P2P

67 I L T A N E T . O R G Hiring for the right fit Filling legal services organizations with the right kind of talent is a foundational step towards developing a collaborative culture. Legal qualifications are only the beginning. As the CEO and final round interviewer in our company, I've interviewed dozens of candidates whose qualifications and experience have already been vetted by others. My job is to assess their cultural fit by looking for the personal qualities and values that makes them likely to be a good choice for our company, and us a good fit for them. Some characteristics — like integrity — are so important that without it, it doesn't matter what other qualities they might bring to the table— no matter how tempting. It's not unusual to for us to have a candidate with outstanding work experience navigate their way through round after round of interviews, only to turn out to be temperamentally unsuited to a collaborative environment and have the potential to alienate clients or disrupt the organization. To avoid this outcome, we have adopted a hiring process that is slower than most. We ask candidates to be patient with us in the process, and their reaction is a good indicator of the extent to which they're prepared to collaborate. We conduct the usual round of four or five interviews focused on professional qualifications and experience. After this stage, I as CEO take responsibility for the qualitative "last mile," ensuring that the people we hire are not only a good fit with the team, but also display the values, experience, and character that will make them good collaborators. One way to illustrate that "good fit" would be to trying to understand how a candidate's reflexes For example, how would the candidate approach getting information to a client? Would the candidate the approach the example question with the first approach, "I have to get this over to Company X because our terms of service say I need to respond within one hour." Or would the candidate approach the problem with the second approach? "I have to get in touch with Fred right now because he needs this as soon as possible." To identify the candidate who embraces the second approach, we work through a checklist of questions. What we hope to uncover is a person who demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject matter, who can provide a human, personal touch that's all about building relationships, and who has a sincere desire to make clients feel and look good. Naturally collaborative people tend to be empathetic, good listeners, kind, optimistic, focused on doing the right thing, instinctively helpful, and confident and open if challenged. Any firm looking to raise their collaboration quotient can make a start by looking for this specific set of traits when hiring. Does the candidate truly listen and respond to you — or are they so keen to get a point across that they jump in before you have finished? Eagerness is not a bad "Any firm looking to raise their collaboration quotient can make a start by looking for this specific set of traits when hiring."

• Cover