Akin Gump’s HR Head, Meg Meserole, Featured in WorldatWork Video on Building a “Dream Company”

For its video “The Benefits of Being a Dream Company,” nonprofit human resources association WorldatWork interviewed Akin Gump chief human resources officer Meg Meserole on why and how Akin Gump is working to become a “dream company” for its employees.

Regarding the importance of this goal for the firm, Meserole noted, “The legal environment is very competitive, so, we have to differentiate ourselves in many ways to attract—and then retain—that top talent and also the high-potential employees that we identify at the firm.”

She continued, “We use the term ‘employer of choice’—it’s our guiding principle for everything that we do. When we’re looking at new programs or benefits, we talk about how is that going to move the needle on ‘employer of choice’? How can that program or benefit be seen by folks looking to join our firm as well?”

Meserole linked the “employer of choice” guideline to another principle that she encounters primarily on the benefits side: “meeting people where they are.” She noted that there are some benefits offered by Akin Gump that affect very few people at the firm, but for the people who are affected, it can be “life-changing.”

She added, “It’s important for us to provide benefits that support them where they are in their life. A brand new graduate of law school [is] going to have a completely different need from a benefit and program standpoint than someone who’s of the ‘sandwich generation’ who’s dealing both with children and parents, or someone at the end of their career and starting to think about retirement. So, it’s really important for us as a firm to be looking at those individuals as individuals. I call it a ‘hyperpersonalized’ approach to benefits and programming.”

Meserole listed some of the benefits that go toward making Akin Gump a “dream company,” including Be Well, a voluntary wellness program that covers what she calls the “three pillars of physical, mental/emotional and financial wellness.” She also discussed the firm’s flexible work arrangement program for non-lawyer Business Services employees that allows them to flex their schedules or telecommute or opt for reduced schedule/pay, in each case assuming their work responsibilities allow it.

To view the full video, please click here.