Management is more than compliance
Filed under: CSR, Equality and diversity, Law firms and legal sector, Management, Marketing | Tags: brand, corporate social responsibility, CSR, differentiation, discrimination, diversity, equality, gay, HR policies, law firms, legal sector, lesbian, Stonewall |
The power of the brand – who you are – is increasingly important in business today. It’s not enough just to do the work well at the right sort of price; clients are increasingly looking for firms and people with the sort of qualities and values that match their own.
This is particularly true in situations where you are in a competitive situation with other firms, for example in a tendering process. When the essential services you provide are so similar, the decision is being made on a much wider range of factors, including such things as diversity and environmental policies and evidence of wider corporate social responsibility.
I was caused to think of this by the recent news that Stonewall – the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual lobbying group – has just published its Top 100 Employers List highlighting those organisations that have taken strides to create more equal workplaces.
Four large firms are on the list, but these aside, the legal sector as a whole is conspicuously absent. On one level this hardly matters, particularly for small firms. Equality and diversity isn’t about winning prizes. On the other hand it reflects a worrying underlying belief that standing by the letter of the law is important, enacting the spirit of the law is not.
Whether it’s age, gender, race, disability, sexuality, family friendly working or a whole host of other issues, it’s important to spend management time on ensuring that your firm has the sort of policies and practices that go far deeper than simple compliance. Ultimately that’s what makes an outstanding and impressive workplace.
