Employee information management for Tax law firms: one record of specialisms, exposure and training across the practice
Partners staff matters from memory. A simple, accurate record of who knows what, who has appeared where and who is free makes staffing faster and protects against single-person dependence.
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Share your requirementsWhy employee information management matters in tax law firms
In several tax practices, information about people sits in a partner's memory and a few spreadsheets. Appointment details are in one place, training in another and leave in a third. When a notice arrives in an unfamiliar area, the partner asks around. A specialist leaves and nobody knows what they alone could do.
Employee information management brings the basics into one clean record per person: role, specialisms, benches and tribunals they have worked with, languages, training, leave balance and development plan. It sets who updates it and who may see it, and treats it with the confidentiality it deserves. It is then used in staffing, appraisals and succession talks.
Tax practice involves seasonal deadlines, hearings before authorities and client confidentiality. Knowing who has appeared before which forum, who is cleared on which client's files and who holds which authorisations is important. A neat people record supports these decisions.
How to set it up
1. Decide what to record
List the fields that help staffing and development, such as specialism, matters handled, exposure, training and leave. Skip what nobody will use.
2. Collect and verify the details
Ask each person to fill their part and have a senior confirm the specialist entries. Resolve gaps.
3. Choose one place and one keeper
A single file or system with one named keeper, and a rule on who can view what. Treat personal data with care.
4. Use it when staffing and appraising
Check the record before assigning a matter and during appraisals.
5. Update twice a year
Refresh the record each half-year and after each major matter or training, so it stays reliable.
6. Record forum experience and authorisations
Note which appellate bodies and departments each lawyer has handled, and any formal authorisations the firm holds for them.
7. Track confidentiality undertakings and conflicts
Keep signed undertakings and a simple list of conflicts staff have declared, available to partners only.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Use your own records for a defined period and note gaps in the evidence. The review may take longer if records are incomplete or spread across teams.
- Ask a partner how they currently find the right associate for an unfamiliar area.
- Check how many places hold training and leave details.
- List specialisms that are not recorded anywhere.
- See who can view personal details and whether that is appropriate.
- Choose a matter and see whether you can name who is free, qualified and free of conflict to take it.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach employee information management in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Enough to help staffing and development, no more. A page per person with specialisms, exposure, training and leave is plenty.
Only those who need them, such as HR and the person's lead, with the individual able to view their own. Confirm data-handling rules with a qualified professional.
They will if it is used visibly to give them better work and training. Explain the purpose, and never use it for surprise judgement.
Keep staff records focused on the person. Client details belong in matter files. Link them by reference only. Your adviser can advise on data handling duties.
Explain what is collected, why and who sees it. Collect only what you need. Trust grows when the firm keeps its word.
We set up the interview and hiring process for tax law firms
Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.