Top Employers Building on passion
Policies need to keep employees motivated to rise within the organisation
Legal Aid South Africa is an independent statutory organisation providing legal aid to those who cannot afford it, at the state’s expense. With 64 Justice Centres and a further 64 Satellite Offices in smaller towns and rural areas, Legal Aid SA is present at every court in the country, to uphold the constitutional rights of disadvantaged and vulnerable people, including women, children and the rural poor. Its 2 800-strong staff — 80% of them legal professionals — are focused on ensuring access to justice is realised in both criminal and civil matters.
Because the work done by Legal Aid SA is so important and so varied, the organisation has no shortage of applicants, says Amanda Clark, human resources executive at the organisation. “Nationally, we are the largest employer of candidate attorneys, with around 600 on our books at any given time. Many legal graduates struggle to find an opportunity to serve their articles, and most would like their work to have a positive societal impact, with the result that we have up to 6 000 graduates applying online to serve articles at Legal Aid SA.
“They understand that with us, they will get an excellent learning opportunity as well as being in a position to make a difference to people’s lives. Legal Aid SA is the preferred choice among candidates with a passion for community service.”
Sustaining momentum
But passion could wane in the face of long working hours and the vicarious trauma caused by the nature of some of the cases handled. Legal Aid SA’s HR policies and organisational culture are geared to ensure that employees maintain their momentum and move up the career ladder to become motivated senior staff.
“Since 2008 we have had occupation-specific remuneration dispensation in place. This system ensures that government funded entities provide an attractive salary scheme to keep high calibre professionals in the sector. Our remuneration is com- petitive and recognises years of legal experience,” says Clark.
However, corporate culture, career progression and working conditions are equally important to professionals in this sector. “We work very hard to develop our career path to ensure our pipeline is constantly full of people ready to transition to the next level in their careers. So from the entry point to senior litigator level, we manage the pipeline of talent within our organisation.”
Head, hands and heart
“We follow a talent management approach that drives organisational capability,” says Clark. “Everything we do is aimed at growing and developing the organisation’s capability — the provision of legal services. We try to engage with employees’ heads, hands and hearts. The head component concerns building and sharing knowledge through mentorship, training and development. The hands aspect entails looking at skills and efficiency, while the heart component involves trying to connect with employees’ sense of higher purpose. We reinforce the understanding that through working with us, they are assisting vulnerable members of the community and creating a more just society.”
Each employee has a personalised development plan in place to build competencies, supported by an annual training programme, informal and formal recognition of achievements, and regular discussion forums where legal staff engage on current cases. This ongoing engagement builds a team culture and ensures that younger lawyers obtain full benefit from the experience and guidance of their older colleagues. Important cases are highlighted across the organisation, as well as being discussed on staff portals.
Meeting changing employee needs
Technology changes and the rise of the millennial have changed workplace dynamics in recent years, challenging some organisations to attract and retain skilled younger staff. Clark says Legal Aid SA has observed the changing needs of its workforce, and has taken steps to keep its employment value proposition contemporary.
“Each new generation of employees has new needs and values and our approach has evolved accordingly. For example, we have introduced more flexible work arrangements, more family leave and support, and more study leave. What has been particularly inspiring for me is the discovery that the next generation employee is hungry for a career that makes a difference in society, so they come in with more passion and inspiration, keen to serve a greater purpose.”
Modern employees wish to contribute to a greater purpose, but at the same time, they appreciate recognition for their efforts, says Clark. “Our performance management system directs everyone’s purpose to the organisational goals. We offer informal and formal recognition, including regional and national achiever awards and performance bonuses. When employees have done marvellous things, we publish and market these achievements.”
Retaining staff
With a relatively low staff turnover of just under 5% across the board, Legal Aid SA strives to continually improve working conditions and opportunities within the organisation.
Issues such as the potential trauma of dealing with particularly harrowing cases are addressed though in-house counselling support.
Professional pride is sustained by ensuring that while Legal Aid SA is state-funded, it maintains standards in line with the global best. This applies to the legal services it delivers, as well as in-house support and human capital management. “Just because we are public f unded doesn’t mean we should deliver average and mediocre work. We strive to compete with Top Employers in the country,” says Clark.