Sharing knowledge

Sharing knowledge: What’s the point in keeping the best information under your hat if the only person it benefits, is you?

In 2022, I was invited to take part in a podcast recorded by Today’s Conveyancer on the trial of our four-day working week.  I was talking alongside another conveyancer who introduced the scheme and sang the praises of its success within his firm.  I hoped that by sharing an honest account of how we made it work, it would provide useful insight for other firms to consider introducing similar schemes for their staff.

The discussion made me think about the power of sharing information across the legal industry and how that has changed over the last decade through media, blogs and podcasting. No longer are we hiding behind the walls of our offices, viewing other firms as ‘the competition’. Now, we are openly discussing our challenges and swapping best practice with peers.  I strongly believe this that sharing knowledge encourages us to see one another as colleagues within a bigger industry, rather than rivals.

What’s the point in keeping the best information under your hat if the only person it benefits is you?  In the long run, there is very little advantage to that attitude. There is so much intelligence we can share to help collectively evolve and better legal practices, which we all know have historically been slow to adapt to change. For example, discussions on technology and digitisation help those firms who might be slower to trial new software.  It helps them understand what others are doing and most importantly, what’s could work best for them.   

With a huge loss of conveyancers over the last few years, this important switch in our mindset from secretive to sharing will only benefit the whole profession. We have a responsibility to ourselves to attract and keep the best new talent and we’ll only do that by making conveyancing a more attractive industry to join.

Organisations like Today’s Media and ESTAS have been working hard for years to share best practice within the industry. Understanding what other firms are doing to improve the lives of their workforce, whether that be through menopause training, bereavement support or a four-day week, we are able to address the problems in our industry together, and work to improve things.

Panel sessions are another hugely valuable way to exchange opinions.  A positive consequence of the pandemic is that they are often now livestreamed.  The digitisation of live discussion at industry events means that conveyancers can watch from all over the country, again harnessing the power of technology to share information.  

Would you be keen to take part in more panel sessions to help build your profile and share your opinion? To book a session with me, hit the button below.