Hindu Business Line Profile Explores How Pangea3 Attracts the Best People and Keeps Them

September 13, 2011

We have always said that one of the most important ingredients in our “secret sauce” for exceeding the expectations of our current clients and winning new ones is our people. In the age of J-M Manufacturing’s recent malpractice suit against McDermott Will & Emery, one of the lessons learned is the importance of having the right managers and service providers in place; this, along with the right processes, makes it much easier for in-house and outside attorneys to fulfill their ethical duty to supervise.

The spectrum of legal service providers is broad and the differences are stark. On the one hand, there are temporary attorneys, as there were in J-M Manufacturing, who are often looking for their next permanent job. On the other, there are permanent attorney managers and workers who are not only expert at document review as a career choice, but also expert in document review in very specific types of cases and for very specific types of customers. Witness our recent announcement of our Mortgage-Backed Securities Taskforce that pulls together over 200 permanent attorneys at our company that have actual experience in this type of complex financial litigation.

Experience comes from working on the same types of cases, but also comes from the context of feeling secure in their roles and engaged by having a comfortable working environment and a respectable career path. This is a 180 degree difference from the situation faced by J-M Manufacturing, and why our customers recently voted us the Best Legal Process Outsourcing Provider in the New York Law Journal’s 2011 Reader Rankings.

In the article “The backroom legal eagles” in The Hindu Business Line (a well respected Indian business newspaper), Gokul Krishnamurthy paints a vivid and very accurate portrait of our people and operations in our Mumbai office in Leela Business Park. I highly recommend reading the entire article for those that have never visited LPO operations in India since it provides such a good description, as well as some great commentary from Sanjay Kamlani, Co-CEO of Pangea3, about the facility, our people, and how we compete.

However, below I will sum up some of the main points of the article which really tells the tale of how Pangea3 uniquely attracts the best people, keeps them and gets the best from each of them:

Inspiring Work Environment: The article describes the work environment and seating arrangements as being open, transparent, inspirational, and supporting a flat hierarchical structure.

Opportunity: The most effective way to keep your top employees and make sure they perform at their best is by providing real opportunity. The article highlights the ascension of Rachita Maker who was brought on to Pangea3 to help build the HR group, but who with experience and opportunity (and her own ambition and intelligence) is now Assistant Vice-President, Corporate Legal Solutions, and is in the U.S. as a subject matter expert helping the sales force with their sales efforts.

Client Contact: With global services and happy clients, Pangea3 has many customers that repeat their business. This means that our employees really get to know the clients’ industries and businesses, and often get to know the main contacts at these firms and companies. Part of the Pangea3 process is constant client contact, for which the whole team participates. That client contact could be weekly team video or audio team calls, or could be travel to the client’s facilities, and even when appropriate, longer term assignments at those facilities.

Work-Life Balance: Workers who want to get ahead have plenty of opportunities at Pangea3 to step up and take on extra work, or work U.S. hours. However, the option to take a “slower lane,” including flexible time schedules, is also available to those workers who have home obligations that are the current priorities in their life.

Feedback & Reward: There is nothing as unsettling to an employee, particularly a professional employee, as not knowing where they stand and how well they are completing their assignments. The article describes the appraisal system built by Pangea3 to provide that constant and constructive feedback, as well as opportunities as “employee of the year” to be recognized among peers for outstanding work.

Personal Growth & Fun: Finally, the article describes how Pangea3 provides both technical growth opportunities to its attorneys, as well as occasions to socialize and have fun as a group, including cricket matches and billiards.

Read Full Article.

Filed under: Legal Process Outsourcing