According to ESPN, employees following the NCAA tournament, participating in office pools and talking about games during work hours costs the U.S. economy $3.5 billion in lost productivity. In years past some law firms attempted to reduce lost time, some even prohibiting office pools. 

This year, however, many firms have found that using the NCAA's as a firm sponsored activity builds morale and moves employee focus away from layoffs and other cost cut backs. A number of firms are operating a bracket system on the firm intranet. Partners and employees can pick winners starting with the original 64 teams and then press each week (make new selections with the remaining teams) while the original choices continue. Prizes for winners tend to be firm memorabilia items or partner supplied benefits (firm box seats at a baseball game, round of golf at a prestigious private club, etc.). At one firm, there is an NCAA TGIF party each week of the tournament with everyone encouraged to wear clothing from the school they chose in the brackets. To emphasize frugality, one firm we talked to made each TGIF a potluck party with employees bringing homemade hors de oeuvres. Most firms run brackets for both the men's and women's tournaments.

Several firms are sufficiently pleased with the enthusiasm created that they are planning to run a fall NCAA football pick sheet with parties each Friday, and one international firm is planning a firm-wide World Cup program.

 

On advice of their labor lawyers, many firms have a policy of not giving references to departed employees other than to confirm dates of employment. The unusual circumstance in many firms of laying off large numbers of employees is causing firms to reconsider this policy and being excessively hurtful to laid off staff. In some situations firms are providing laid off employees with a letter of reference describing the circumstances of the lay off and providing a positive reference. Several firms have contacted competitors and provided them with resumes of and favorable comments on former employees.

Across all industries workers are postponing retirement plans in response to the decreased value of their 401(k) plans. In fact, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com, 60% of workers over the age of 60 plan to delay retirement and 73% think it will take them at least six years of extra work to recoup their lost savings. 11% have decided to never retire.

In surveying large law firms, most administrators feel that the impact is perhaps less on them than other industries. As one administrator put it, "A number of our older partners were looking for an excuse to continue practicing and the recession provides it." One impact is that elaborate succession plans being prepared by firms to deal with the transitioning of clients may never be put into play. According to the CMO of a large firm, "A lot of our concern was the retirements of our contacts at clients, but now many of them are staying on.”

The impact doesn't seem to be as great on the staff side. One firm indicated that some secretarial employees have offered to accelerate their planned retirement if it would reduce announced staff layoffs. "Everyone is still very much like a deer in the headlights and we'll just have to wait until things calm down." said a CHRO. "I think a lot of people will go ahead and retire."

We frequently get questions from clients and other readers about recruiting, hiring and other HR issues. This week we got a new interesting question from a firm in Ohio. It seems that the administrator believes that about 10% of their female paralegals and assistants have part-time jobs at strip clubs. The work does not interfere with their firm responsibilities or availability for overtime but the firm is concerned about possible negative publicity. The question is whether any firms have a policy regulating part-time employment that could reflect poorly on the firm. Please drop an email to Bob@LRGLLC.com if you have an applicable policy.