Staffing firms can ease the burden of hiring, helping you find better legal support staff in less time. Even when you partner with a niche, local recruiting firm, however, the quality of the results depends on how well you communicate with your recruiting partner. For a great recruiting outcome, start talking!
What does your recruiter need to know in order to improve the quality of your legal support staff candidate pool? Organize your communications around these topics:
On-the-Job Demands
If you have written job descriptions for the positions you need filled, don’t hesitate to send these to your recruiting partner. However, treat these written descriptions as a starting point for conversation, not an end point. Is the job description up to date? Which descriptions and requirements are “terms of art,” and which could be stated more effectively?
As any hiring manager who has ever tried to draft a compelling job ad or LinkedIn message knows, writing pieces that get the attention of top candidates is a developed skill. The more information you give the recruiter about the demands of the job, the better your recruiter can deploy this skill on your behalf.
Soft Skills for Success
Legal support staff need specific education, credentials, and technical skills in order to succeed. They also need strong “soft skills,” abilities that are transferable across technical disciplines. Chief among them are communication abilities, research skills, and organizational abilities. But every law firm and legal department specializes in different areas of law and handles its work load differently, placing emphasis on particular soft skills in different ways. The more your recruiter knows about the soft skills needed for a position, the better your recruiter can find a candidate who fits the bill.
Company Culture and Environment
Why do your current staff love working for your organization?
The way in which a law firm or legal department distributes work and focuses on practice areas makes up only part of its internal culture. Other elements include how departments communicate and collaborate, where and how legal support staff work together, which “nontraditional” benefits are available, and even the dress code.
Recruiters specialize in finding the right people to fit a particular client’s culture – but they can only put this skill to work if they know what your internal culture entails. To help your recruiter find the right legal support staff, start by asking, “What makes our current staff love working here?” Often, little details, like gym memberships or extra time off during the holidays, make all the difference.
Frequent Feedback
You can set your recruiter up for success by communicating thoroughly about the job, the requirements, and the company when you first place a job order. To supercharge your results, however, don’t forget to provide feedback about candidates and hires to your recruiter. When your recruiter knows why a particular candidate or hire does or doesn’t work for you, your recruiter will be better equipped to provide higher-quality recommendations in the future.
At Kent Legal, our experienced legal support recruiters are enthusiastic listeners. We want to know who you need, so we can connect you to the right legal support professionals. Contact us today to learn more about our legal support recruiting services in Toronto and beyond.