Department size: ~60

Focus on…The people working with me in the legal department

The remote working structures which were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic led to a new normal working life, which brought benefits such as reduced traveling time and more flexibility. However, we also experienced that permanent virtual meetings lead to “Zoom fatigue” and became an additional stress factor which needed to be compensated.

The working and team structures today are different from the ones before the pandemic. The interactions between people are often content driven, while talking about private topics such as hobbies, sport, family, or holidays are reduced. This is especially the case with the onboarding of new colleagues. One might think that a higher rate of content-driven interactions between colleagues increases productivity, which ultimately leads to more legal work done in less time and is therefore beneficial for the legal function and the employer.

This argumentation, however, misses three factors: First, the strength and backbone of an efficient and strong legal department lies in the expertise of and the communication between the people in the legal department. Our experience in the legal department throughout the last two years with the implementation and use of artificial intelligence have shown that, although the use of AI in legal processes is already and will be even more important in the future, the backbone of a high performing legal department is, and will continue to be, the legal experts working there. The expertise of the individual legal counsel, however, is mainly developed “on the job,” which requires communicating with legal colleagues and business partners. To foster the onboarding and development of new colleagues, one needs to build good communication channels which are ultimately built on trust.

Second, one of the main tasks we have as leaders is change management. To quickly adapt to a constantly changing and evolving environment and regulatory landscape, an efficient and high-performing legal department is required. While existing structures and work processes could easily be adapted to the remote working environment, the introduction of new structures, processes or digital tools became much more burdensome. While in the past, a personal connection and interaction could convince people to adapt to the change, the same is much more difficult in today’s remote working environment.

To be an attractive employer requires you to offer the individual flexibility offered by remote working, while at the same time building strong connections with and between colleagues. Personal connection with colleagues makes work more interesting – especially in diverse teams – and enjoyable for everyone. At the same time, it leads to more engagement and long-term working relationships.

To find the right balance between offering individual flexibility and building a strong team spirit is one of our major challenges in the coming year.