Travers Smith collaborates with Performance Leader to clarify expectations and transform career conversations

Client objectives

Travers Smith is a leading UK law firm with 700 employees and 85 partners.  Headquartered in London, it advises national and multinational companies in the UK and internationally across the full range of corporate, litigation and commercial matters.

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The firm wanted to reposition career and performance expectations for its legal and business services employees, which included introducing a new ‘senior associate’ role and developing contemporary, future-focused competency frameworks. It also wanted to streamline performance management and create consistent feedback processes.

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Our collective approach

To meet the client’s objectives, Performance Leader engaged key stakeholders throughout the software design process and took an ‘evolutionary’ approach in support of the firm’s culture and appetite for change. This involved listening, being respectful of and understanding Travers Smith’s unique needs.

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This collaborative approach resulted in a new legal career framework that the leadership described as “capturing the essence of the firm”. It also identified that a central element of the performance management workflow needed to integrate feedback from peers and colleagues that was genuine, honest and constructive. This feedback element has landed well with employees and partners.

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With relationships built on trust and honesty, the Performance Leader team has now become an integral part of the Travers Smith project team. As Travers Smith’s needs have evolved, we continue to provide valuable counsel and guidance through open dialogue and collaboration.

A clear choice

Travers Smith chose Performance Leader for three key reasons: there was a high level of trust forged at the outset between the two teams; the system was clean, crisp and easy to use; and there was an excellent cultural fit that underpinned the firm’s vision for performance.