In addition to our expert search practices, Search & Counsel has worked closely with its professional services and consulting clients to develop a unique recruitment service: Search & Counsel Specialist Functions Unit (SFU).

Practice support functions are a critical component of a successful client facing firm. The best support hires enhance and improve the day-to-day experience for everybody: deadlines are met, reporting is accurate; client, vendor and creditor management is smooth; WiPs and cashflow are tightly monitored; HR and resourcing matters are foreseen and managed; legal problems are averted.

And, up above it all, Partners can focus on their clients.

How Not To Do It

Partners can sometimes underestimate how important or difficult it is to identify and recruit the best talent for these roles. To recruit office managers, operations, HR, finance and marketing specialists, many firms still take the, "call our friends, make a list, place a job advert, wait and see," approach. As with all recruitment, taking too long or getting it wrong is costly.

If the new hire turns out to not be the right technical profile or personality-fit, the best course of action is to admit the mistake, more accurately define the requirements, and proactively find a replacement. Firms who hire subadequate staff but keep them and try to work-around them, often create unnecessary stress and low morale. Left unchecked for too long, this will cause the departures of other valued team members. This is as true for hiring the wrong support staff as it is for hiring the wrong partners.

A Better Way

With over 40 years combined experience, Search & Counsel's directors and consultants understand practice firms. Because the best candidates tend not to be actively looking, the Search & Counsel SFU retains our core Search methodology. We do not advertise. Instead, for our retained and exclusive clients, we take time to understand the firm's culture and requirement. We then research and directly approach the candidates whose profiles are nearest to the role's job description and person specification.

We work closely with our clients to run candidates through a detailed recruitment process, which could include assessments and technical tests. Finally, we ensure a smooth offer negotiation process through to acceptance and onboarding of both permanent and interim hires.

Contact us today about these positions:

Let us help you, either to find a new high impact team member or be the next critical hire for one of our outstanding practice clients.