Our stakeholders are the people who have an influence on our firm, and who are most affected by our actions and decisions. These include our partners, people, clients, alumni, graduates and new recruits, community partners, contractors and suppliers.
What we do has an impact on all of them, so it is important we listen to what they have to say, and address the issues they raise. However, it is our partners, people and clients who are closest to our business. So these are the groups we focus on in particular.
Often, there are natural tensions between the views of these different groups. We need to take a balanced approach to these competing views. We also have to be realistic about how much and how quickly we can change things across the firm.
It is not easy. The key is to ensure we have an open dialogue with these stakeholders so we can see where these tensions are, and then be prepared to take action as a result.
Engaging with:
Partners
The International Board (IB) is the firm's governance body, responsible for major decisions and making sure our partners are properly consulted. It is chaired by our senior partner and is made up of 15 partners, each representing a different part of the firm. It is their job to make sure the partners in their parts of the firm are updated with any information from the IB.
We have an intranet site for partners called Partnership Online. This keeps partners up to date with what’s going on and asks their views on important issues. Partners also get their own weekly bulletin.
Partners attend global partner meetings to share views on the firm’s strategy and to elect new partners. They attend monthly lunches in London to hear directly from the senior partner, managing partner and chief financial officer. And they have regular group and office-partner meetings.
Our people
Our people get news and information at their regular team meetings. We also use our internal communication channels to tell people about our CR work, and to give them the chance to feed back ideas and ask questions. For example:
- Our intranet site provides our people with a range of information on the firm, our policies and procedures, our CR work in community investment, the environment and our support services.
- The bulletin is our weekly electronic newsletter sent to everyone in the firm. It tells people about the progress we’re making towards our strategic objectives. It also updates them on our clients, people and achievements, new deals and policies, internal developments, and our work in the community.
We always encourage open feedback. In many offices we have formal and informal mentoring schemes in place, and we talk to new joiners and leavers to learn about their Linklaters experience.
Groups of associates, trainees, secretaries and business services staff have the chance to air their views at formal forums. These forums keep the communication flowing between staff, partners and senior management.
Recently, we also carried out a staff survey for our business services team. The results have been fed back, and we keep people updated on progress with regular briefings.
Clients
Our clients have an important role to play in shaping our CR policy. As a result, listening to their concerns is a fundamental part of our client relationship process.
During pitches and external audit work we are often asked questions about our CR work. This has helped us get an understanding of what CR issues matter most to them.
Alumni
We communicate with our alumni through a dedicated website. This updates past partners and employees about CR issues and gives them the chance to give feedback.
Graduates and new recruits
Our graduate recruitment team regularly tells us what questions graduates and prospective trainees are asking about CR. Our community and environment work has been heavily influenced by the feedback from this group.
Tell us what you think
If you have any views or ideas on how we could manage CR at Linklaters, get in touch.