The UK's top 100 law firms invest an estimated £4.5 million annually in personal coaching, and yet 70% of them fail to measure what - if any - financial return they get on their investment, research has revealed.


The survey of heads of training and development, commissioned by consultancy OvationXL, also found that one in eight lawyers are considered to be under-performing. It revealed that the average annual training budget per person among the top 100 firms was £986 - almost double the average of the rest of the private sector.



Robin Johnson of OvationXL said: 'This year, many top 100 firms have achieved record profits. This puts enormous pressure on everyone - either to remedy areas of weakness or to sustain levels of productivity.' He added: 'Many firms need to rethink their approach to coaching if they are going to realise its potential and justify the sums being spent.'



The research suggested firms should rely more on quantifiable measures when assessing coaching, such as key performance indicators, rather than simply looking at feedback from the individual lawyer.



Jonathan Rayner