MPF Best Professional Firms to Work For – Top 100
Smith - MPF 100 - March 2008
Welcome to the inaugural listing of the UK’s best professional firms to work for in the eyes of their own people. Download the full article
Harnessing energy
Watson - MPF 100 - March 2008
Mark Watson discusses employee engagement as a driver of business value. Download the full article
Increasing engagement
MacErlean - MPF 100 - March 2008
Neasa MacErlean spoke to seven MPF Best Professional Firm employers about the steps they are taking to become even better employers. Download the full article
Accreditation as a management tool
MacErlean - MPF 100 - March 2008
Neasa MacErlean looks at the value of regular employee feedback. Download the full article
Employee advocacy
Hutton - MPF 100 - March 2008
Peter Hutton discusses the links between employee engagement and brand advocacy.Download the full article
An Invaluable Contribution To The World
MacErlean - MPF Global 500 Annual Report - July 2007
The real achievements of professionals are not that widely known - partly because caricatures are easier to present in the press than flesh and blood. Without professionals and the infrastructure they have created, the world would be a much sorrier place. What is most surprising, perhaps, is not the extent of their contribution - but the fact that it is so little known. Download the full article
Getting People To Speak More Highly Of Your Firm
Knowles/Hutton - Legal Week - April 2005
Those who really believe in communications need no persuading that this is the way to unlock the full potential of their firm. But not everyone shares their views. We all know firms whose cultures are more about control than consultation. Power is seen as something to be held on to not to be handed down. And in environments that are heavily into measurement, intuitive judgments that openness, empowerment and involvement are 'good things' are met with the demand to prove that they produce tangible returns. Download the full article
Giving Something Back
MacErlean - MPF Global 500 Annual Report - July 2007
Philanthropy has been part of the normal life of the professions since they first set up in business. ProHelp, the professional wing of Business in the Community was founded in 1989 with only ten member firms. Now it has 1,000. Corporate and Social Responsibility is a wonderful lens through which to view the character of a firm. Following the Asian tsunami, the RICS has established a permanent organisation to advise on preventing and responding to future calamities. Download the full article
I Don't Know How To Be A Manager And No-One Is Helping Me
Knowles/Matthews - The Lawyer - October 2005
People join professional firms because they are intrinsically interested in the subject matter they are going to practise. Yet, there comes a time when such expertise is no longer sufficient to guarantee progression within a firm, and the challenge starts to be around non-technical areas - particularly managing others, developing relationships, and exercising leadership. It is fairly common for people to express anger at the prospect. Download the full article
In Search Of Management Talent
MacErlean - MPF Global 500 Annual Report - July 2007
Working as a marketer, IT consultant or other support professional in a professional services firm has become a specialism in itself. Many firms have sizeable teams which have become increasingly well-paid, appreciated and stimulated in the last few years. You need a lot of patience and resilience but, once you've won their respect, professionals are the most energising and challenging people to work with. Download the full article
Leadership - Less Politics, Clear Reward
Knowles/Pester - Legal Business - April 2006
Effective leadership is critical to the success of the modern professional firm; without it, firms will be left behind in this current period of consolidation. Yet fee earners continue to insist that their leaders must be qualified fee earners elected by the partnership. This raises an interesting challenge. If trainees join the profession primarily to practise their expertise and serve clients, how should suitable candidates for leadership positions be identified, developed, elected and rewarded? Download the full article
Profitability: What Sort Of Future Do You Want To Create For Your Firm?
Marson/Sanderson - MPF Research Committee - June 2007
Many firms look to their leaders to bring about a difference - to improve current profitability and to secure a profitable future. In our research on leadership and innovation we found leaders who were focused on building value for the future profitability of their organisations. Download the full article
The Future Of The Uk Professions
Knowles/Chaplin - Business Money - September 2007
There has hardly ever been a better time to be an accountant or a lawyer than today. Technology is taking away the tedious parts; and globalization is, literally, broadening the horizons. But golden eras do not usually arrive as a gift of the gods. Professionals in these and other sectors in the UK have, rather, responded with ingenuity to potentially difficult circumstances - and have created opportunities out of challenges. In short, the professions are boxing clever rather than simply getting bigger. Download the full article
Unsung Heroes - There's More To Professional Firms Than Fee Earners
Knowles/Chaplin/Smith - Legal Week - September 2004
In theory, a partnership stands for collaboration and team work; in practice many partners are highly competitive animals, focusing on client-based financial measures to determine relative status and reward. If partners see success in these terms, it is hardly surprising that those who neither directly bring in fees nor deliver services to clients are referred to in pejorative terms, for example 'non-fee earner'. Download the full article