Every law firm manager or partner knows the importance of improving the firm’s performance. After all, we are in a time of fierce competition, in which every penny spent counts. Every extra piece of work not added to the client’s current contract adds up. So it’s easy to assume that performance management is a priority for these managers, right? Wrong. Ask 100 coordinators and 99 of them won’t even mention the term performance management. How can you improve something you don’t talk about? That you don’t devote time and energy to? Performance is not something that just happens. It is the result of systematic action by a manager who is concerned with 1) defining the right indicators for the bank, 2) periodically measuring and analyzing them, and 3) implementing operational and personal improvement actions together with his team. Making this virtuous circle work is the essence of performance management. I’ve already talked a lot about how to create indicators in article 3 of this series. It’s important to go beyond objective KPIs (number of deals done, hours billed, etc.). These are vital, but generally only express short-term results. Add indicators for the future of the bank: level of client satisfaction, confidence in the team, etc. Although they may seem more subjective, if well constructed they can make it clear what you want to measure and how to do it. There is, however, a whole path that your firm needs to follow once the indicators have been established. This is the management journey, which for many partners and coordinators seems like a tedious marathon and, worse, one that they have never been trained for. It doesn’t have to be that way. One of the characteristics of performance management is systematic action. This means that managers need to set aside time to collect and analyze performance data on a regular basis. In the case of the more objective indicators (KPIs), this should ideally be done on a monthly basis. Ideally, the area manager should always collect the data in the first week of the month and schedule the analysis meeting with his team for the following days. Suggestion: at the beginning of the year, set this agenda with everyone in your team for the whole year. What’s more, make sure that these dates are only changed in exceptional cases, such as an unexpected hearing or something similar. We usually call this meeting a results meeting. That’s not by chance. Everyone needs to understand that, at the end of the day, what we want from data analysis is to improve our efficiency, our performance. It’s not a meeting about reading numbers, but about seeking operational improvements. Here are some valuable tips for holding memorable meetings:

1. ensure that meeting participants have seen the data in advance and come to the meeting with ideas for improvement;
2. avoid the temptation to be the “one show man” manager, i.e. presenting the figures and talking, talking… Instead, ask the participants themselves to present the data, propose their interpretation and suggest operational improvements;
3. Come prepared to ask provocative questions: what happened that we couldn’t file deadlines in D-1? Has this happened repeatedly? Is it all team members? How can we improve our time management to maintain this deadline, etc.?
4. always make a summary of the meeting in which it is stated what will be done, who will do it and how. Monitor implementation before the next monthly meeting;
5. start the next meeting by talking about the measures put in place and celebrating possible operational improvements.

These are simple, functional tips that are often ignored by the managers we work with. No wonder many teams simply don’t hold results meetings and live with problems that are chronically repeated for years. If, on the one hand, the monthly results meeting helps everyone focus on evaluating indicators and improving operational processes, the structured performance evaluation helps lawyers rethink their own performance in terms of those competencies that are crucial to the firm in the long term. It can be carried out over a longer period (six months, for example) and its management must be somewhat different. In this type of development, the signs of progress are generally not so immediate. For example, if it is important for the firm to have senior lawyers who know how to prospect for business, they may need specific training for this purpose. And don’t expect them to be bringing a lot of business to the firm the day after they finish the course. It takes targeted investment and time for competence to be converted into new behaviors, and for these to generate new results. Ideally, managers should clearly define the most important competencies and evaluate them on average twice a year. This doesn’t mean that he can’t give feedback to his team before the evaluation period. But they should do so in a more structured way every six months, observing the professional’s progress over the period and proposing new development initiatives. Here too, it’s important to be systematic and methodical when carrying out performance appraisals. Here are some tips for doing it well:

1. make it clear to everyone which competencies will be assessed, when and by whom;
2. the assessment process is also a time for adjusting expectations. It is therefore important that the professional also assesses themselves and points out the reasons why they consider themselves to have scored 5, 8 or 10 in each competence;
3. when talking to the professional, try to focus on visible behaviors that demonstrate the exercise of that competence. Phrases such as “I feel that you are more concerned about the client” are of no help and will have a better effect if they are replaced by more specific statements such as “this semester you have had 5 meetings with new clients, the presentations were very impactful and helped to close deals;
4. Once the appraisal meeting is over, encourage the professional to draw up an individual development plan (IDP);
5. always remind the professional that the appraisal process is for improving performance and not for paying bonuses, for example, even if this is provided for in your office.

The management of objective indicators and the management of competencies complement each other. Together they lead to the improvement of operational processes and the improvement of individual performance, two essential components for increasing the performance of your office.