In "Insights", we at Bignon De Keyser share our analysis of trends, innovations, new tools, new service offerings and original ideas that may be of interest to our clients.
In this new issue of Insights, dedicated to the integration of new partners in legal organizations, we will look at the many benefits of successfully integrating new partners, but also the many risks incurred by an organization that does not manage the selection and onboarding of its new partners, whether through internal promotion or lateral recruitment.
We'll also show why many organizations fail to onboard their new partners effectively.
Finally, we will discuss the solutions that we believe should be implemented to ensure new partners play their full role in the development of their firm.
As always, we would be happy to discuss your comments or observations on this topic.
We remain at your disposal and, of course, we would be happy to incorporate your suggestions into our future Insights.
Onboarding new partners: the benefits and risks
In an increasingly difficult and highly competitive market, you can't neglect recruiting partners from other firms as a key part of the development of your firm.
The use of external growth is of course a risk, but the benefits are numerous: the possibility of strengthening expertise following a departure, of increasing one's strike force in a field of expertise, of positioning oneself in a new field thanks to the arrival of a new partner when there isn't the internal expertise available...
Finally, bringing in new blood is also a demonstration of the firm's attractiveness in the market and enables it to increase its turnover and its clientele, as well as allowing it, in some circumstances, to rejuvenate the practice with younger blood.
At the same time, turning your most deserving employees into partners creates an internal dynamic and reinforces the firm's attractiveness by demonstrating that it can offer career opportunities to the best associates.
On the other hand, failing to integrate new partners can weaken the development of the organisation and generate significant risks.
The first difficulty frequently encountered is that the contribution of the new partner – promoted internally or recruited laterally – does not live up to expectations. Economically, the increase in expenses isn't therefore compensated by sufficient turnover.
Another risk, more inherent in the arrival of a partner from another firm: the "graft" does not take hold, the partner does not play as part of the collective and does not integrate into the existing team – often with a very different mode of practice from that expected. Added to this may be the fact that client and business development activities are not up to expectations either, and that the newcomer refuses to open up their clients to their new partners.
This results in many frustrations and misunderstandings that most often lead to a failure and the departure of those recently arrived, while the partners have often invested a lot of time and money in these new associations which is not recoverable.
Why does the onboarding of new partners fail?
One of the reasons why new partners fail to onboard is a lack of clarity on what is expected of a partner. Too often, we find that discussions about becoming a new partner lack rigour and objectivity, due to a lack of shared vision among partners on the role and expectations of a partner.
Another factor that contributes to the failure of these integrations is the inadequacy of the work preparatory to a potential promotion. We observe that the internal processes for appointing partners and the due diligence carried out on candidates are often not commensurate with the risks involved. The review of potential partner candidates is sometimes insufficiently thought out on the part of the firm and on the side of the candidate, and this often results in misunderstandings about the people concerned or the choice of firm.
Similarly, we note that the work done after the promotion or arrival of the new partner is often insufficient, and that the new partners are not adequately supported by the firm, at least during their first year of partnership.
Internally promoted associates have often not been sufficiently prepared for their new role and little is organized to help them make a successful transition. The new partner can then remain in a "service partner" role, essentially working for the partner who sponsored the candidate's business case for fear of seeing the candidate leave the firm.
Similarly, little is organized to facilitate the proper integration and understanding of the firm by the partners who newly join a firm. Hence the natural tendency, for those who arrive in groups, to keep to themselves, and sometimeseven to form an "office within the office". In this regard, the existence of conflicts between partners or internal rivalries can further complicate the integration of newcomers and affect their ability to work effectively.
How to successfully integrate your new partners
The many movements between firms in the market show that it is in the interest of firms to work on limiting these risks. This work must be done both before and after promotion of internal candidates and recruitment of external candidates.
Beforehand, opportunistic promotions or hires must not become the norm: each new admission to partnership should be decided according to a plan and a "business case", and be the subject of a clear process and criteria accepted and shared between the partners.
Of course, any partnership promotion decision has an element of subjectivity. But the clearer the partners are among themselves about what a partner should be in their firm, the more objective and rigorous the selection will be. The more the application is documented and subjected to a robust review, the more likely it is to minimize the chances of failure. And if the partner candidates have been prepared in advance, in particular through a training programme focused on their future role, the chances of success will be significantly increased.
After promotion, we observe that many firms don't achieve the expected results from their new partners, because they have not supported them in their new role nor welcomed them to their new home. This is despite the fact that firms
have many tools at their disposal to accelerate the transition from the role of associate to that of partner or to help the new partner integrate into his or her new environment.
One of the tools we have worked on at Bignon De Keyser is the development of a structured integration programme. Adapted for the size of the firm, this programme allows the new partner to become more familiar with the firm's internal procedures and policies, existing tools such as the CRM and practice management systems, and in particular how the firm's billing and collection process works. This programme may include a series of meetings with the firm's existing partners so that each can work as quickly as possible with the new partner on potential client development related to the new partner's practice.
In addition to this integration programme and the transmission of the firm's values by the existing partners, it is good policy to set up a "mentorship" of the partner (and their team) for at least the entire first year. And, in addition to regular feedback, it's good policy to have a regular review with new partners to discuss their integration and analyse their performance compared to what was anticipated in their business case.
In conclusion, new partners should, through a variety of mechanisms and touchpoints, feel supported, valued and motivated to be part of the success of the organization which has admitted them as 'one of us'.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.