Hiring & Empowering Solutions

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Employees: Your Attorney Desperately Needs This From You

Sure, law firm leaders like to be liked. And they like to be appreciated. But, more than anything else on the planet, they like to be understood. They want their team members to protect their time and their calendar—to have their back! To step up and lead. To stay 20 steps ahead…

Unpacking this need to feel “understood,”—on both the leader and employee’s end of the spectrum—there are three questions that need to be asked to ensure that everyone on your team has what they need to thrive in their position:

  1. What additional information do you need, that you’re just not seeing?
  2. What does it look and feel like to be understood?
  3. Do you feel understood? Do you feel we have the information and skills necessary to execute this task to your standards?

Tune in to to our weekly vlog to learn more about law firm business development and growth via employee empowerment and leadership development.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Session with Molly

If Molly’s message resonates, and you’re ready to either empower your existing employees or hire new team members who are capable of making a measurable difference at your firm, schedule your FREE Discovery Session and start brainstorming next steps with one of the nation’s leading experts in legal staffing and employee empowerment.

schedule a discovery session

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Are You Ready to Say Goodbye to Stress & Let Employees Step Up and Lead?

It’s an employee’s market. Low salaries and minimum paid time off aren’t cutting it anymore, people are job hopping at a faster rate than ever…and it’s only getting worse, seemingly by the day.

The way we see it, you have two options:

  1. Empower the “sleeping giants” already employed by your firm to step up, take action and make business decisions that enable you to focus on your top revenue-producing activities, or…
  2. “Splurge” on hiring a rockstar team member—we promise, the right person will be worth their weight in gold.

Tune in to get the scoop on legal staffing and what it looks like in today’s day and age…

Schedule a FREE Discovery Session with Molly

If Molly’s message resonates, and you’re ready to either empower your existing employees or hire new team members who are capable of making a measurable difference at your firm, schedule your FREE Discovery Session and start brainstorming next steps with one of the nation’s leading experts in legal staffing and employee empowerment.

schedule a discovery session

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Try These 3 Communication Tactics to Keep Employee Excuses at Bay and Accountability Front & Center

employee communication tactics for accountabilityGone are the days of vertical management structures and strict oversight. Organizations of all kinds, ranging from classrooms to boardrooms, acknowledge the importance of ensuring that everyone has a voice. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but if it does, it’s time to tune in. The bottom line is that employees are more productive, more autonomous, and more satisfied when provided an empowering workspace.

This is fine and dandy when everyone pulls their own weight. But sustaining an open and encouraging company culture is immeasurably more difficult, however, when employees underperform. You won’t do yourself (or your bottom line) any favors if you intervene in such circumstances with an accusing question like, “why did (or didn’t) you…”. Instead, level up your management skills and try out the following 3 communication strategies:

1. Drop the “why.” When you open with an interrogation that points to a fault in an employee’s performance, you trigger the brain’s threat response system, provoking a fight or flight reaction often expressed in terms of excuses or shifting blame. This is a waste of everyone’s time.

2. It takes incredible strength of character to quiet the brain’s threat response. Avoid the need to go there by learning to ask “how,” instead. When addressing an employee’s underperformance, skip over the “why” and go straight to asking how to move forward. State the concern as a matter of fact and present the opportunity for collaborative problem solving by shifting the tone of the conversation toward productive resolution.

3. Opening an opportunity for problem-solving engenders accountability. Take this one step further by asking “what.” There is no better way to empower your employees than by showing them a little TLC. Ask, “what can we do to better support your success?” Not only is this invaluable information, it also demonstrates that you own your role in fostering a healthy, empowered workplace. If employees see you working to improve your performance, they’ll be driven to do the same.

Employee performance issues are tricky to pin down, and as long as human beings, not robots, are behind the wheel, you’ll have your work cut out for you. Though no silver bullet, learning to communicate in such a way that avoids blame and centers accountability will go far. What’s more, “how” and “what” questions furnish you with information that provides insight into systemic issues that require leadership attention. Tweaking these deeper tensions allows for the cultivation of a company culture that, in and of itself, will enhance employee performance.

Ready to get the cogs of communication turning seamlessly at your firm?

We’ve been working with law firms for 20+ years, helping to open the lines of communication between leadership and their teams and empower everyone with the tools and techniques they need to step up and make a difference to your firm’s productivity and profitability. Let’s talk about your challenges and brainstorm some ideas to get your firm on track. Schedule your free discovery session by clicking the button below!

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What Does She DO All Day?

what does she DO all day?Okay…let’s be honest. How many of you have silently screamed to yourself, I have no idea what she does all day!!! about one of your employees—all while you juggle client appointments, referral meetings, internal meetings, document reviews, and “emergency” calls from your kids’ schools. I personally hear this no fewer than 20 times a week from entrepreneurs across the map.

These internal commentaries are not meant to be employee critiques. The intent is not to imply that your employee is messing around on Facebook all day. The truth of the matter is that, when a business owner has that feeling of I don’t know what she does all day, it is indicative of a business that is not operating with a cohesive structure, clear job descriptions, weekly tracking and measurement metrics, accountability, and consistent internal communication. It is indicative of a business owner who stays behind closed doors all day in back-to-back meetings, painfully aware of her or his insane schedule, with little hope of addressing a growling stomach, an overloaded inbox, lack of time with the team, and pressing family obligations.

If you have that sinking feeling about any of your team members, chances are it is not the person who is the issue, but rather a training and communication issue. Fortunately, this is a very easy fix.

With the right training and development program, within 30-days you could know if it is actually a case of the wrong person in the wrong role, and how to course-correct. Our 90-Day Training Plan, combined with our “Tips for Weekly Effectiveness” program will take about an hour of your time and get you started on the right path towards running a more cohesive, communicative business…with a calmer day-to-day life. Together, we’ll also conduct a Communication Analysis and perform a Kolbe Analysis to identify the strengths of each person on your team and determine how to establish consistent, effective communication that ensures you never have that rotten feeling again.

The next time you find yourself asking, What does she DO all day? please contact us to help assess your firm’s internal culture and make some changes that will not only eliminate that question from your daily ponderings, but also—ultimately—improve employee retention and loyalty while increasing your firm’s productivity and productivity. Email [email protected] or click the button below to schedule your free discovery session with our founder, Molly Hall.

schedule a discovery session

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Job Hopping is Easier Than Ever…So, How Can Your Firm Keep Employees Loyal & Engaged?

employee loyalty and employee engagementThe unemployment rate is about as low as it’s ever been, holding steady at 3.8% throughout February and March. For employees, this is great news! For the U.S. economy, even better! But for your boutique law firm? Scary.

In an economic climate that is so conducive to job hopping—the current quit-rate is 2.4%, the highest we’ve seen since 2001—employee retention is more important than ever, especially for small businesses. Recruiting, hiring and training is time-consuming and expensive. A revolving door of employees coming and going simply isn’t sustainable for a small firm with limited resources. And as if the many outside job opportunities available to your team members wasn’t enough of an obstacle, you have to worry about other firms poaching your top team members, luring them away with the promise of more money.

Well, fortunately, money isn’t everything and there are several tried-and-true techniques to increase employee retention…even if your firm is a small fish in a big sea.

Here are 4 proven ways to increase employee retention and engagement:

1. Get on board with onboarding. A good (or bad) onboarding program can make-or-break the amount of time your new hire stays with your firm. Over the first 90-days, get your new hire up to speed on the nature of your firm, its mission, and its core values. Show them the ropes, and equip them with the knowledge, authority, and tools they need to excel at their jobs. Answer their questions, introduce them to their coworkers, and integrate them into the culture of your firm. Our Smart Hire Solution™ for recruiting and hiring law firm staff includes a detailed 90-day onboarding manual that ensures your new hire has no uncertainties as he or she takes on their role at your firm. If your employees still have questions after 90-days, or are unsure of how to do their job, it’s a sign of trouble ahead…

2. Remember…employees don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses. As the leader of your firm, your job is to LEAD…not manage. A good leader works alongside his or her team—staying late when they stay late, keeping their door open, empowering employees to take ownership of their roles, asking team members for feedback and input, and saying two little words that go a really long way: “thank you.” These actions help foster an environment of mutual respect, whereas barking orders and micromanaging your team members and the work they’re doing will only breed resentments. And resentments drive employees out the door.

3. Engage and empower your team members. Engaged employees know that their work matters, and feel ownership to their firms. They take the firm’s performance personally, and work hard to increase productivity and profit. A huge part of what we do here at Hiring & Empowering Solutions is work with law firm leaders and their teams to improve engagement and empowerment across the board. There are several ways that your firm can increase engagement: set team- or firm-wide goals that encourage teamwork and boost camaraderie; equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to be authoritative and independent in their role; and offer training and development. Consider enrolling in our Team Empowerment Academy—it’s the nation’s only recognized program, designed to engage and empower law firm leaders and their teams.

4. Money isn’t everything. Offering fair compensation is obviously important…but it goes without saying that most small law firms can’t compete with a Big Law firm when it comes to salary, insurance, and bonus structure. Offering flexible work schedules, the option to work from home, and paid time off can improve employee retention…though many Big Law firms also offer those perks. However, one thing that Big Law can’t offer is the feeling of being a leader. Of being important. Of being a valued member of the team. Of being a big fish in a small sea. Empower your team members to step up and lead—to make a real difference at your firm—and you’ll be giving them something that most big law firms simply can’t compete with.

Keeping your team members loyal, happy and engaged—and stopping that revolving door of employees once and for all—is imperative to the success of your firm. If you’re struggling with high employee turnover or employees who seem bored or disengaged, schedule your free 30-minute discovery session—we’d love to chat about whatever your firm is struggling with, and help brainstorm some solutions!

schedule a discovery session