Articles From the Team

Conflict in the work place and when is it the end of the road?

I recently read an interesting article on hrgrapevine on workplace conflict and was surprised at the statistics. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) found that a whopping 38% of UK employees had been engaged in some form of interpersonal conflict at work in the last year, mainly due to a difference in personality or style of working. The report went onto state that the working relationship of one in ten broke down so badly, that one of the parties either resigned (4%), changed job roles (5%) or was dismissed (1%). Conflict management in the workplace is therefore paramount to maintain a happy, healthy and stress-free (if possible) work force. The repercussions of unresolved conflict are dire, often turning whole teams/departments toxic resulting in a drop in motivation, commitment, morale, productivity and thus profitability.

So what has this got to do with recruitment? Well toxic situations/relationships have a really negative impact on the culture of the firm which can lead to a high turnover of staff, difficulties in recruiting new staff with an alarming cost to the business. With over 12 years of legal recruitment experience, I can’t emphasis enough how important culture fit is, both from an employer’s and employee’s perspective. The standard interview process of meeting one or two key personnel will enable you to gain a superficial feel for the firm/team however more and more firms are opting for 2nd or 3rd interviews specifically to meet the rest of the team, often in an informal/neutral environment. This is an excellent opportunity to watch how the team interact with each other as well as with you. Trust your gut instinct on these things.

If you have reached the end of the road with your current firm, BCL Legal have a team of experienced consultants that have a thorough knowledge and understanding of their legal discipline, always taking the time to understand ‘you’.

If you would like a confidential discussion on current opportunities contact Joanne Lack, Manager – Private Practice at BCL Legal.