Legal
Law of the land
How Timothy Ryan reduces turnover at Eckert Seamans by focusing on honesty and transparency
By Brian Horn
Smart Business Pittsburgh | April 2009
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When Timothy P. Ryan came aboard Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC as CEO more than three years ago, the company’s culture was already set.
“It is a culture where profits are not king, where lifestyle matters, where compassion and family orientation is very much a part of our business,” Ryan says.
While he did not have to implement the culture at the $125 million firm, he still faces the challenge of keeping it going while not screwing it up along the way.
Ryan has to make sure he has the right people in the right leadership positions to influence the company’s 600 employees and the culture they work in. A key component of that culture is being honest and transparent with everyone, and he can’t do it alone. He has to make sure that he has the right people in the right positions so that everyone is communicating the way he would and that they are also listening to what people are saying.
Practicing these two strategies may sound like a lot of time to spend on something that has nothing to do with your bottom line, but it can have a benefit to your company.
“We have a very low attrition rate here,” he says. “Attrition is horrid in the law business. You establish relationships with clients at all levels, be it secretarial, associate, partner, and that attrition is very disruptive. There are learning curve problems as well as friendship relationship issues.”
A positive culture may also stop a valuable employee from jumping to another company for a little more money.
“Our employees know that they may well be able to get a job for 2 percent more, but they elect not to because of the culture that we’ve been able to perpetuate in this firm,” he says. “The clients are the ultimate beneficiaries of that because we don’t have high turnover. They don’t get new lawyers assigned to their matters every other week.”
Here’s how Ryan carries on his company’s corporate culture by putting the right people in the right positions and listening to input.
