Beyond Billable Hours: Fostering Psychological Safety to Drive Employee Engagement and Retention

Law firms are often seen as notoriously pressured and competitive workplaces where billable hours are the main performance metric. However, studies consistently show that fostering trust and promoting employee engagement are key factors in retaining top talent, which means that all businesses – not least those where expectations are sky high – must prioritise creating an environment that inspires and motivates staff.

In fact, establishing a workplace where psychological safety is valued, encouraged and rewarded is often what separates successful cultures from those that fail. Only when employees have the confidence to be their authentic selves, to speak up and speak out without censure will they bring their most connected, engaged and productive energies to the business.

Creating a climate for openness

In companies – like law firms – where losing focus can have potentially far-reaching consequences, it’s easy to see how the pressure to be on point all the time might become the prime motivator. But it’s important to acknowledge that psychological safety is the glue that connects high-performing teams, contributing to an ecosystem in which team members are relaxed about taking calculated risks, sharing ideas and learning from mistakes without inviting adverse judgement.

Enhanced performance is not the only benefit. Psychological safety also organically underpins companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) agenda, creating a sense of belonging where all employees, regardless of gender, race, age or sexual orientation, can feel empowered to contribute. Research on diverse teams from the Harvard Business Review has shown that psychological safety is essential for unlocking the potential of diversity. Google's Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the most important factor in high-performing teams.

Why is psychological safety important for law firms?

It goes without saying that integrity is paramount for legal practices. However, in firms where traditional hierarchies prevail, employees can be hampered by the need to tread carefully when expressing ideas. This conservative approach can hinder progress; the fear of challenging the status quo or of making career-limiting mistakes can hinder the potential of a business to grow.

Also, because the stakes are often so high for law firms and their clients, team members shoulder a heavy responsibility for getting things right – a factor that has the potential to negatively impact mental health and can be a barrier to building psychological safety. In reality, by focusing on psychological safety and fostering a culture of innovation, this burden can be lightened.

It's not just about putting practices in place to ease stress, though; it’s about recognising and unlocking your workforce’s potential and providing a secure platform for everyone to contribute their talents.

Despite the potential rewards, many practices find it difficult to institute the kind of changes needed to build the trust that underpins psychological safety. It may help to measure psychological safety by what’s absent – none of the simmering toxic arguments that pollute employee interactions, for example.

We’ve already talked about the ways in which businesses can embed a culture of psychological safety in an earlier qpeople blog, but what are the signs you’re getting it right?

Your people are communicating openly

Being able to talk freely and express ideas and opinions without fear is at the heart of psychological safety. A healthy workplace is one where disagreements can lead to constructive outcomes rather than dissolving into resentment. If people seem happy to have frank discussions and own their mistakes without bitterness, you’re probably on the right track.

Your people and processes are constantly iterating

Even in highly pressured work environments, it’s important that employees see their mistakes as an opportunity for learning, as opposed to a reason to feel ashamed. Being part of a supportive team also means that errors can be quickly caught, avoiding serious mishaps.

Your workforce embraces diversity

There’s plenty of evidence to show that diversity improves productivity, enhances innovation, and benefits the bottom line. But, beyond that, embracing diversity positively impacts psychological safety. Do teams feel comfortable sharing their ideas in your workplace – and is innovation prized more highly than conformity?

You are promoting a healthy work/life balance

A healthy workplace is a successful workplace. HR teams must ensure that employees have access to well-being initiatives, including mental health resources and the provision for flexible work arrangements. This doesn’t mean there won’t be fires to fight or deadlines to meet but overwork shouldn’t be a condition of employment either.

Your bosses are leading by example

Leaders must recognise their role in creating safer workplaces. They should be prepared to model the behaviours they expect of their teams – including owning mistakes, communicating honestly and empowering others to speak up. In other words, they need to act with integrity and encourage others to do the same.

Taking the initiative

Naturally, investing in training programmes that focus on improving emotional intelligence (EI), as well as providing the tools for effective conflict resolution is key. In order for teams to build trust and become more collaborative, they need the skills to successfully navigate the high-pressure environment in a busy law firm. qpeople has experience helping law firms to establish safer, more supportive and more productive workplaces that help attract and retain top talent.

Drop me a DM if you'd like to discuss your requirements.