54 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
APRIL 2016
| GENERATIONAL CHANGE |
Now when we do our strategic planning,
that obviously remains a big part of it, but
right next to it in priorities is talent man-
agement. e discussion about talent man-
agement and your strategic plan are inex-
tricably tied now. at's a clear, clear shi."
Where Baker & McKenzie is bringing in
a demographer to help manage interactions
between the different generations, Osler,
Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has hired a full-
time executive coach.
Osler found the different generations
don't just work differently; they absorb and
process information in a distinct way.
OSLER'S TALENT management group
"definitely observe that the younger genera-
tions learn differently," says Dale Ponder in
Toronto, who is Osler's Managing Partner
and Chief Executive.
ey are more intent on getting chal-
lenging work and seeing measurable in-
creases to their skill levels on a regular ba-
sis, for example, "which means they prefer
immediate feedback.
"ey're also much more tech savvy than
prior generations. at's how they were
raised, that's how they learn. ey quite
oen want more flexibility, and they don't
necessarily see the importance of face time,
they want to be able to work from wherever
they want to work. Period.
"So we're quite intent on how we teach
them, on how we try to progress them, and
the use of technology."
e other big difference between Gen-
Xers and Millennials and Boomers like
herself, she says, is they don't expect to
work at just one firm.
"People of my generation and those older
than me were lifers, but I think many of
our younger people expect to have multiple
between 1993 and 2011 make up more
than 7.3 million Canadians, or roughly 22
per cent of the population.
Coon says they're different from the Mil-
lennial generation. He sees it in the kinds
of things they ask when being interviewed.
"ey want rich professional experiences,
diverse experiences, robust pro-bono work,
interesting pro-bono opportunities, the
ability to work in other jurisdictions, to
work on cross-border teams, client-facing
opportunities. ose are the kind of things
the current generation is talking about
when we're recruiting.
"ey have a strong appreciation for
what they want and where their career
takes them, and it's not necessarily the tra-
ditional model that the Baby Boomers were
thinking about. When we joined a law firm
we'd work under a partner, a mentor, for x
number of years and make partner into this
pyramid structure. e whole thing has
been turned on its head."
Coon recently brought in a demogra-
pher to talk to Baker & McKenzie partners
about Generation Z.
"It was for purposes of our own think-
ing," Coon explains. "I want to make sure
my colleagues and I have a clear under-
standing of the needs and desires of those
we want to bring into the firm — what
their expectations are, how they see the
world, what they want to achieve, the
things that are going to excite them.
"ey are going to be the future of the
firm, so when we go out and recruit or are
planning our business, I want to make sure
we are attuned to this next generation."
e extent of the change from his days
as a "unit of production" is not lost on him.
"When we did strategic planning even
15 years ago, it was all about the clients.
careers or jobs. at also introduces some
differences. So one of the things we did is
we hired a professional coach full-time who
counsels our people from students through
associates on how to have a successful ca-
reer, what skills to develop. And he does
that from inside."
Ponder says it's not just law firm demo-
graphics that are changing; the face of its
clients is changing as well. She says being
too slow to embrace it poses real risks to cli-
ent retention.
"At some point if your client is younger,
for some mandates they'll probably want
to deal with somebody who's more in their
age group. Investment bankers tend to be
younger than some of the Boomers. So is
there a disconnect because of age there? I
would say some of the time, surely there is.
"Making sure you have well-thought-out
succession plans that include introduc-
ing younger people to the clients, younger
people who stick, is really, really important
right now."
Valerie Mann, former Managing Part-
ner of Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver,
says firms that want their younger genera-
tions to stay need to make sure juniors are
included on strategy discussions and deci-
sion making.
"e more junior people now just expect
to be part of that conversation," says Mann.
"In fact, I think they are frustrated when
they're not. at's the telling thing to me.
"You sometimes have feedback from
the juniors, in the course of reviews and
things, that they get really frustrated
when they don't feel like they're really part
of the whole story. If you carve off a piece
of work for them, they don't want to do
just that. ey want to know why. Why
am I draing this? How does this fit into
DALE PONDER OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP
"People of my generation and those older than me were lifers, but
I think many of our younger people expect to have multiple careers
or jobs. That also introduces some differences. So one of the things
we did is we hired a professional coach full-time who counsels our
people from students through associates on how to have a success-
ful career, what skills to develop. And he does that from inside."
