Balancing accountability, performance and partner remuneration
Michael Roch, May 2025
For more than a decade, my co-author of The Partner Remuneration Handbook, Ray D’Cruz, and I have been advocating for a combination of informal check-ins and structured contribution reviews to drive accountability and performance in professional services firms.
Recently, Performance Leader, the software firm of which Ray is CEO, shared key insights from their '2024 Evolving Employee Performance Management in the Professions' research, conducted with over 170 professional services firms. Their research reveals that firms are starting to practice what we preach in the form of a clear shift towards more frequent feedback.
Select findings
While 80% of firms still conduct annual or biannual reviews, over 60% of employees now receive at least quarterly check-ins.
Combining structured reviews with one-to-one check ins enhances engagement and growth because meaningful performance management requires both flexibility and thoroughness: ongoing conversations complemented by consistent and systematic evaluation.
But just as important as assessing performance is ensuring that partner remuneration reflects these contributions in a fair and transparent manner.
The Case for a Balanced Approach
Professional services firms operate in complex environments where client demands, internal politics, market dynamics and team collaboration, all play critical roles in success.
Traditional performance management methods such as annual performance reviews or year-end evaluations (often rigid, annual processes) often focus on past performance rather than ongoing contributions and fail to capture the nuances of real-time contributions and ongoing performance. These rigid, infrequent processes can overlook these 4 critical factors:
1. Real-time impact
Professionals contribute in dynamic ways throughout the year, but annual reviews may not capture the day-to-day value they provide to clients, teams and the firm.
For example, a senior consultant in a professional services firm steps in mid-year to resolve a major client issue that was putting a multimillion-dollar contract at risk. They work intensively over several weeks, rebuilding client trust, implementing a new strategy and ultimately securing an extension of the engagement.
If the firm's performance review process is only conducted annually, this critical contribution might be underweighted or even forgotten by year-end—especially if other priorities have since taken over. Worse, if the review process is heavily focused on revenue generation alone, the consultant’s efforts in relationship recovery and long-term client retention might not be fully recognized.
A partner performance and reward system with ongoing check-ins would ensure that the senior consultant’s impact is captured in real-time, acknowledged promptly and factored into compensation and career progression decisions.
2. Evolving responsibilities
In professional services firms, roles and priorities shift based on client needs, market trends and strategic initiatives. A once-a-year review doesn't always reflect these ongoing changes.
For example, a law firm partner starts the year focused on corporate M&A transactions, but by mid-year, shifts their efforts toward regulatory compliance due to new government policies affecting key clients. The partner quickly adapts and develops expertise in the new area and leads the firm’s response, bringing in new business and positioning the firm as a market leader.
If the firm’s performance review process is only conducted annually, their original M&A targets (set at the beginning of the year) might still be the primary metric for evaluation, failing to recognize the partner’s new value and revenue contributions.
3. Short-term wins & learning opportunities
People develop and improve throughout the year. If feedback is delayed until an annual review, opportunities for timely recognition, course correction, or coaching may be lost.
An example of this might be a junior partner that struggles with client presentations early in the year. Over the next few months, they actively work on their presentation skills, taking training courses, seeking mentorship and practicing with colleagues. By mid-year, they are delivering high-impact presentations that impress clients and help secure new business.
If this person’s performance is only reviewed annually, this significant improvement might not be acknowledged until much later, or worse, their earlier struggles might still dominate their evaluation. Without timely recognition and reinforcement, the junior partner may feel undervalued and contemplate leaving the firm, or the firm might miss an opportunity to fast-track their development into a leadership role.
4. Collaboration & team contributions
Many professionals work across teams and projects. A yearly review might not fully acknowledge collective success or fluid, team-based contributions.
An example could be an accountant in a professional services firm collaborating with multiple departments throughout the year, assisting with tax strategy, financial reporting and compliance audits for various client accounts. This accountant’s expertise helps different teams across the business streamline financial processes, ensure regulatory compliance and uncover cost-saving opportunities.
Because their work is spread across multiple projects and teams, their impact isn’t always tied to a single revenue-generation metric. If the firm only conducts an annual performance review, consideration of their cross-functional contributions may not be fully recognized. Instead, their evaluation might focus narrowly on individual client billables, overlooking the broader strategic value they have added to the business.
Creating a more dynamic and effective system
By integrating informal check-ins with structured contribution reviews, firms can create a more dynamic and effective system for performance management, one that drives both accountability and fair partner remuneration. This approach:
- Ensures accountability without creating a culture of micromanagement
- Provides structured insights into long-term contributions and growth
- Supports strategic decision-making around talent development and succession planning
- Aligns partner compensation with actual performance and impact (financial and non-financial)
Enabling technology to drive impact
The practical implementation of this balanced approach has been significantly enhanced by technology solutions developed by firms like Performance Leader. Their platform helps professional services firms seamlessly integrate informal check-ins with structured reviews, ensuring that performance conversations are timely, actionable and directly linked to partner/employee compensation decisions.
Ensuring compensation reflects true performance
For firms looking to elevate their performance management practices, the key lies in balancing agility with structure and ensuring compensation reflects actual performance.
For more information about ensuring partner remuneration effectively reflects partner performance, get in contact with the team at MHPR Advisors.
If you would like to learn more about performance management technology solutions, get in contact with the team at Performance Leader.
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