Hire quality people
One of the keys for Conner is to make sure that he brings in people who are going to enhance the client-centric culture and not overpower it.
He looks for people who can thrive in a team environment and also think entrepreneurially. That’s a tall order, but he says you can look at their experience to get an idea.
“You look at their background and things that they have done, and you ask questions,” he says. “Is this someone who has done things a little bit different? Who has spent time overseas? Who has helped in a community effort? Who has taken the ball and run with it in an organization? These are all indicators of someone who can be entrepreneurial and help you come up with new ways of doing things.”
For example, he recalls one job candidate who had lived in China for a while between undergraduate and law school. He had taken the time to learn the language and the culture, and that experience told Conner that he understood the global business environment and was willing to take the time to learn about such things in order to be more effective.
You also want to ask the right questions to get to the heart of that person.
“We don’t try to ask trick questions, but you ask questions that can’t be answered with a yes or no,” he says. “In other words, you want someone to talk about what they consider to be important, what they think their strengths are and how they think they can contribute to the organization. Those are things that give someone an opportunity to really express who they are and what’s important.”
He says it’s also important to hire people who will truly focus on your customers or clients.
“Is this someone who really takes to heart the importance of serving great clients?” he says. “The most successful lawyers in our firm are those that have gotten to know our clients, our clients’ business and our clients’ industries. Someone who has really vested that time and attention into clients is someone we really look to.”
Again, it’s important to ask the right questions to find out if they’re truly focused on customers.
“What you do is you talk about how the client relationship is developed,” Conner says. “If someone’s client is ABC, say, ‘Sally, tell us about how you got to know ABC, how your work has developed, how you got to know the executives at the company. Talk about what the challenges are for that company and how that practice has been aligned with the client’s goals in order to help the client achieve what the client wants to achieve.’
“Talk about particular client relationships and how they have developed over time, and you get a good sense to know if someone has that long-term relationship.”
He also looks for people who don’t only do what the job description requires.
“You’re looking for someone who has shown a consistent ability and willingness to go above and beyond,” he says.
For example, he looks for lawyers who have been active in speaking engagements or writing scholarly articles and for people who have been active in their communities.
Lastly, he wants someone who can work effectively on a team and also enjoys a collaborative environment.
“Ask questions about it,” he says. “When you’re going out to develop business or to work on a project, how often have you involved other team members in the firm?’”
This is central to how the firm operates. You can never be completely sure that you’ve hired someone who will be perfect, but by taking these steps and then seeing how they operate in real situations, you’ll quickly learn if they’re a team player.
“Seeing how someone responds under pressure is always a (really) good test for how well they work in a teamwork environment,” he says.
