I was pleased to co-host and contribute to the ‘Re-tuning Your Firm’ webinar this morning, which was run by the Managing Partners' Forum. This insightful event, held virtually, brought together industry leaders to discuss emerging issues of importance to the leadership teams of professional firms.

The webinar featured a comprehensive agenda, including an update from Cicero, a leading political consultancy, and the findings of an original survey conducted by Performance Leader. The panel session provided a platform for a lively discussion on the evolving landscape of performance management in the professions. 

Ray D'Cruz, CEO of Performance Leader, presented the findings of their latest survey on performance management trends. The data revealed some fascinating shifts in how firms are approaching performance and feedback. It was enlightening to see how these trends align with our own experiences at Burges Salmon, and it reinforced the need for continuous evolution in our performance management practices.

One point that was emphasised was the importance of human empathy and the need to provide quality feedback. Undoubtedly AI will become an increasing feature of the feedback loop to allow more data to be brought to the table,  however the human element will always need to be present and our people surveys tell us that in the legal profession our lawyers are crying out for more comprehensive feedback, so the importance of feedback in terms of performance management is only going to increase.

Overall, the ‘Re-tuning Your Firm’ webinar was an engaging and informative event. It was a pleasure to connect with other leaders and to contribute to the dialogue on how we can continue to drive excellence and innovation in our firms. I look forward to applying the insights gained from this webinar to our ongoing efforts at Burges Salmon to enhance our leadership and management practices.