Recently, I have been helping out with the recruitment of staff for the International Arbitration Centre.
Making sure that the front of house staff meet up to the highest expectations of client service and discretion are very much the principles on which the interviews were based. So we looked at a range of candidates, from high end hotels and hospitality companies to the more traditional sources, namely law firms and sets. We saw some fantastic candidates, and now have a great team ready to go when the centre opens its doors in a few days’ time. But, there was something darker about the process which troubles
me greatly.
We heard tales of unacceptable language, inappropriate behaviour, and even bullying that is a regular part of the day job for some of the front of house staff at law firms and sets. What is clear in some of these organisations is a deepening of the ‘support staff’ mentality, which is demonstrated with the lack of
respect that the individuals are subjected to. And let’s be clear
here – the first people clients see when they come into the firm or set are your front of house team. They set the tone for everything that follows – and believe me, I’ve visited enough offices around the world to know how easy it is to get it right (and wrong).
I’ve had some fantastic welcomes to offices around the world – it’s always a pleasure to walk into the offices at Jones Day, Clifford Chance, Cadwalader in New York, Bracewell in Houston, Allen & Overy amongst others – where the attention to detail from front of house staff is second to none. And then I can go to the other end of things – one of the main firms in Sydney, a Wall Street giant and a recently merged UK firm, where clients and I were treated as if we were disturbing their day. In one of my favourite encounters, I walked into a firm to find a notice from the ‘Director of First Impression’ stating they would be back in 5 minutes leaving an unmanned reception – I would suggest not the best first impression to leave us with.
Front of house staff at their best keep the clients moving to the right meeting rooms – I can regale you with numerous stories of sitting in receptions next to clients of the firm and hearing confidential information being discussed, and hearing dissatisfaction from clients about the way they feel the firm is treating them, and the positive and negative qualities of partners. I found out about a major law firm merger from waiting in a reception almost three months before the story broke, due to loose lips and knowing which firm the partners visiting were from.
A warning – you might need to be careful who you leave waiting in your reception areas! And trust me, The Legal 500 researchers pick up a lot of information about the client experience and the culture of a firm from their visits. The value of great front of house staff cannot be underestimated.
So when I hear stories, in 2019, of a city law firm that requires front of house staff to stand up with hands neatly behind their backs if the managing partner walks into the room, I kind of despair. When I hear stories of front of house staff being rated on how attractive they look with or without glasses, I wonder how the #MeToo movement passed the firm by. They are sailing pretty close to the wind regarding employment law. But what depressed me most when interviewing was how ‘accepted’ bad behaviour is. When I asked the candidates how it made them feel when partners or barristers were shouting to their face (usually about something which wasn’t any part of their job), the answers were similar – ‘it’s just something you get on with’, ‘you have to have a thick skin in this business’, ‘I know that they just needed to shout, so you soak it up and move on’ – and on it continues.
This is not an acceptable way to treat staff, and the damage it can do to the overall culture of a firm or set is clear to see. But it is tolerated. Because the people shouting are the fee-earners? This makes it right? I’ve spoken, off the record, to scores of people in firms and sets about this subject over the past couple of months, and it is a problem for the majority of firms and sets. Time to remember that everyone who works with you (and the emphasis on ‘with’, not ‘for’) is a human being who deserves professional courtesy and respect. A suggestion for the end of the week – treat people well please.