Your most finite resource as a law firm owner is time, but a close second is your team and your workforce. Time can’t be reclaimed once it’s gone, and a great team is one of the most challenging things to effectively put in place. That’s why your Human Resources department is the vital piece of the puzzle. A great team needs attention, care, and constant development, which is why law firm consulting like the kind that Brain Trust Legal provides is an ideal solution for law firms seeking to grow or strengthen their team.
Human resources is a constantly shifting challenge, and the responsibilities and expectations grow and evolve as society and technology dictate. Preparing your HR department with BTL’s law firm consulting can bridge the gap from where you are to where you want to be. Below are just a few of the many insights and takeaways your team will gain from consulting.
The single most difficult challenge for a growing law firm is finding ideal team members to keep up with the growth of the business. If your marketing and intake departments are doing well, then the workload is growing and your team needs to as well. What is the best method of finding reliable law firm team members?
The nightmare scenario is to spend time and money hiring and training a new team member, only for them to quit the job after a short stint, or to leave for another law firm. Ideally, you want skilled team members who are interested in long-term positions and making a career in your firm. One way to work towards that is by using specialized tests for your potential candidates.
While many businesses already include certain kinds of tests such as job skills and general aptitude tests, there are others that can provide even better insights into your potential new team members. Personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can provide key insights into how the potential team member will interact with the firm culture. There are also emotional intelligence tests which can help you gauge an individual’s style of communication and likely method of interaction. All of these elements can make an impact on the decision to hire a great potential long-term team member or to move on from someone who might not be the right fit.
As the workforce finds more opportunities for employment because of technology that allows work from home options and the shift in social awareness of self-care, businesses have had to adjust accordingly to accommodate team members who are rightly prioritizing work/life balance. Rather than struggling against that, your law firm’s HR department can embrace it, which will bring in better and more appreciative team members in the long run.
One element of work/life balance can be provided with more work at home options, as mentioned above. This allows team members to cut out the time and costs of commuting, as well as excising the small talk and office gossip that eats up productivity time, leading to a win-win for team members and employees.
Another great work/life balance option is flex scheduling. By allowing team members to choose from a window of open business hours to work, they can adjust to come in later in the day so they can see their kids off to school, or leave early to get to appointments. As long as your team members are working their full hours, the option to shift their work time is a benefit they will greatly appreciate.
And finally, you can make strategic changes to your time off policy. By providing different options that take into account the changing interests and desires of your team, you can show appreciation and a sense of support to them. And remember, always lead by example.
For a large and diverse workforce, managing worker productivity and efficiency can be challenging. Thankfully, technology and policy are your friends in this uphill battle. The first thing to make sure of is that new and continuing team members have a clear idea of your expectations of them. If they have not been properly prepared or instructed, they can’t be expected to deliver.
Secondly, having technology in place to monitor engagement can also be helpful. While it’s not a perfect reflection of someone’s focus and progress, systems like ActivTrak can provide a measure of a team member’s computer activity, as well as keeping track of the websites they are visiting. This can help establish productivity hours and also provide insight into what kinds of websites might be distracting team members and slowing work progress.
Ultimately, one of the best weapons in the arsenal for productivity is finding the right team members to begin with. Self-starters with high internal motivation and quick-start instincts are ideal for law firm work, and that’s what you should be seeking. The same kinds of tests discussed above in the hiring section also apply here, and they can be used to gauge which potential team members are going to be the ideal fit for your team. If you do the harder work of finding the right people to begin with, the challenge of keeping them motivated is much less of a concern. Like Mary Poppins says, “Well begun is half done.”
The best and worst place to learn a lesson is while on the job. It’s good because the experience is invaluable, but it’s bad because it slows productivity and costs money. That’s why any law firm looking to strengthen and grow their law firm should get human resources assistance and training from Brain Trust Legal consulting. Law firms can benefit from the decades of good and bad decisions that our founders, Rob Levine and Darryl Isaacs, have weathered and succeeded through. The only thing better than learning from your own trial and error is learning from someone else’s.
Get the benefit of 50+ years of law firm ownership and business success with BTL consulting. You can learn more here on the website or you can call from anywhere across the nation to (855)743-1636 to learn how our team can help you.
