]