A people business: Increasing staff happiness and firm profits

Managing director Rob Bhol reveals how developing a happy workforce created higher profits at DBS Law

 

Key takeaway points:

1. Identify your firm’s culture or the one that you wish to develop.

2. Build a solid team that has a shared vision.

3. Set out a clear strategy through systematic planning.

4. Communicate this strategy to staff.

5. Engage with staff.

6. Understand motivational factors and personalities.

7. Listen and continue to learn.

8. Invite constructive feedback.

9. Do not become smug or complacent.

10. Regularly review business objectives and performance, including your own.

 

The Sunday Times’ list of the top 100 companies to work for in the UK doesn’t quite have the same cache as its rich list, but I think it should be taken seriously. I’m not saying this just because my firm made the list in 2012 for the second year running, but because I believe there are lessons to be learned for all business leaders from the employment practices of those in '¨the top 100.

The award is presented to companies every year for their fulfilment of a range of criteria, including great leadership, investment in staff training and development, the health and wellbeing of employees, fair pay and benefits, and community service.

The assessment of each firm is completed with confidential employee surveys and on-site investigations. It’s a nail-biting couple of months because the last thing you want – having put yourself forward as an exemplary boss – is to be told that you’re not.

For many employers, though, being a good boss may come pretty low on the list of priorities in their business plans. There are, it seems, always extenuating circumstances or market pressures that render employee contentment a back-of-the-cupboard item.

In any case, as long as unemployment remains high, we can be sure that staff will turn up for work every day because they don’t have anywhere else to go. ‘You’re lucky to have a job’ is an all-too-often repeated management mantra. It may be true, but it is offensive and counterproductive – and it’s productivity that’s the all-important factor.

If you’re in business, you have to understand that you can get more out of staff who are happy and committed to their work than you can from fearful forelock-tugging serfs. This is particularly true in a service industry like ours and something all law firms should urgently consider as competition from non-legal commercial organisation comes into play.

Making a difference

My firm is now rated with three stars, coming in at number 59 on the top 100 employers list. We’ve moved up from 82nd place last year as a result of a deliberate strategy that '¨I put in train four years ago.

The firm had a traditional approach to personnel management at the time – more crowd control than motivational. The business was ticking over nicely, but it was still off the pace in terms of its potential. We had a higher than normal level of staff turnover and a tolerable level of negative client feedback. It wasn’t a disaster by any means, but we weren’t going to win any awards.

We needed an edge. After some soul searching, we set out to change our culture and build a better business.

We began by talking to staff. We avoided direct confrontational questioning about what would make them happy, mainly because the predictable response of ‘a 100 per cent pay rise please’ wasn’t deliverable.

We asked staff to engage with us '¨on changing the business and actually involved them in deciding what the firm '¨was going to be. They responded very positively and enthusiastically.

This engagement was so successful that it led us to invest in a rebranding. Our new slogan ‘bringing law to life’ embodied the social responsibility of the firm that had emerged as a key factor for staff, particularly the younger members. They wanted their work to mean something more than a business transaction and they wanted to be part of something socially significant.

So we set out to partly satisfy this desire by developing a community outreach project. DBS Heart, as it is known, is run by staff and financially supported by the firm. The project involves staff providing practical assistance for development and safety campaigns, as well as fundraising for the charities that run them.

The most popular activity is the road safety classes that we run for Brake in local schools. The commitment of our staff has resulted in Birmingham City Council seeking to partner with us in our continued efforts to educate primary school children on the importance of road safety.

We also sponsored a development programme run by the Prince’s Trust for unemployed young people in Birmingham.

The business benefit of the project has been the development of empathy in our staff. Not that they were sociopaths to begin with, but like many well-educated and relatively privileged professionals, they don’t necessarily form any contact with the lives of ordinary working people.

Understanding the struggles most people endure to make ends meet is important for them. They have, as a group, developed solidarity with our clients and each claim they work on is now a fight for individual justice, not just a fee, and they have achieved a greater sense of job satisfaction.

We developed this further with a political campaign in opposition to the changes to the funding for civil litigation incorporated in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

We employed a professional campaigner and communicator to lead it. His job was to push out our views on the issue to the media and also to capture staff commitment. They got on board quickly and helped to identify cases to '¨use as examples to explain the effect of the changes to the public. They also explained it to clients and enjoyed feeling part of a fight for social justice.

Changing benefits

We also addressed the remuneration and professional development of our staff. Pay in our business is great if you’re at the top, but not so if you’re starting out.

I’ve heard many stories about unrealistic targets, excessive caseloads and paltry bonuses paid to paralegals or trainee solicitors, particularly at some big law firms. This feudal approach to management doesn’t create loyalty – it only generates resentment in junior staff and contributes to expensive staff turnover.

So, we decided to put our money where our mouth is and pay a bonus linked to both firm and individual performance. We place a lot of emphasis on client feedback when it comes to individual assessment. We survey clients during and after the completion of a matter.

Sharing profits in an equitable way across all grades in the firm has helped to gel the teams and to solidify management-staff relationships. It has also helped to eradicate the ‘them and us’ culture between fee earners and support staff.

In terms of staff development, I was very keen to open up the opportunity for individual improvement across the whole organisation. I am a product of the now-ancient practice of starting at the bottom as an assistant at 16 years of age and being supported by my employer through to becoming a solicitor.

In budgetary terms, we have increased our annual spend on training as a percentage of turnover. We have training contracts running constantly. More than ten per cent of our employees are currently engaged in supported university courses.

We have support staff doing higher business studies degrees and other professional qualifications, all with company funding and paid time off to attend classes and for exam preparation.

This is on top of a dramatic increase in direct job-related training for individuals. All vocational training provisions are mutually identified and agreed during the personal assessment process. The key factor in decision making is always the needs of the business, rather than pure expenditure.

Did it help?

As a result of these efforts, our staff gave us a 90 per cent approval rating for their own personal growth when responding to The Sunday Times’ survey. In addition, 95 per cent said they are satisfied with how they are taken care of in their team.

Eighty per cent of staff said they are happy with their pay and benefits, and the same amount said they are happy with how much the firm gives back to society. Both of these figures show room for improvement and, of course, an impressive level of ambition among our staff.

This level of happiness has created a firm with very low staff turnover and fantastic feedback from clients. Of the surveyed clients, 87 per cent said they would recommend our services. We have also enjoyed a 150 per cent increase in turnover in four years and higher profits, '¨all of which was achieved from the same level of instructions.

We have also achieved bronze investors in people status and, this year, our firm was a finalist for the Birmingham law society’s law firm of the year award.

Prioritising happiness

The value of happiness in staff cannot be overstated. In the same way that negativity can become toxic, spread outwards from a single source and infect the business environment, so too can happiness, but '¨the effects are positive on many fronts.

This is not to say that delusional optimists walking around with smiles '¨is good for business. However, positivity, optimism and happier staff have played a significant part in the increased revenues generated by our business.

It is equally important to maintain focus on individuals who struggle with positivity. Simply getting rid of them is a short-term fix – in the long run, it can be just as damaging to the workforce.

It is always worth asking yourself whether there is something that you have done or not done (which may often be the case) that has allowed the situation to arise in the first place.

Find out what the problem is and fix it, rather than simply treating unhappy individuals as the problem. Turning negativity around while retaining the same people is in itself a very important skill for those involved in the day-to-day management and operation of a business.

A key factor in achieving what we have to date is grasping a full understanding of the different types of business models and being certain as to which one we want to have. There are typically only four different kinds and each can be successful in its own right, but one will stand out to you '¨as the business culture you wish to create.

When this is firmly decided upon, create a strategy and structure to achieve it. It takes time and genuine engagement with staff, exploring the different personalities within the organisation as well as your own, discovering what motivates them, and gaining an appreciation of the fact that there is no such thing as a complete leader.

A successful leader will have many strengths but can have many weaknesses too, some of which may only become apparent when he receives honest feedback and is receptive to it.

A good leader will be aware of his own strengths and the areas in which he is not so strong. He will also ensure that he puts in place individuals who are better at such matters and not be afraid to do so.

Intuition has played a significant part in how I have implemented positive change for the business, but I have also gained great insight from listening to others.

rob.bhol@dbslaw.co.uk