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Who knows more about how to improve your firm’s approach to recruiting, retaining and developing talent than your current team members?

Your law firm’s partners participate in various committees devoted to hiring, marketing, technology and practice development. Does your firm have separate committees that allow professional staff to help tackle key firm issues?

If you haven’t yet created staff committees, it is definitely an approach to consider at firms that want to improve recruitment and retention. Giving staff the power to explore these issues gives them a sense of ownership and helps your firm develop talent.

Major firm committee areas that can benefit from staff involvement include strategic planning, career development, budgeting and engagement management, information technology and corporate culture. Assistance with orienting incoming employees is an obvious area in which staff committees can help. Others to consider are flex time programs, training and compensation.

Benefits are an excellent example of an area in which staff input can help – and perhaps even surprise your firm’s leadership. You may find, for instance, that staff highly value family health care coverage and are willing to forego or reduce other benefits so that the firm is able to contribute more to that benefit.

Another area is the 401(k) plan match and duration of time for entry to the plan. Staff can let you know what makes the most sense to them. The firm may be able to deploy valuable resources in other directions as a result.

Like all good ideas, results depend upon execution. If staff committees are used, they should address the following:

Mission. Each committee must focus on a welldefined need.

Leadership. The committee chair drives the committee’s mission. A partner or senior leader, such as the firm administrator, is responsible for overseeing and directing the committee’s activities.

Resources. Both human and financial resources are made available to further the committee’s mission. Management support is needed so committee members can take time from engagements and other responsibilities. Meeting expenses, research data and outside consultants may be needed.

Staging. To ensure the support of the entire firm, regular communication about the committee’s mission and progress should be disseminated through the firm and presentations made to the partners and other firm leaders.

Structure. The committee should report to the managing partner, firm administrator or another partner identified as being in charge of the particular committee. The topic of the committee will affect this choice: for instance, the firm administrator is probably the logical person to oversee a committee on benefits.

Other steps to take to keep committees on track include:

• Evaluating members’ participation to make sure they are contributing to the committee’s mission.
• Establishing goals and routinely communicating progress toward reaching them.
• Making sure committee activities aren’t competing or redundant.
• Reviewing each committee’s mission to make sure it’s on course; if it isn’t, it is quickly disbanded.

Establishing staff committees can not only help your firm develop and retain talent, but also can increase your firm’s profits.