Managing Employee Attrition

Dates for 2009 TBA

	The new employment landscape In this session we will examine how the demographic of Australian lawyers is changing. As well as the much talked about generational issues that all practices are experiencing, we will explore changing numbers of women lawyers, part time lawyers, contract lawyers, the ageing equity partner base and the opportunities that remain for progressive firms.
	What causes attrition/turnover Modest attrition is an important part of a healthy growing business. Good new people often bring innovative, energetic approaches to old problems. At present, however, attrition in law firms is too great to be healthy. Last year FMRC Legal surveys indicated attrition rates as high as 45% for several categories of employed solicitors. In this session we will examine the causes of attrition. While some of the causes remain uncontrollable, many are directly controllable.
	Building a retention strategy and implementing a retention policy Progressive firms should have a specific strategy to control attrition of talented employees. In this session we will explore the elements of an effective strategy and show participants how to design and implement effective, firm wide policy.
	A firm wide look at leadership and organisational culture People no longer work diligently for a firm because they feel they must. All talented people have many options. They will only work diligently for you if they like you. Leadership and culture are the keys. In this session we will look beyond the leadership rhetoric to examine practical, workable strategies that will help partners and leaders make their firms better places to work.

A learning workshop designed specifically for the times. As Australia marches towards full employment, retention has grown beyond the firm and manifested as an industry issue. Lawyers are highly mobile. The attrition of employed lawyers from Australian legal firms is having a significant, negative economic impact. Attrition is a costly business. Firms should move quickly to develop a specific retention policy that recognises the underlying causes of attrition and encourages all partners and managers to maximise the retention of quality talent.


 Presenter

Neil Oakes

Neil has been working almost exclusively as a management consultant with the legal profession for 20 years. He undertakes consulting assignments for law firms throughout Australia and New Zealand, specialising in strategic advantage, profit growth strategies, contemporary leadership and change management. Each year he is involved with some 110 law firms of various sizes and specialty areas of practice.