If you’ve changed how you post jobs, communicate your law firm or legal department’s employment brand, and interview candidates, but you still aren’t attracting the most qualified talent, it may be time to look at your compensation offerings.
Offering competitive compensation is about more than just salary. It’s also about balancing benefits and crafting a total package that rivals your competitors for star talent. Leveraging your recruiter’s industry knowledge and human-resources expertise is one way to ensure your compensation stays competitive.
Here are several questions to ask your recruiting partner about compensation, and how to use the information they provide:
What are similarly positioned firms paying their star talent?
Be prepared to zero in on top veteran legal talent, top mid-career talent and “rising stars” in the first few years of their careers. Talk to your recruiter about the salary range for these candidates, and look at your own offerings to ensure you’re landing within these ranges.
In addition to pay, what other benefits are similarly positioned firms offering?
Don’t be afraid to get specific. If other firms offer retirement plans, ask about contribution percentages and methods. If offering outstanding health coverage is popular, ask about the terms of those plans – what they cover and at what costs to the employee? To make your benefits attract top talent, pay attention not only to what you offer, but also how it works for your employees.
What nontraditional benefits are most attractive to top talent?
Outstanding legal professionals are passionate about their work and self-aware about their own professional knowledge and growth. Consequently, many nontraditional benefits that support their work and make it easier for them to produce excellent results are a bigger “draw” for top talent than many traditional benefits.
Once your salary and traditional benefits offerings are aligned with competitive standards, look at non-traditional offerings. Flextime, telecommuting, continuing education support, parking reimbursement and even services like gym memberships or dry-cleaning pickup all make top talent’s lives easier, so they can focus on their work. Add these to your compensation package and make them part of your job postings and employer branding.
At Kent Legal, our recruiters specialize in helping our clients find and keep some of the best legal talent in the greater Toronto area. Contact us today to learn more.