In a year of relative economic uncertainty, it's only prudent for firms to "tighten their belts" and cut costs where possible. Reports suggest that most firms are doing this, at least to some extent. If you're on your firm's talent management team, this likely means smaller budgets and increased scrutiny of expenses. Additionally, your firm may be slow to fill staff vacancies, leaving you with a leaner team than usual. The theme? You must do more with less.
Working in a law school for many years, I learned much about operating on a shoestring budget. Our lean staff had to be creative to accomplish our objectives. Here are a few lessons that may help you if your team is budget constrained.
(1) Do a deep dive into your initiatives to determine if there is anything you can cut.
Under "normal" circumstances, it can be easy to run on autopilot and reproduce many of the same programs year after year, while adding new ones. But when things are tight, it's time to get serious about prioritizing.
Start by listing every project or initiative your team is working on. What is the cost, in both dollars and hours? Think beyond your team – what are other departments contributing to the initiative? Remember that their resources may be constrained as well.
In addition to the cost of each program, consider its value in terms of the number of beneficiaries and the magnitude of the benefit. Then perform an analysis.
Low cost and high benefit? Easy - it stays.
High cost, low benefit? Make the case to eliminate.
High benefit, high cost? Consider ways of bringing down the cost.
Low cost, low benefit? These will require a deeper evaluation – you may want to consider future potential, political benefit, or industry standards. But remember that lots of low-cost items add up over time. I'd suggest eliminating these unless there is a compelling reason to keep them.
Tip: If you’re visual or analytical, you can assign numbers to each initiative and plot them on a graph. This can help put everything in perspective and provide a framework for discussion with your team or firm leadership. I like using Miro’s “2x2 Prioritization Metrix” template to aid with the visualization.
(2) Don't pay for more "event" than you need.
In law firms, we often rely on an events team to plan events for us. And that can work great – the events team will have lots of resources to help you plan successfully. But when operating on a budget, you may want to get in the weeds with the events team. Remember that they plan tons of events each year, and what is crucial for one event may not be necessary for yours. Make sure you know what assumptions they are working with.
For example, if you're hosting a happy hour for a small group, they may assume you need a private room – which can drive the cost up. However, there may be other options where you can get a section of a bar or restaurant – or even get a few tables and open up a tab at the bar for something very casual. Have a consistent and open dialogue with your events team to ensure you don't end up paying for more than you need.
(3) Combine forces, or make your events do "double duty."
When planning events or initiatives, ensure the firm is getting the most bang for its buck. If an event is only achieving one purpose, say training or morale, consider what you can do to get more value from that event.
Many firms do this to some extent – one obvious example is hosting a practice group event that includes summer associates – it becomes both a summer associate event and a morale-boosting event for the group.
When you start brainstorming, you'll find there are tons of possibilities. Here are a few examples:
Organize a training where two related groups present to each other on a relevant topic. Then follow that with a social event that includes both groups. (Objectives: Training, morale, internal networking/connectivity.)
Host a community service event that has different practice groups competing with one another. (Objectives: Morale, team-building, corporate social responsibility)
Organize a pro bono initiative in connection with Pride Month or Black History Month. (Objectives: DE&I, team-building, social responsibility, pro bono)
Bust through silos in your organization to see how you can collaborate with other groups to maximize the value of firm initiatives.
(4) Use technology.
Many talent management professionals rely on a tech team to supply solutions. But there may be lots of resources available if you take some time to learn them. Find out what your firm offers and also what resources are out there in the world. I mentioned Miro earlier in this article. At my last firm, I also found SmartSheet indispensable for creating reports and dashboards that kept our team up-to-date on our projects in real-time.
Do some exploring, or talk to tech-savvy colleagues to see what they find helpful.
A quick note: If you want to use something outside what your firm offers, you should run it by your tech team first to make sure there are no data security issues, or to find out if your firm offers something similar in-house.
(5) Ask for help and support when you need it.
I realize that some of my advice involves doing things yourself that you might otherwise consider other people's jobs. To be clear, I do NOT advocate taking on everything yourself. It's essential to consider the best use of other departmental support. Is the delegation efficient, or is it hindering your progress?
There may be some things you're well suited to handle and other tasks you can't do efficiently. Know the difference. Ultimately, having a good grasp of your support resources, what they do, and how they can help will allow you to properly allocate your time. And remember that continued internal networking can put you in a much better position for collaboration that can save everyone time and resources.
By: Kandice Thorn, Founder, WorkBetter for Lawyers
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