OnLive Learning
1 Contributions by OnLive Learning
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note offers guidance on preparing an appraisal form that can be used to evaluate and review an individual’s performance against both objectives and core skills (competencies). It supports assessment against goals and the core capabilities needed to deliver them.
Why are appraisals important?
An effective performance management process typically focuses on the following:
aligning your workforce closely with the strategic aims of the business
improving overall employee performance
supporting employee development and ongoing retention
driving improved overall business results
Creating a competency based appraisal process
It is important to recognise the appraisal form is not a script to be followed slavishly, but a tool that underpins and steers the conversation and creates a structure for capturing what was discussed. The dialogue matters more than the paperwork. Competencies describe the behaviours employees require to carry out a role to a high standard. They concern how objectives are
Practice Management
163 Contributions by OnLive Learning Experts
PRECEDENTS
This presentation is aimed at law firms. It was created as a resource to support you in training managers to run appraisals. Training materials can be tailored. This training pack has been assembled in PowerPoint and is not available to download in Word from this page. Use the link below to download the PowerPoint presentation...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Purpose of performance appraisal and personal development
Our appraisal and personal development approach aims to:
Build a highly focused, productive and motivated workforce by supporting and valuing every individual in the firm.
Ensure people understand the firm’s strategic objectives and how they can personally help to achieve them.
Rating system
It is essential to understand the appraisal ratings that will be applied:
Exceeded all expectations – Consistently surpasses expectations across objectives, core skills and values; recognised as a role model or go‑to person and exemplifies the firm’s critical success factors.
Exceeded some expectations – Consistently meets and often exceeds objectives, core skills and values; exceeds some elements of key objectives, though not others.
Met all expectations – Fully meets, and at times exceeds, expectations on objectives, core skills and values; performs successfully in all aspects of the role and requires only a
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Name: Department: Date:
[ State the reason for retaining this check sheet, e.g. Subject of client call ]
Days
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Total
Categories
[ Add category to record figures against, e.g. New client enquiry ]
[ Add category to record figures against, e.g. Chasing for information ]
[ Add category to record figures against, e.g. Need to speak to fee earner ]
[ Add category to record figures against, e.g. Confirming an appointment ]
[ Add category to record figures against, e.g. Complaint ]
[ Add category ]
[ Add category ]
[ Add category ]
Total...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
1 Executive summary
This report explores why 35% of new clients leave within the first fortnight after instructions. Undertaken in May and June 2025, the work draws on statistical data from a range of sources. A cross-party team of fee earners, personal assistants and support staff, headed by FLS (Conveyancing Partner), delivered the research. The objective was to locate present process bottlenecks, determine their causes, and set out practical fixes. The principal recommendations are:
Standardised email signatures for all staff, including direct contact details;
A review of all standard letters currently issued to clients;
Development of a standard call script for personal assistants when speaking with new or potential clients;
A review of the current mobile phone provider, with a possible move to an alternative
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills
What is it?
Awareness of strengths and limitations, motivations, principles, and how one affects others.
Managing and channelling unhelpful urges and emotions.
Taking pleasure in accomplishment for its intrinsic value.
Grasping the feelings and temperament of others.
Creating connection to influence people towards intended outcomes.
Indicators
Confident in self, proactively requests feedback, listens and accepts constructive critique.
Shows steady conduct, seen as dependable and even‑tempered, trusted to provide impartial feedback...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Dear [ insert name of employee ]
Re: Attendance review meeting
I write to advise you that an attendance review meeting has been scheduled for [ insert date ] at [ insert time ]...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
ARM carried out by [ State name ]
Date [ Insert date ]
Venue(s) [ Insert location ]
Section A: To be completed prior to conducting the ARM
Staff member’s name [ Insert name ]
Team/Division [ Insert department ]
Normal workplace [ Insert details ]
Employee’s present absence rate [ Insert details ]
Is the absence prolonged illness/irregular?...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
1. Does having a RTWI mean I’m in trouble for my absence?
No. A RTWI is intended to confirm you’re ready to return after time off and to explore whether any further help would be useful on your return. RTWIs are not disciplinary in nature and do not form any part of a formal disciplinary process.
2. Will everyone in the firm have a RTWI?
Yes. Every colleague will complete a RTWI after any spell of absence that meets the firm’s sickness and attendance policy criteria. If you are asked to attend a RTWI, this does not indicate you are being singled out or treated differently from any other member of staff. It is the firm’s policy to conduct RTWIs consistently and in accordance with its sickness and attendance policy. The same approach applies to all employees.
3. What is the purpose of a RTWI?
The core aim of a RTWI is to
Practice Management
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Stage Questions Case study
Create a sense of urgency
How will staff recognise there’s a need to change? How will its significance be made clear? How will both near-term and longer-term gains be demonstrated?
Set out:
how much prospective new work is currently slipping away
the effect that is having now and is expected to have going forward
how greater volumes will make life better for secretaries and fee earners
the potential outcomes if no changes are pursued
Form a powerful guiding coalition
Who will take charge? Who will make an open pledge to see it through? Who will guarantee the necessary resources? Who will sit in the core team steering the change? Who will ensure they collaborate effectively as one team? Will the coalition operate well across every area of the firm?
JB, a partner, will head the project...
Practice Management
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This Precedent offers a worked illustration of Precedent: Improving efficiency—Voice of the Customer/Client (VOC)—blank and shows how client input can be applied to assess process effectiveness. Any change initiative ought to centre on enhancing the internal and external client experience, which first requires clarity on their needs and expectations. Within continuous improvement (CI), this is described as capturing the ‘Voice of the Customer/Client’ (VOC). That VOC must be weighed against what your team can and is prepared to deliver—the ‘Voice of the Business’ (VOB). This example is tailored to practitioners within an in-house legal function.
What do our clients want? Step 1: Identify our clients
Who are our current clients? (specific and generic)
Internal clients—procurement team, HR, etc.
External
Local Government
PRECEDENTS
Executive summary
This report examines why 25% of incoming calls originate from the procurement team, either posing questions or passing on updates and information to the team. Conducted across August and September 2024, the study incorporates statistical data gathered and assembled from a range of various sources. A cross-party cohort of lawyers and support staff, headed up by Fred Smith, undertook the work. Its objective was to locate present bottlenecks within the process, determine their root causes, and outline how they might be resolved. The aim was to identify current bottlenecks, their causes, and remedies. The principal recommendations are:
enhance communication throughout the contract drafting process
define what constitutes a conflict of interest and explain why it matters
publish an online infographic of the contract drafting process as a clear and consistent point of reference
tighten compliance protocols for how information is stored on
Local Government
PRECEDENTS
1 The aim of the absence management strategy
1.1 Decrease the annual absence rate from [ insert rate, eg 3.5% ] to [ insert rate, eg 2.0% ].
1.2 [ Lessen the negative effect on service delivery arising from the firm’s high level of short, irregular absences. ]
1.3 Enhance the handling of long-term sickness so its contribution to the firm’s absence rate is lowered.
2 Key trends and causes of absence over the past 12 months
2.1 [ One member of staff has been away for six months with long-term illness linked to stress (following the breakdown of marriage). No meetings have taken place yet owing to the sensitive nature of the sickness. ]...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Name [ Insert appraisee’s name ]
Current manager [ Insert appraiser’s name ]
Position/title department [ Insert appraisee’s job title ]
Current personal development plan (PDP) year [ Insert year ]
Department [ Insert appraisee’s dept ]
Date of appraisal [ Insert date ]
Appraisal conducted in person? ☐ Yes ☐ No
Aim of the meeting
To gain insight into your individual ambitions.
To give feedback on your standard of performance.
To map your future with us, confirming we are supporting your career growth.
To agree objectives that align with the firm’s strategic aims.
What the meeting will cover
Part 1: Performance versus personal objectives
Part 2: Performance against core capabilities
Part 3: Overall performance appraisal
Part 4: Future aspirations
Part 5: Forthcoming personal
Practice Management
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Action Notes
Review earlier RTWI/ARM paperwork to identify:
the employee’s health condition(s);
treatments currently underway;
medicines being taken;
advice from the most recent RTWI/ARM;
arrangements for a GP medical report;
arrangements for any private medical examination;
commissioning of an Occupational Health report;
conclusions from medical reports/examinations;
the medical practitioner’s longer-term prognosis;
reasonable adjustments made or proposed;
how those adjustments affect the firm;
any risk assessment completed;
results of that risk assessment;
how outcomes have been applied to the employee’s role.
Examine absence data and confirm:
the employee’s present absence rate;
comparison with the firm’s target absence rate;
the expected change in absence going forward (considering the practitioner’s prognosis).
Consult firm records regarding:
the effect of the employee’s absence on their work and the firm;
the firm’s
Practice Management
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Diversity and inclusion (D&I) objectives and key performance indicators—law firms
D&I objectives for the firm
[ All employees to complete unconscious bias training by [date] ]
[ Add D&I objective ]
[ Add D&I objective ]
[ Add D&I objective ]
[ Add D&I objective ]
Key performance indicator (KPI)
[ Unconscious bias training to be developed with an external training provider ]
[ 100% of fee earners to have undertaken unconscious bias training by [date] ]
[ 50% of support staff to have undertaken unconscious bias training by [date] ]
[ Add KPIs to deliver the above objective ]
[ Add KPIs to deliver the above objective ]
Who is responsible for this objective
[ For example, the D&I or HR Manager ]
[ Specify who is accountable for this KPI ]
[
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
To ensure we deliver the strongest support to our managers, we would be grateful if you could respond to the questions below as honestly as possible. Please base your answers on your own experiences with your line manager. All information provided will be handled in the strictest confidence.
1 Your details
Name
Department
How long have you worked at the firm?
Where are you based?
☐ Home
☐ Office
☐ Hybrid
2 You and your line manager
When was the last time you had a one-to-one coaching session with your line manager?
☐ In the past 24 hours
☐ Within the last week
Practice Management
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Diversity and inclusion (D&I) action plan—law firms
D&I objective
[ Insert your D&I aim ]
[ Build a more diverse workforce and nurture an inclusive culture with equal opportunity for all colleagues ]
Activities
[ Set out the actions you will take to reach this aim ]
[ Attract a broad, diverse pool of candidates using marketing, branding and imagery that mirror the diversity of the firm, its clients and its clients’ clients ]
[ Require all people managers to complete mandatory unconscious bias training ]
[ Offer recruitment and selection training to hiring managers so decisions are objective and free from unconscious bias ]
[ Provide [ bi-annual ] reports to the Board on diversity data for applicants, new starters and promotions ]
Responsibility
[ Insert who is accountable for this aim, e.g. the D&I manager or HR
Practice Management
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Diversity and inclusion (D&I)—law firm self-assessment against gender balance and maternity, paternity or adoption leave measures
This Precedent enables a firm to benchmark its figures across a number of different possible D&I indicators and to track movement over a particular period of time, eg to provide a year on year comparison of results. Click to obtain an Excel version of this Precedent. The purpose is to help you form a clear picture of gender balance together with maternity, paternity and adoption leave metrics. You will find a separate tab for each of these within the spreadsheet. These specific groups have been selected because employee data in these areas should be readily available to most firms; nevertheless, the Precedent can be expanded to incorporate additional D&I indicators, eg relating to ethnicity, religion or sexuality...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
1 Experience
Request a roster of organisations they have already run training sessions for.
Be cautious of the phrase ‘we are involved with projects with…’, as it could indicate they are only at the discussion phase.
Ask to review attendee feedback from earlier courses delivered.
Request a couple of contact names from former clients so you can obtain a reference.
Enquire how they will choose the most suitable trainer(s) for your assignment.
2 The trainer/training company
Who will be delivering the training? Where feasible, try to meet the actual trainer to judge suitability/fit for the audience. [ Insert response ]
What credentials and experience does the trainer possess? [ Insert response ]
For how long has the trainer been with the training company?
...
Practice Management
PRECEDENTS
Complete the absence/leave form below and secure your manager’s approval signature. Send the original completed form to HR and keep a copy for your records...
Practice Management
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