Tag Archives: Legal Support Staff

How to Terminate an Employee the Right Way

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Let’s face it, no organization is immune from having to make the tough decision to terminate an employee. Of course no one likes to do it, but that still leaves the real question of how and when you should do it? This is especially true for lawyers beginning a new practice or expanding their existing practice…

via Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: How to Terminate an Employee the Right Way.

Assuming the employee has not committed an act that warrants immediate termination, consider these suggestions from the post referenced above:

  • Document, Document, Document: Scrupulously document disciplinary issues (if it’s not documented, it’s as if it didn’t happen).
  • Start with Warnings: When addressing performance issues, consider using a progressive disciplinary approach: For example, an escalating series of verbal, written, and other more serious notifications to the employee so they can attempt to improve their performance. However, this would not apply to serious performance breaches, nor for new employees who clearly don’t have the skills for the job.
  • Be Consistent: Take the same disciplinary approach for all employees—being mindful of each individual’s unique background and characteristics such as race; color; religion; pregnancy; gender identity; sexual orientation; national origin; age, 40 or older; disability, visible or invisible; or genetic information.
  • Document Some More: Always document the termination with a concise termination memo. If you do not provide the reason(s) for termination, the employee might assume the actual reason for their discharge was due to whatever protected category applies to them, such as race, gender, or age.
  • Don’t Waver: In the termination meeting, be professional but firm in your decision. The termination memo should do much of the talking for you.
  • Stick to the Script: Do NOT say anything different to the employee than what’s included in the termination memo—this is not the time to be overly reassuring and retreat from the true reasons for discharging the employee.
  • Go in as a Team: Try to have a manager who knows the employee present for the termination. A team approach—two management representatives, or a management representative and a human resources representative, or a management representative and a career counselor, etc.—is preferable because one person can take notes and there will be more than one witness to confirm what is said.

The Professional Liability Fund offers a Checklist for Departing Staff and sample office manuals, which may be helpful. From the home page, select Practice Management > Forms and peruse the “Staff” and “Office Manuals” categories.

All Rights Reserved 2019 Beverly Michaelis

 

The Importance of Following Up

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Today’s post is inspired by Ben Schorr, technologist and senior content developer with Microsoft, who has “been in this business long enough to remember when Al Gore invented the Internet.”

Being the all-around smart guy that he is, Ben recently posted:

Follow-up is one of the most important skills you can have in business.

Ben couldn’t be more right, and let me tell you why.

Clients

When is the last time you checked in with your clients? Asked how they are faring? Provided them with a status update?

Nothing is more aggravating to clients (and more damaging to client relations) than failing to follow-up. Avoid this trap by establishing an office system that reminds you to reach out and make contact.  It can be as simple as a tickler system or reminder app. Consider the advantages of interactive web portals that offer clients 24/7 access and apps like Zipwhip that let you send scheduled texts and auto-replies to clients.  Are phones overwhelming you? Worried about missing client calls? Start using Call Ruby. (Discounts are available to Multnomah Bar Association members.)

Tasks and Deadlines

Always create follow-up reminders for all outstanding to-dos and deadlines – particularly those that require action from someone else.

  • Include everything to ensure you get what you need to complete tasks on time and avoid a potential malpractice claim.
  • Include everyone who owes you information, documents, or an undertaking. Clients, co-counsel, opposing counsel, associates, staff, medical providers, investigators, and process servers are the tip of the iceberg.

Staff

Staff also deserve follow-up. Brief weekly meetings can cover a lot of ground: staff workloads, pending projects, your schedule, and responding to staff questions. For tips on working with and delegating to staff, see Revisiting Smart Delegation.

Finances

It’s been almost 7 years since I penned Accounts Receivable Do Not Improve Like Fine Wine, but the advice has not changed. You simply must follow-up on your finances:

Marketing and Business Goals

Follow-up is key when it comes to goal setting. Start by quantifying what you want to achieve, then be accountable (that’s the follow-up part). Whether it’s a business plan or a marketing plan, you are only cheating yourself if you don’t take the time to measure your results.

I’ve written extensively about marketing this year and prior years, both incidentally and deliberately.  If you’re looking for social media tips, resources for market research, how to calculate your marketing costs per case – you’ll find those posts here.  Use the Search feature at the top of my blog or under Categories choose “Marketing.” Whatever you do: follow-up!

All Rights Reserved 2017 Beverly Michaelis

Revisiting Smart Delegation

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mg1ysmkWhen we last discussed the subject of delegation, I shared tips for supervising lawyers and associates. That advice was fine as far as it went, but it left a gaping hole: how can we best utilize support staff? Being S-M-A-R-T is the best answer I’ve found to date.

S-M-A-R-T is shorthand for delegating tasks that are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Agreed
  • Realistic
  • Time-bound

The idea comes from Associate’s Mind, and the simplicity is genius.

The original post gives this additional advice:

Define the task. The more specific the better. Don’t attempt to delegate some open-ended assignment and then get upset with what you get back.
Assess ability. Who on your staff is capable of completing the task? Certain tasks are likely better suited to paralegals, while others are better suited to assistants. You need to take the time to learn who can do what. Once you’ve done that, you can select the right individual for the job.
Explain the reasons behind the task and why they were chosen.  This only applies if it’s a new, or novel task.
State required results.  Again, think specificity NOT “Tell me about the local rules in Court X.” Instead: “Please draft a memo on the local rules in Court X regarding discovery deadlines and how they apply to case Y.”
Agreed upon deadline. Don’t just assign a task and not give a deadline. Otherwise, the person you’re delegating the task to has no clue how urgent it is.
Support and communicate through the process if they need further information or assistance. Sometimes there are speed bumps in the process. This is to be expected, especially if it’s a novel task. You need to be available to give assistance if they stumble.
Provide feedback on results.  If the work product that is returned to you is sub-par, they need to know. On the flipside, if the work product is exactly what you needed and delivered on time, they deserve positive feedback as well.

My two cents?

If a task is complex or time-consuming, make regular progress reports part of the delegated assignment.  This will keep you informed and ease your mind about the status of the work.  Encourage staff to ask questions and use this opportunity to ferret out problems.

When giving feedback, be constructive.  Simply telling staff that work product is “sub-par,” doesn’t help you or them.  In fact, statistics show that people who receive feedback only apply it about 30% of the time.  If you want to improve those odds, follow these tips:

  • Assess what went wrong and consider your role – maybe you used the S-M-A-R-T method and maybe you didn’t….
  • Focus on the task, not the person. This is a training opportunity!
  • Is your quarrel with the method or the result?  If the result is desirable, but you would have done it differently, try not to be a nitpicker unless you have a good reason to be.
  • Be specific about what needs to be done differently and provide context.
  • Deliver the feedback as soon as possible.

All Rights Reserved (2017) Beverly Michaelis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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