One in an occasional series of features on Charlotte area businesses, nonprofits, and events, and how they are adapting to the “new normal.”
Our Subject: Heather McCullough, Partner and Co-Founder at Society 54, a Charlotte-based coaching and consulting firm for professional services. Society 54 works primarily with lawyers and law firms in the US and Canada, providing training, technical support, and talent development.
What’s been impacted: “A lot of what we do is attorney retreats — which are in person — so all of that has been canceled,” said McCullough. “Most of our coaching is done online, so that’s good, but we’re feeling the pinch already as firms try to figure out how to do more with less.”
Even as brand name law firms and smaller shops announce layoffs, McCullough added she sees opportunity on the other side of this when firms begin to look for talent and rehire when business ramps up again.
“Also, our major industry conference was cancelled, so we missed that opportunity. It’s a major disappointment since we get lots of ideas and make lots of connections there.”
Innovative pivot: “We want to make sure that our messaging is genuine, that what we’re doing is there to help and not trying to gain from this situation,” McCullough said.
“The other thing we are doing is to, ‘give away the business,’ if you will. What are our clients struggling with? What can we do to help? We want to be a resource for them and not just be ‘business all the time.’”
McCullough says it’s not necessarily a pivot, but offering something that their audience can engage with right now and find value in will be important while so many things are being cut.
“It’s one of the reasons we started our coffee talks,” McCullough said of their bi-weekly zoom calls with clients and partners. “It’s so folks could have a moment to discuss what’s going on, how they’re managing, or even give them a chance to vent.”
Reactions: “So far, it’s been very positive,” McCullough offered. “Many firms were very busy coming out of March. Now we’re adjusting to things slowing down, trying to figure out what this will look like, and adjusting to the new pace.”
McCullough said her team is also studying up on ways to get smarter and deliver more value in areas that will matter most to clients down the line, staying engaged with clients nationwide, and looking for ways to give back.
“They’re happy to know we’re willing to be there for them as they try to adjust.”
Forecast for the future: “Reading my tea leaves, I have to agree that things will change,” added McCullough, “and those changes may or may not be drastic.”
McCullough said she expects talent acquisition and development will be in high demand once firms begin to rehire. “There may also be a part of the market that doesn’t want to go back to the firm life, or back to full-time, or they may want to try something new.”
McCullough believes technology will play an even bigger role in how firms monitor functions like business development and marketing, and their return on investment in these spaces. Society 54 has developed project management software solutions to track in and out-of-house teams and their efficiencies.
“When this is all over, I think some parts of the industry may look at the brick and mortar model and reimagine that completely — and how they’ll better engage with a remote workforce.”
Ever quotable, McCullough dropped this southern-fried analogy in describing the current and future state of the legal trade:
“It’s like in racing; sometimes you have to slow down now, like in the turns, to go fast later. We’re going to take this time to decide how we want to look and what we want to do so we can really accelerate coming out of this.”
Find out more about Society 54 and their coaching and consulting services at: http://society54.com