6 Ways to Attract Top Talent to Your Firm

Want to attract the best and brightest young lawyers?

Spend less time in interviews discussing salary and benefits and more on vision and purpose.

Research indicates that Millennials – those born after 1982 – are looking for meaning in their professional lives.

Research indicates that Millennials – those born after 1982 – are looking for meaning in their professional lives.

“While they believe the pursuit of profit is important to sustaining a business, Millennials also say that pursuit must be accompanied by a sense of purpose, by efforts to create innovative products or services and, above all, by consideration of individuals as employees and members of society,” writes Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Touche. “In fact, 75 percent say businesses are too focused on their own agendas and not focused enough on improving society.”

For the past five years, Deloitte has surveyed Milennials in 29 countries on their goals, aspirations and views on business and leadership.

What their 2015 survey showed was that Millennials want fulfillment at home – and at work. They want to work for a firm that knows where it’s going. They want the freedom to be creative. They want a mix of altruism and self-interest.

Maybe they want to work for you?

The Times Are A’Changing

Look around and you’ll see a workforce in flux. Baby boomers are retiring. Gen-Xers are taking their place. Millennials – who make up a quarter of the US population – are next in line.

Successful firms will tap into this emerging pool of talent.

Doing this requires an understanding that most Millennials - 60 percent, according to the Deloitte poll – are seeking work that is more than just about making money.

And for Millennials who are “super-connected” – i.e., major users of social networking tools – that number rises to 77 percent.

“[Millennials] long to be part of something bigger than themselves,” writes Karl Moore in Forbes. “The workplace doesn’t define them to the degree that it did for too many Boomers. Millennials want to lead a balanced life. They want to be happy at home and happy on the job – money is somewhat secondary.”

This doesn’t mean you have to go all soft and squishy to recruit top talent. In fact, you don’t have to change a thing. You simply have to acknowledge the new realities of the legal workforce.

6 Things To Know About Millennials

1. They do things differently. They’ve grown up with portable devices and social media, for one thing. They’ll bring this sensibility to their jobs – which can add immediate value to your firm by way of efficiency, innovation and creativity.
2. They are interested in broader issues. Like protecting the environment and advocating for social justice. They want to know the firm has a mission.
3. They want to work at a place that treats employees fairly. They value firms that are interested in their wellbeing, growth and development. They want to be challenged, and they want to develop their own leadership potential.
4. They’re not all about the money. They want to work for a firm that gives back to the local community and society at large. They are drawn to companies that offer pro bono assignments, sabbaticals and volunteer opportunities.
5. They are loyal to a job rather than an employer. “This is partly a response to their parents sometimes being loyal to a firm that would often lay them off without hesitation when times got rough,” according to the Forbes piece. “Promotions, whether they include more money or not, equate to growth. When the path is non-existent or too entangled, the company becomes less alluring.”
6. They thrive on communication. They want to know what is expected of them and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. They respond to onboarding and orientation programs.

What about your firm? Have you made efforts to attract Millennials? What are the results?

Sources:

• Politico http://www.politico.com/sponsor-content/2015/09/millennials-and-purpose-the-message-is-clear-for-business-leaders

• Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2014/10/02/millennials-work-for-purpose-not-paycheck/

Jay Reeves a/k/a The Risk Man practiced law in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is a former Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual.