The ‘next normal’ and the return to the office: Law Firm Management Committee survey, May 2021
Monday 31 May 2021
Anne Macdonald
Harper Macleod, Glasgow
anne.macdonald@harpermacleod.co.uk
The ‘next normal’ refers to a world which will be different post-Covid-19. It is based upon the proposition that after the pandemic, the world will not simply revert to all that we knew before. What does this mean for the management of your law firm, and are you already witnessing new working practices that were adopted as a reaction to the pandemic becoming permanent features?
As part of our second quick pulse survey1 we posed the question: ‘what does a return to the office look like for you/your firm?’ The results are very interesting and the key takeaway is most definitely that consultation and communication with staff and clients should be at the forefront of all decision-making.
It may come as little surprise to hear that 94 per cent of respondents did not view working from home (WFH) with no return to the office as becoming a permanent solution, but rather it will be a hybrid model. Six per cent do predict that there will not be a return to the office and that may account for the fact that a number of law firms operate via a business model that is fully virtual.
Many in law firm management will have done little else than make plans, change plans and adapt to new plans as we have all grappled with changes in policy and public health decisions that affect our people, our clients and our offices. The great news from the survey is that 87 per cent of respondents do have a plan in place to return to the office. The less great news is that only 59 per cent of respondents have consulted with all staff on the return to the office. It is human nature that we like to be involved and feel that we have had a chance for our voice to be heard; consultations or staff surveys are great ways to achieve that sense of being involved and listened to, even if the end plan does not reflect the opinions proffered. Keeping that figure of 87 per cent in your mind, it's perhaps even more surprising that only 45 per cent of respondents have communicated the plan regarding the office to staff and clients. The greatest asset of any law firm is its people and its clients, it really is essential that all are brought along on the journey.
Hybrid is definitely the buzzword for office working and the results of the survey confirm that this will be the case up to five years from now. Looking at the here and now, respondents noted that 20 per cent of their lawyers were already working five days per week in the office and this increased to 35 per cent five years from now. Twenty-eight per cent of lawyers are currently given full freedom of choice to WFH or from the office and that decreases to 20 per cent by 2026. Comparing this to support staff, it would seem that less discretion is being offered to support staff as regards the freedom to WFH. Right now, 31 per cent of support staff are working from the office five days per week and that increases to 52 per cent by 2026. Only 12 per cent of support staff have the freedom of choice regarding WFH/office and that decreases to 8 per cent by 2026. It's therefore clear to see that hybrid working methods are here to stay and will continue into the next normal – at least for our lawyers.
International travel will be back on the agenda from around 2022 when respondents expect to be travelling around 50 per cent of what their firm did in 2019 and by 2025, 68 per cent of respondents expect to be travelling in a similar way to that in 2019. Back towards the ‘old normal’ for travel, then.
As regards client meetings, the majority of meetings will take place virtually in 2021 with a greater emphasis on the client's office and the law firm office meetings from 2022 onwards; respondents think that around 50 per cent of meetings will take place at the law firm office by 2022, however by 2025 it's an almost even split between virtual, client office and law firm office, again recognising the hybrid model we are all expecting.
A really interesting question in the survey was whether clients want us to a have a ‘real’ office and 80 per cent respondents stated: yes, clients do want us to have a real office. However, only 22 per cent of respondents had actually asked their clients if a ‘real’ office was a necessity. This may also link back to the communication question above, where only 45 per cent of respondents had spoken to clients about office plans.
The final question allowed for a free text box where respondents could describe the biggest challenges that they were facing with respect to the next normal. The responses were varied however can be grouped within four common themes, all of which derive from the essential skill of communication: collaboration, mentoring, culture and networking.
Most leaders have learned that the best way to keep employees and clients feeling comfortable and secure during the pandemic is constant communication. It's hard and it takes effort, but the firms that have managed it have won real respect from their people and clients and ultimately, it is one of the most effective ways to equip our firms for the next normal.