What is Hired for Life?
Over the past several years, I’ve studied, researched and interviewed hundreds of former employees of professional services firms — accountants, lawyers, engineers, architects, and consultants. For the most part, they all appreciate the partnership model. Some are bitterer about their outcomes from the rat race than others. But very few felt as if they got something different than they bargained for.
We all “appreciate” the limits of the model of professional services firms.
But something else struck me about these conversations: certain individuals were downright effusive of praise of their prior employers. It was the kind of praise that felt almost fake at first blush — like something that makes you feel like you’re hearing someone talk about a cult or Amway (which might say something about Amway).
Certain professional services alums had a unique and different relationship with their employers.
They were hired for life — I just didn’t know that’s what it was at the time.
Hired for Life offers a unique framework that the best professional services firms and managers have created to hire employees for life. The Hired for Life principles manifest themselves in this unique connection to a firm that fired you, politely showed you the door, or that you choose to leave.
Think of it like being best friends with your former spouse after a divorce. It just seems weird, right?
But it’s not. In fact, it’s the single greatest advantage a professional services firm can have in today’s world.
It’s literally a multi-billion-dollar secret right in front of our eyes...and 99.9% of us have missed it.
Hired for Life = H4L
--
H4L enhances your firm’s development programs to maximize the lifetime value of your associates.
H4L works best with buy-in from all three core elements of an organization:
Culture – Manager – Employee
Culture here can be defined as those partners, senior management, and systems that drive an organization’s culture (Talent Acquisition and Retention; Management Committee, Practice Group Leaders). Management are those partners, of counsel (or equivalent), and senior associates who manage professionals.
While three is ideal, in some cases, two out of three will work, but there will be consequences and quirks.
For example:
Culture + Manager – Organization may lose short-term benefits due to lack of employee buy-in during the employee’s tenure. However, long-term benefits to the organization are still possible if and when the employee/ex-employee realizes the benefits later.
Manager + Employee – Organization will gain short-term benefits due to employee buy-in during the employee’s tenure. Yet, it may lose long-term benefits because the employee’s loyalty and good will is directed to the manager, not the organization.
Culture + Employee – This is the most challenging and underscores the importance of manager buy-in. Organization may lose short-term benefits because the employee is not growing sufficiently under poor management. Nevertheless, there is still potential for long-term benefits from the employee, if that employee makes a positive impression to other managers. A common situation here would be an associate who works with multiple partners.
In each case, there is a reason for the employee not to recommend the firm, either short or long-term. When all three are present, however, those reasons go away.
Culture + Manager + Employee – Organization will gain short-term benefits from happy skillful employees. Moreover, the organization will gain long-term benefits from the former employees who credit, not only their manager, but also the organization with their success.
**
The professional services industry is set up so perfectly for H4L; it is really quite surprising it hasn’t naturally just happened.
Think about it.
• There are an incredibly large number of firms to choose from, each at different price points and specialties.
• The firms at the higher end rely on natural attrition to keep the business model working.
• With ever escalating billing rates, there are certain clients that bigger firms will simply never be able to (or want to) take on.
• There are clients that smaller firms simply do not have the capacity to service.
• And all firms rely heavily on referrals to build business.
So why aren’t the concepts of H4L formally present throughout the professional services industry?
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that subject matter experts are not necessarily trained to be managers or leaders. Or that they even want to be managers or leaders!
Among other things, future posts on this blog will dive into each of the principles of the H4L system and how each of those principles can help to maximize the lifetime value of associates.