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CCCA_V2No3_EditMessage-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_EditMessage-V1.qxd 9/17/08 2:03 PM Page 6 From The Editor Mot du rédacteur en chef Lawyer Les ABC de la retention 101 fidélisation Voici trois trucs pour vous aider à Three easy steps to making sure you retain fidéliser les avocats que vous ne the lawyers you want. voulez pas perdre. By Jordan Furlong Par Jordan Furlong hances are, at some point in the last couple of years, you’ve experienced ous connaissez le scénario : un jeune the following, increasingly common scenario: a junior but valued mem- membre talentueux de votre départe- Cber of your legal department enters your office looking sheepish, closes Vment juridique entre dans votre the door behind her, and starts saying, “I wanted to let you know that I’ve just bureau, ferme la porte derrière lui et vous accepted a position…” informe d’un air penaud qu’il vient d’accepter It used to be that offering someone a job, and having them accept, was the end of une offre d’emploi ailleurs. the lawyer hiring process. These days, it’s only the beginning. As our article “Where Comme le décrit notre article, « Quand the grass is greener” describes, lateral movement of lawyers between and among law l’herbe est plus verte chez le voisin », les avocats firms and law departments has never been more common and more difficult to pre- changent d'emploi plus souvent que jamais — dict. Revolving doors belong in the main lobby, not in your office. tendance qui risque de continuer, mais qui est So how to stay ahead of the game? Well, here’s a handy rule: watch what most large difficile à prédire. law firms do to retain their best young talent, and then do the exact opposite. Here Pour demeurer concurrentielle et fidéliser are some examples: son jeune talent, il suffit d’observer ce que font • Don’t give them grunt work. Law firms might have to rely on mind-numbing, les grands cabinets et faire l’opposé. Quelques repetitive tasks to keep their associates profitable, but law departments have more exemples : flexibility to automate and outsource the most basic work. You’ve hired some of the • Évitez de leur donner du travail ingrat. brightest young minds the profession has to offer: put their brains to good use on Débarrassez votre équipe des tâches les plus important, challenging, engaging projects. inintéressantes. Envoyez plutôt ce travail à l’ex- • Don’t bury them alive.The myth of the 9-to-5 in-house job is, thankfully, final- terne et vos jeunes avocats brillants pourront ly being put to rest, as people realize that law is hard work no matter where you relever des défis plus motivants. are. But at some law firms, things are just out of control: ridiculous billing targets, • Évitez de les laisser crouler sous le travail. last-minute all-nighters, relentless pressure. Just giving your lawyers reasonable Le mythe de la journée 9 à 5 dans les con- workload parameters they can build their lives around can have a huge impact. tentieux est bel et bien révolu, ce qui n’est pas • Don’t treat them like fodder. Associates used to put up with the grind in order to mauvais en soi. Mais la pression incessante du grab that partnership invitation. But this generation thinks that brass ring is tarnished travail, à la façon des cabinets, et les nuits and is declining to reach for it. Offer your new lawyers something more and differ- blanches à la dernière minute sont à proscrire. ent: business skills, boardroom experience, corporate exposure, secondments with • Arrêtez de les traiter comme de la chair à other departments, a future with the company here or overseas. canon. La jeune génération d’aujourd’hui reste sceptique face aux promesses des associés qui Of course, some degree of turnover is both healthy and inevitable: some people are leur font miroiter la réussite au bout des doigts. cut out for the in-house life and some aren’t, and it can take a while for all concerned Il faut offrir aux jeunes avocats l’occasion de to figure it out. All you need is to make sure that the people you want to stick around perfectionner leurs compétences en affaires, aren’t the ones making that close-the-door-behind-them trip to your office. d’avoir accès aux instances décisionnelles, ou de travailler pour la compagnie à l’étranger. Send your comments to ccca@ccca-cba.org. La rotation du personnel est une chose Correction: Editorial errors made their way into the article “Groundswell” (Summer 2008, inévitable dans toute entreprise, mais offrez aux p. 44). Regarding Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. (SWP)’s acquisition of Agricore United, avocats qui souhaitent rester des raisons de ne it should have been noted that the canola breeding program was owned by SWP and live- pas fermer la porte derrière eux. stock investments were held by AU. As well, Sandra Swystun holds the position of Corporate Counsel with Viterra. CCCA Magazine regrets the errors. Commentaires? ccca@ccca-cba.org. 6 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association FALL 2008