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Bright Spot: Chapman and Cutler’s Virtual Coffee Chats

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction. 

BRIGHT SPOT – Chapman and Cutler – Virtual Coffee Chats

During the COVID -19 pandemic, many professionals have voiced concerns about the lack of “water cooler moments” with everyone working from home. In particular, some new Associates have found it difficult to network and find firm mentors while working remotely. The Talent Development office at law firm, Chapman and Cutler, came up with a creative, yet simple, solution to this new challenge. By creating a system for Virtual Coffee Chats, Chapman has been able to connect younger Associates with more senior colleagues for casual networking coffees.

The goal of the system was to make it easy for senior Partners to connect with First Year and Summer Associates for a 20-30 minute one-on-one Zoom call. The Zoom scheduling links were created to automatically schedule the coffees and add them to individual calendars. Therefore, no one was overburdened with scheduling the calls and the time commitment was minimal.

As an added incentive the Talent Development Office sent specialty coffees and teas – all provided by black or minority-owned businesses – to encourage participants and create a fun environment. This small incentive provided a very positive impact to firm culture.

IMPACT

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and many Partners and Associates plan to continue these virtual coffees long after the pandemic. Associates have really enjoyed meeting the Senior Partners and learning about best practices and new client projects. The Partners have appreciated the opportunity to meet the new Associates and pass down some good practice tips. The coffees have also helped with inter-office collaboration and one-on-one mentorship. There’s no doubt these mentoring relationships will continue to thrive beyond COVID.

Please share your Diversity & Flexibility Bright Spots with us by downloading and filling out THIS SHORT FORM and emailing it to Jane Caldeira at jane@dfalliance.com.

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Spotlight on Flex – Rachel Janger

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

March 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our March Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Rachel Janger, Senior Counsel, O’Melveny.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How has the firm and/or clients contributed to this?

Rachel Janger: I began working at O’Melveny in 1999 after my post-law school clerkship. I was full-time until 2007 when I had my second child and then transitioned to a 75% reduced hour schedule. A few years later in 2010, I requested a leave of absence to stay home with my kids. The firm agreed to my request. Once my older child was in elementary school, I asked if I could return to O’Melveny at an even further reduced-hours schedule. At that time, I believe this type of request was very rare in the industry, but it was helpful that I have a particular expertise in my area of law. O’Melveny was very accommodating and has always supported my reduced-hour schedule.

My reduced-hour arrangement works because I don’t take on more work than I am capable of fitting into my schedule but I also make sure that I’m available for our clients and colleagues when they need me. So, I work every day but I have more flexibility during my day.   My guess is that some of my clients may not know that I’m on a reduced-hour schedule because I make my schedule work for them.

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Action Step – Recommendations for Revising Your Flexible Working Initiative Post-Pandemic

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

 

The pandemic has changed the perception of flexibility from “a nice to have” to a business imperative. Prior to March 2020, some organizational leaders did not buy into workplace flexibility. Fast forward to 2021 and the conversations around flex are very different. Rather than asking why we need flex, more leaders are now focusing on how we can make flex as effective as possible. Organizations across all industries must think strategically about workplace flexibility in order to reap recruiting, retention, and business productivity benefits. To help you reboot your workplace flexibility policy, the Alliance has the following recommendations:

  1. Reflect, Reassess & Reimagine. We urge all organizations to look back and carefully reflect on the past year. How has your mission, values, products/services and/or business operations changed? In what ways can flexibility help with these changes? What were the positive impacts of flexibility in terms of productivity, satisfaction/engagement and recruiting/retention? We recommend that organizations create a task force of diverse leaders on the future of work, and collect data on employee productivity/satisfaction now to understand what worked and what didn’t. This will help revamp your flex policy post-pandemic, implement it effectively and create necessary infrastructure support. See our action step, Paving the Way for Flexible Work After the Pandemic Now, for ideas on how to monitor/measure employee experiences.

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. To learn more contact Manar Morales.

Take Command of Unresolved Conflict

2021 Signature Seminar

Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET

Featuring Julie Holunga, Principal & Executive Coach of Chinook Executive Solutions

Problems typically begin with an unaddressed conflict. Unresolved breakdowns in communication are costly, and if left unaddressed, can derail a team, division, or company. Miscommunication is a precursor to conflict, and is draining your resources: productivity, people, and money. Creating mutual understanding and awareness is essential to your success, whether you’re developing a high-performing team, resolving a potentially explosive employee issue, or negotiating with a client.

In this powerful session, participants will gain insights into their natural responses to conflict, learn the strengths and preferences of their own communication styles, and build constructive behaviors to handle conflict. Participants will learn to:

  • Build personal and professional trust between employees
  • Develop and innovate solutions to everyday issues
  • Reduce time spent in (or avoiding!) conflict

Isn’t it time to stop paying the high cost of miscommunication and conflict? This dynamic presentation is designed for professionals who are ready to stop avoiding inevitable conflict and invest in their success. When we are conflict competent, we are engaged, productive, and innovative problem solvers, and that can’t help but impact the bottom line.