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Melbourne firm puts people before profits in COVID-19 response
With redundancies and reductions in hours the go-to response for most firms, a Victorian law firm has committed to doing it differently by putting its people first.
Naomi Neilson
Until the end of the financial year, Moores has committed to shifting financial stress from COVID-19 away from its staff by having its leadership team absorb the risk in profit lines, first at a practice leader level with a reduction in salary.
CEO and practice leader Tessa van Duyn said staff are stepping up, innovating and have pivoted the service to pull the firm through the “changing and challenging times”.
“We are staying united,” Ms van Duyn said. “If there becomes a need to let staff go, it will not be because we didn’t give everyone a fighting chance.”
Ms van Duyn added that the people at Moores are its most valuable asset and they thrive in an environment where they feel “safe, valued and valuable”. She said that by ensuring staff are protected, the firm will build higher productivity, better client service and a strong workforce that “has each other’s backs” and remains sustainable throughout COVID-19.
“This kind of culture is built on reciprocal trust – the leadership trusts our staff to delight our clients and contribute to our sustainability and our people trust us to do the right thing by them and enable them to be their best,” Ms van Duyn said.
She added the relationship only works if it continues to live its values that people are more important than profit and is proud to be part of a leadership team that does so.
The response has had a tangible impact on the staff, who have expressed relief and pride in their workforce for having a leadership team prepared to take risks for them. Many staff have not worked through a crisis at this scale and have not experienced this stress.
“Whilst we can’t necessarily remove all of the uncertainty that clouds our people’s lives at the moment, the one thing we can control is their safety and security at work. It was a no-brainer for us to shift the financial risk to the leadership team and away from our people,” said Ms van Duyn.
“We have assured our people that we will not make changes or cuts before the end of the financial year that we will always strive to protect our people’s jobs while keeping the business viable.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
