Who's to Blame When Turnover Is High?
This week, readers and commenters were intrigued by a purported small law firm middle manager at a firm that usually fires two of the three associates it hires each year. The manager was so frustrated that he or she wrote to the Washington Post for advice. “Is firing people just the way it is?” the manager asked.
But the Post’s columnist put the onus on the manager and the firm to find out why turnover is so high and resolve the problem.
And this made us wonder about your experiences.
So tell us …
When you hear that turnover at a law firm is high, who do you blame? Is it always the fault of management, or are incoming classes of workers not as prepared for the jobs as they think they are?
Answer in the comments below. Bonus points if you can offer tips for how to determine if a firm has high turnover before accepting an offer.
Read last week’s answers to this question: “How Are You Keeping Yourself and Others From Despairing?”
Featured Answer:
Posted by A. Cerra: “I work in the public interest field, and I try to follow my clients’ example. Nearly all of them faced cutbacks, joblessness, and poverty long before the recession started. Yet they continue to raise families, to fight for better conditions, to stand up for their rights. They know how to survive when the chips are down. If they aren’t despairing, why should I?
I am also hopeful that the extreme cutbacks to public defenders’ offices and other public interest agencies will highlight both how necessary and how underfunded such agencies are. If something good comes out of these tough times, perhaps it will be a greater awareness of poverty issues and the important service poverty law professionals provide.”
