7 People Management Actions That a Law Firm Needs to Take
When a group of friends, newly graduated in law, decide to join forces and set up their own law firm, it’s normal for everyone to initially do a bit of everything. They do everything from serving clients to paying water, electricity, and telephone bills. However, as time goes by, the complexity of their activities increases. And with it comes the need to structure people management.
When we talk about people management, we don’t just think about the need for selection processes, hiring, and firing employees. It does involve these aspects, but it’s not limited to them especially if you provide legal assistant services.
Simply put, people management is managing teams to improve their performance. Therefore, it involves training, benefits, career and individual development plans, job and salary plans, as well as employee health and well-being.
One of its main benefits is reducing employee turnover. Furthermore, it creates satisfied, productive, and proactive teams. But while its effects are positive, many law firms still don’t know where to start.
Therefore, in this article, we will address 7 people management actions that a law firm needs to take.
1. Have plans for your employees and reap results at the law firm
Problems such as lack of autonomy in task execution, lack of profit-sharing programs, lack of growth prospects, and even work overload are highlighted by research as the main drivers of staff turnover in law firms. This is despite the fact that these concerns are often distant from their own perspective.
In fact, for a firm that wants to maintain its stable workforce—and grow it—such concerns should be constant. Managing such issues will, to some extent, prevent good professionals from leaving their current jobs to start their own legal practice . In other words, they will remain within what is known as turnover.
Therefore, you need to have plans in place for your employees to also have a plan to stay in the firm. Career plans, individual development plans, and profit sharing, for example, are all things that significantly improve the performance of employees in any company. But to achieve this, leaders need to dedicate some time to these activities.
2. Discover the best of each professional to build your teams
Valuing the team members at the helm of the law firm also implies recognizing each person’s capabilities and skills. After all, there are many types of lawyers. Some enjoy management, others have a consultative profile, and others love prospecting clients.
Therefore, find ways to better understand your employees’ skills and abilities and leverage them to your firm’s advantage. With this knowledge, plan your firm’s activities to maximize each employee’s strengths.
For example, someone who is extremely organized but doesn’t have as much technical knowledge as other professionals won’t necessarily be less qualified. Quite the opposite. They may, for example, be better suited to management positions than others. And placing them in positions more suited to their skills can be beneficial for both parties.
It’s important to keep this in mind both when organizing your law firm and when hiring. If there’s a need for a professional with certain skills, this should be considered, whether for a hired lawyer or even a law intern.
3. Manage teams
After planning a team well, making the most of each person’s skills and abilities, will everything go smoothly? Not necessarily. A good team should always rely on a strong management process.
The absence of someone to organize the daily work can convey the feeling of a lack of recognition for the work. Therefore, it’s important to express interest in how the team is producing and interacting on a daily basis.
However, good team management can identify problems before they escalate. Connect senior professionals with juniors . If an individual is struggling, for example, you can offer encouragement and assistance before it impacts their performance or even their dissatisfaction with the profession.
Legal software and other tools, such as legal spreadsheets, help you see whether your team is delivering results or how long it takes to complete certain tasks. In addition to providing the law firm with statistics, it also helps identify potential problems. This way, it is possible to better guide a successful team and avoid major difficulties in advance.
4. Align the team with the law firm’s culture code
Another key aspect of people management in the legal profession is establishing a culture code within the law firm. This is truly important for any team.
The culture code not only outlines the company’s objectives but also how they will be achieved, aligning all team members. It also encompasses ethical precepts and the main rules of conduct within a group.
This prevents, for example, members from acting disrespectfully or in a manner inconsistent with the activity and teamwork. Consequently, it creates safety for others and also integrates diverse individuals.
5. Provide opportunities for results-based growth
Incentivizing your law firm team is undoubtedly one of the most important ways to motivate them to deliver results. Of course, valuing each person’s capabilities and offering appropriate compensation and rewards are essential. But offering other opportunities for growth based on the team’s results is just as important.
You can encourage the study of new languages, for example, by offering a scholarship. You can also specialize in topics that can impact not only individual growth but also team growth.
For example, if there’s a high demand in the area of corporate law, you can encourage someone who expresses a desire to learn more about the subject. A qualified and happy professional within the law firm where he works will certainly increase the value of the legal services offered.
6. Offer tools that make work easier and more practical
In addition to encouraging growth opportunities, you can also motivate your team by offering new ways to get work done. After all, having the ideal tools for the job is a way of creating practicality in itself.
Always check that the materials you provide to employees are in good working order. Computers, printers, and other equipment must undergo regular maintenance.
If a team, for example, is experiencing organizational issues, you can suggest new time management and priority-setting techniques. If the team spends too much time searching for processes and documents, you can promote a new organization within the office. You can also suggest and implement new tools within the office. Recommending apps to lawyers can be helpful and provide a positive surprise.
Similarly, it’s also possible to implement management technologies, such as legal software. Used primarily to manage processes, they can make life easier for the entire team, from those in administrative roles to those in parts production.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that the team must be present in the decision-making process. Even if the final decision isn’t theirs, it’s essential that they feel part of the project and know that their opinions are also considered.
7. Give constant feedback
Finally, provide feedback. Not everyone can identify on their own what they’re doing well or poorly. When managing people in a law firm, providing this feedback to team members is essential. As mentioned, we should value the positive aspects. Praise encourages continuity in a given operating model, but it can also encourage growth.
Similarly, if something isn’t working properly, it’s important to provide feedback both to encourage the individual to strive for improvement and to determine if there’s something bigger hampering their performance. Often, it could be a problem that affects the entire office, not just the individual.
Therefore, carrying out this analysis, providing data, and engaging in dialogue can contribute to the firm’s overall results. Adjusting routes and strengthening people management strategies in the law firm.
In short, like any organization based on specialized technical knowledge, founded and managed by experts, there comes a time when law firm partners need to stop and ask themselves: are we on the right track?
Certainly, many will conclude that they need to reorganize, adapting to their new management reality. These are “growing pains.”
Therefore, look for other firms that are successful in areas where your management is failing. And, as far as possible, adapt these successful practices to your own reality.
