One of the biggest challenges facing PSF leaders and Partner Remuneration Committees is how to measure and reward partner collaboration. It's a flow on challenge from making collaboration a key strategic goal.
Today we’re delighted to introduce a new tool that will address this need: Peer Points. This tool forms part of our existing partner performance management software module.
Our Peer Points tool allows partners to recognise peers for their collaboration and support. Partners do this by allocating a finite number of points at review time to their colleagues. The finite nature of this allocation creates real discernment. The allocation is accompanied by a narrative explaining the reason for the allocation. The narrative provides a powerful individual and collective story of collaboration in the firm.
Peer Points provides the Remuneration Committee with clear metrics: quantitative data accompanied by qualitative data. All sorts of collaboration activity may be covered, from introducing peers to clients and networks to supporting colleagues in times of need or stress. It flexes to handle any strategic challenge where peer sponsorship and support is important, including DEI.
The tool is based on a model developed by the firm Herbert Smith Freehills. In a recent Performance Leaders' podcast recorded before a live audience at the Managing Partner's Forum, former HSF CEO Mark Rigotti explained the concept:
You've got 10 points and you have to give those 10 points away to the people who helped you the most. And if you're a new partner, you get 20. If you're coming back from parental leave, you get 20. And what we'll do is if you get more than 10 we will tell you your number. And if you get less than 10 will say, you didn't make it to 10. And it was really interesting. It really shone light on what we call connectors
The tool is easy to use and has powerful visual reporting to provide a firm wide lens on positive and collaborative behaviours. It allows leaders to see the flow of collaboration and cooperation between partners, groups and locations. It is also able to alert leaders to potential gaming scenarios.
This tool set out to solve a serious problem for firms: the misalignment between strategy and measures. The reality is that 80% of current measures are dominated by production metrics.[1] Production metrics are important in most firms because they reflect in important operational reality, but they don’t tell the full story. They don’t tell the story of collaboration, innovation, DEI or well-being – the key strategic challenges facing firms today.
The tool has been developed by Performance Leader with advice from Patrick St John. Patrick was a co-creator of the methodology adopted by Herbert Smith Freehills when he was a partner at the firm. He was also along time user of the metric as a member of the firm's Remuneration Committee. Having left HSF, Patrick now consults to firms on compensation and partnership issues. He is able to guide firms through the partner engagement aspect of this change. If you'd like to discuss how to introduce the metric into your firm, you can contact Patrick at pstjohn@spcon.com.au.
In this short video (3:40), Paul Lemon demonstrates how professional services firms can use Performance Leader's Peer Points feature to measure and reward partner collaboration.
Book a demo to discover how Peer Points will help your firm measure and reward partner collaboration.
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