Remember human relations

How many firms include their human resources (HR) or personnel or training manager on their risk management committees? How often do the partners discuss personnel or training issues when reviewing their risk management policies?

It is wrong to assume that HR is a risk-free area of the business or that it cannot contribute to good risk management.

The staff - fee-earners and support staff, partners and receptionists - are all sources of risk to the firm.

Their knowledge, skills and attributes and how they get on with each other, will be critical factors in determining whether the firm delivers a good quality service that satisfies the clients or a mediocre or poor service leading to complaints and claims.

The contribution of the HR or personnel department starts at the point of recruitment.

The right quality staff need to be attracted to the firm and selected by methods that are fair and that weed out the unsuitable.

HR should be taking the lead in assisting solicitors who are involved in selection in how to prepare for this, to ensure that appropriate techniques are used and discriminatory practices avoided.

Where there is no HR manager to assist with this, solicitors would be well advised to undergo recruitment training.

A successful induction programme is fundamental to reducing risk to the firm.

Induction needs to include a thorough grounding in the use of the office procedures and clear identification of all key personnel in the firm and their roles.

New staff, whether fee-earners or support, need to understand exactly to whom they are answerable and the parameters of the job.

HR will play a key role in supervising the induction and making sure that there is effective support for the newcomer in the early stages.

Once staff are employed, their knowledge base and skills need to be maintained through support, supervision and training.

There is an important role for HR in contributing to the training and supervision strategy for the firm and ensuring that feedback from performance reviews, complaints and claims records and client feedback gets followed up in an action plan for improvement.

HR or personnel departments will be the guardians of the wellbeing of the staff and on the alert to spot problems.

They may hear about tensions or difficulties and be able to pre-empt claims that arise through stressed or overworked staff or staff who are inadequately supervised.

Some firms are not large enough to employ specialist HR or personnel staff, but the same HR functions need to be undertaken even in small firms where partners or office administrators should share these roles.

This column was prepared by AFP Consulting, a division of Alexander Forbes Risk Services UK Ltd