This article was originally published on Lawyers Weekly.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) director Linda Johnston said the firm is always looking at how it can encourage its people to pursue areas of work they are passionate about.
"For us at the firm this ranking is an affirmation that we are heading in the right direction and we are committed to continue to build a workplace that offers a great environment and the most interesting work and to that end we will keep doing what we are doing," she said.
KWM has created workplace strategies designed to build more supportive teams, has a rest and recovery attitude, has equipped staff for performance and wellbeing, as well as having new resourcing models available for alternate career paths.
"We are constantly looking at how we develop our people from a careers' perspective and have at the firm internal career advisers whose role is to facilitate the alternative experiences and transitions between teams and practice groups," she said.
Ms Johnston said ensuring its staff's wellbeing is of "paramount importance" to KWM and it is implementing a number of practical tools that individuals and teams can apply to develop collaborative and supportive cultures.
"This includes the active monitoring of workloads and sharing responsibilities across teams, which in turn increases our cohesiveness as a firm," Ms Johnston said.
To attract talent, Ms Johnston said the firm wants people to understand the experience of working at KWM, "which is actually much more than the work you do". She said the firm is always striving to differentiate itself in the market and from its competitors.
"In terms of retaining talent, this comes down to our workplace strategy. It is our day-to-day practice and ensuring that our commitment to this never wavers," she said.
