As part of our series on taking a balanced approach to measuring partner performance, Rachel Stone discusses the importance of internal management measures.

So far we have looked at measures for financial performance and for assessing client satisfaction. This time we turn our gaze inwards to the successful management and development of people.

The reality of partner responsibilities

A few years ago, I met a client partner who boasted that he spent just one hour a week on internal management issues, usually on a Saturday morning! He perceived management as a necessary chore and one that should be reduced to as little effort as physically possible.

I am sure that there are many partners who agree with, and can relate to, my client. So this third quadrant looks at partner responsibilities for making the most of the time, money and effort they spend on managing their employees.

Measures to assess effective internal management

Failure to invest time and effort in managing and developing employees leads to increased pressure at the top and no pipeline for future succession.

It can be harder to identify key measures in this area in the same quantitative way as others, but it is still possible to develop a good set of key performance indicators that tell you whether you are building and maintaining a high-quality approach to managing staff.

Internal management measures

  • Recruitment of new hires - how successful are you at attracting the people you want for your firm?
  • Training and development of an existing team - is the overall competency and ability of your team growing over time?
  • Staff relationships - how well do your staff work together to create a good result for your clients?
  • Morale and motivation - how motivated are your employees to deliver their best every day?
  • Performance management - do you give regular feedback to staff as well as carry out more formal assessments during the year? How successful is your performance review process at focusing staff on the right behaviours and outcomes?
  • Retaining high-performing staff - how successful are you at keeping people you see as having high potential?
  • Developing your successor - are there individuals within the team who can cover for you when you are involved with other projects or who can lead the team when you move on?

Getting started

In most firms, there are some partners who are naturally better at managing people than others. But all partners have some core responsibilities, including how to get the best from expensive teams.

These measures also have value on a firmwide level. If you don't know how to measure morale, motivation or the quality of staff relationships, a simple staff survey may provide some baseline information to help get you started.

Next time, we examine business development measures, recognising that different partners achieve great results in quite different ways.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.