How can your digital marketing help your law firm to embed the right culture?
By Sahra-Marie Tulloch, Account Director at Conscious Solutions
Why is law firm culture so important?
There seem to be more opportunities within a law firm than ever and so it should not be a surprise that those graduating from university, finishing up their qualifications or looking for a new firm to work for have many options available to them. Frankly, depending on what lawyers want from their job, just being one of the top 100 law firms might not cut it anymore. This means that potential employees are looking for signals about what it’s like to work at your firm. They’re getting these from your website, your social media, and your online reviews. If you are struggling with recruitment, it’s essential to look at these channels and assess whether your true culture and identity are being shown.
I’d like to think you know that you work better when you are happy, well-looked after and feeling positive about the firm you are working for, so it's likely that others in your firm feel the same way, too. Creating a positive culture will only make your employees happier, ensuring they produce the best work possible. More satisfied clients equals more work for your firm, which is a win-win.
There are several ways that your firm’s digital marketing can play a role in helping your law firm create the culture it wants, which will lead to benefits for your employees and your firm.
How can your law firm’s digital marketing play a role in embedding the right culture?
Website
Having all your staff on your website is one step to creating a positive working environment where all employees feel equally valued. Try to do this as quickly as possible once they begin with you, and make sure their profile highlights their achievements. But don’t just focus on their working achievements, what about their hobbies, goals, and interests? Giving people the option to showcase their interests suggests your firm encourages its employees to have a life outside of work, and you don’t expect them to sit at their desks late into the evening.
Social media
Your social media is another place to showcase your employees and show the value they bring to the firm. Why not start sharing employee testimonials, milestones such as years of service with the business, and achievements such as new qualifications on your social media accounts? A culture that focuses on and highlights successes is much more likely to create a positive environment for its staff.
Online review platforms
How often do you check your firm’s online reviews? Many platforms, such as Glassdoor, allow current and past employees to talk about your firm online. Someone in your firm should monitor these reviews and pass on the information. If a review says your firm is a hostile place to work, hopefully, they say why, and you can think about what you can do to rectify it. There is no point in seeing feedback and doing nothing about it, and hearing from your team is the best way to understand what is and is not working.
Surveys
If you want to avoid encouraging public feedback, how about an internal anonymous ‘pulse’ survey online, followed by smaller discussion groups to get to the root of how people are feeling? You should make the time to identify and understand what employees think about the current culture and how it can be improved to create a positive workplace which makes them want to stick around. Overall, your law firm’s culture should really be based on what your employees want as, in the legal industry, the people are the product. As mentioned above, you must implement this feedback after obtaining it.
Internal Communications
Finally, internal communications might help to improve your law firm’s culture. This could be a weekly newsletter that goes to all staff to discuss business successes, new clients, what each area of the company has been working on, and your CSR efforts. Alternatively, you could have a company-wide meeting once a quarter for people to share their successes. Internal communication is hugely important for understanding employees' feelings and building trust.
About Conscious Solutions
Conscious Solutions has over 20 years' experience in digital marketing for law firms and consistently tell our clients how important showcasing your employees is. Get in touch on 0117 325 0200 or sales@conscious.co.uk if you want to find out how we can help your law firm become more successful online.
Sahra-Marie Tulloch is one of the Account Directors at Conscious Solutions and has been with the business for over six years. Before joining the Conscious team, she spent over six years working within a top 100 law firm, initially as a fee-earner before moving into marketing, so she understands the challenges and pressures law firms face. Sahra always offers her clients practical solutions and advice to help them get more from their digital marketing.
