The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) published results of its fifth and final member flash poll on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the in-house community. This time, several hundred ACC members gave their input on job security and talent management.
Overall, the responses were cautiously optimistic. Half of respondents (50.9 percent) were “not at all” concerned about losing their job; a further 26.1 percent reported being only “a little” concerned. Fewer than one in five (16.9 percent) are actively looking for new employment. Moreover, 76.5 percent of respondents shared that to date, their compensation has not gone down due to COVID-19.
In terms of hiring, a third of respondents (33.5 percent) expect no changes, although almost as many (27.9 percent) have issued a hiring freeze, and 11.2 percent reported terminations or layoffs in the legal team. Legal teams are attempting to prevent taking these actions through a combination of work from home, which saves money (62.7 percent); general cost-cutting (51.9 percent); and various austerity measures, including reduced bonuses and executive pay, reduced hours, and voluntary leaves of absence.
Respondents seemed more or less evenly split regarding how layoffs or hiring freezes are impacting their workload: 38.1 percent, the plurality, said “some,” as opposed to “not at all” (17.1 percent), “a little” (23.2), or “a lot” (21.5). Most respondents (70.2 percent) expect no change in their formal performance review due to COVID. This poll opened on August 4 and closed on August 10. Four hundred eighty-seven ACC members gave answers. This is the fifth and final instalment in a series of informal polls designed to elicit feedback from in-house counsel on a variety of topics related to the impact of COVID-19. The full results, including the free responses, are available on the ACC website.
