The Great Resignation has produced unprecedented upheaval across industries, with candidates hopping roles, shopping for better pay and work-life balance, and quietly quitting in instances where they don’t feel as though they want to go the extra mile. The net result has been a shift in the supply-and-demand economics in favor of candidates. This has been especially pronounced with respect to law firm business professional staff roles.
Big Law hiring managers and talent acquisition teams have been scratching their heads for months in search of one elusive kind of talent: the midlevel business development and marketing professional.
“Since pandemic reentry, those of us who specialize in this niche have witnessed increased demand for midlevel business developers—defined here as senior coordinators, analysts, specialists, senior specialists and managers—who support practices and industries, especially for litigation and disputes work,” observes Michele Iacovano, Maverick’s Director of Talent Acquisition. “However, in this current market, there’s far less talent than there are open positions.”
Observations
As a result, we expect to to see the following hiring and retention trends continue into 2023:
- Increased offer competitiveness to get people through the door in the form of inflated base salaries and retention bonuses
- De-prioritization of subject matter expertise in favor of generalists who have the right tactical skillsets
- Expanded location flexibility to allow for employees based in different cities or non-office locations
- Expedited interview timelines in which firms attempt to head off competitors by quickly reaching the offer stage
- Increased counteroffers to attract candidates who may be holding multiple offers or “shopping around”
- Heightened downside risks stemming from:
- Tough decisions regarding internal pay equity, an issue that’s set to become further exacerbated by new pay disclosure laws in Colorado, New York and, soon, California
- Under-qualified and/or less professionally mature candidates taking on roles that are beyond their experience level
- Candidate prioritization of non-financial incentives such as:
- Flex-hybrid work and enhanced benefits
- Professional development and training opportunities, as well as increased focus on the importance of manager relationships, mentorship and clear growth trajectories
- Maintaining comfort levels within a role and eliminating relocation requirements for new opportunities
“We are also noticing that savvy candidates at this level are increasingly placing a premium on non-financial incentives like flex-hybrid work, superior benefits, and professional development opportunities,” says Alexandra Kapos, Talent Acquisition Manager at Maverick. “In addition, some candidates are expressing an overall reluctance to make a move post-pandemic, particularly those who already made a career change within the last two years.”
Recommendations
Benjamin Field, Maverick’s Managing Director of Client Relationships, observes that, “in addition to being able to offer competitive salaries, we’re seeing our clients enjoy success by partnering with their external recruiters in ways that support the overall search and enhance the marketability of roles.”
Here are some tactics to beat out the competition and hire the best talent:
- Conduct exploratory discussions with strong candidates who aren’t currently in the market. Even if the conversation does not lead to formal hiring discussions, you’ll gain insight into what your ideal candidates are looking for.
- Allow for closing conversations, in which finalists or candidates under offer can meet their future colleagues and/or internal clients (partners). This will foster connections before offer-acceptance and could give your company culture a competitive edge should the candidate consider counteroffers.
- Make creative offers via sign-on bonuses for new hires—and retention bonuses for existing star performers—to attract and retain the best talent. Financial incentives can also offset any base salary limitations in the firm’s budget.
- Help candidates envision long-term growth by discussing their career trajectories, professional development and training opportunities.
- Prioritize diversity in recruiting by training hiring managers to consider a diverse[1] slate of candidates for all hiring decisions. Give particular focus to “high potential” candidates with less traditional backgrounds and experiences, as well as strong “step up” candidates who demonstrate professional maturity and growth potential.
- Expedite offer-acceptance timetables by asking for definitive responses to offers within narrower timeframes.
- Dovetail offers and benefits discussions with HR-Benefits teams to arm candidates with the perspective necessary to make informed decisions.
- Differentiate your firm by equipping the recruiter with messaging, information and marketing collateral that will show candidates the unique aspects of your role they won’t see replicated elsewhere.
Working with a dedicated recruiter in whom the firm has invested, who understands the business and its people—because they’ve sat down with the hiring managers to scope the role, walked the halls and embedded with the talent acquisition team—is also one of the biggest investments clients can make. These recruiters align their objectives with those of the firm and serve as a true extension of the talent acquisition team out in the marketplace, thereby increasing the quality of candidates, signaling a firm’s seriousness to the market, and reducing the need for multiple agency briefings, among other benefits.
[1] We define “Diversity Recruiting” here as a firm’s efforts to increase the percentage of ethnic, racial and LGBTQ+ diversity in the hiring process
