1. Reduce the interruptions.
- During busy times, move the chair around so the back is to the door. People hesitate to interrupt when they can’t make immediate eye contact with the administrator.
- Stand up when people come on and stay standing. As long as the administrator is standing, the visitor won’t start up a long conversation.
- Put a few books in the visitor’s chair so there’s no invitation to sit down.
- When a longwinded staffer comes in, say right at the start “I have to make a make a call in five minutes, but how can I help you?”
2. When a staffer makes a snide under-the-breath remark, don’t ignore it. Ask a question to bring it out into the open.
Suppose it’s “Here comes the big boss. I guess she wants to see if we’re working.” Come back with “What that statement says to me is that you don’t like working here. Is that true?” The answer will likely be “I was just joking.”
That’s not easy to do. But unless remarks like that are ended fast and with strength, they will continue.
3. To increase attorney-staff appreciation, have one of the partners come to a staff meeting to talk about the history of the firm and what it wants to achieve and also to answer questions.
In addition, bring in an attorney speaker from time to time to explain an individual case or the law surrounding a particular issue.
Those meetings give staff recognition from the firm. And for the firm, they create staff loyalty and interest in the clients.
4. An easy way to end the complaints about who does what is to have staff explain their individual jobs to one another—what their responsibilities are, what problems they face, and so on.
That creates all-around respect for what everybody else does. It also explains the why of the things people complain about. And it encourages staff to work as a team instead of as individuals.
5. Don’t give too many compliments or criticisms at once. The more things that get mentioned, the less important the message.
To say “you did a good job on A, and you handled B well, and I was impressed with C” says the administrator hasn’t really noticed any one of those items. Similarly, to cite five transgressions makes the staffer see them all as on a level with the least offensive one.
6. Written warnings need to carry the staffer’s signature so there can be no question about the staffer’s having adequate notice. Yet many staffers refuse to sign, saying they don’t agree with the statement.
To avoid that, put a note under the signature line saying “my signature does not imply that I am in agreement but rather that I have read and understood the contents of this document.” Most employees will sign that.
If the staffer still refuses, just write on the document “I discussed this notice with Staffer A, but Staffer A refused to sign.” That’s documentation enough that the conversation took place.
7. When setting goals that will bring pay rewards, be sure the extra work doesn’t require overtime.
That might happen, for example, if the goal is to increase the number of bills sent out each day and staff have to put in extra hours to meet it. In that case, the firm has just lost full the financial benefit of the goal.
8. There’s a lot of free mileage to be had from personal recognition. When somebody takes on an extra assignment and does the job well, compliment that staffer in front of the others, preferably with the attorneys there too. Done with enough fanfare, that can be just as appreciated as a cash bonus.
9. Set up a “wall of fame” bulletin board in the break room, and post whatever complimentary items come in about individual staffers.
Beside each item, put a picture of the staffer it mentions.
10. Put pictures of the staff in a book in the reception area with their names and a description of what each person does.
That gives staff personal recognition and also strengthens the personal bond between the clients and the office.
11. When talking with a staffer about poor performance, almost always, the response is excuses.
Don’t accept them. Say “I’m hearing a lot of excuses, but I’m not hearing any valid reason why this work is being done poorly.”
Then go to what needs to be done: “Let’s talk about what we can do together to help you improve your performance.”
12. When a staffer asks for something, never pass the buck with “let me clear this with the partners.” That says the administrator doesn’t have much authority and staff are better off going to the attorneys.
Similarly, never answer a question with “I don’t know. Let me ask the partners.” That says the administrator doesn’t know much more than the staff do.
The right answer is “let me see what I can do” or “let me look into that.” The administrator may in fact have to get the answer from the partners, but staff don’t need to know that.
13. To get to the real truth during a job interview, ask about experiences such as “tell me about a time you solved a client’s problem.”
Then ask about whatever the answer is. If it’s “I did A,” come back with “How did you accomplish that?” If the candidate says “by doing B,” ask “and how did you accomplish B?”
The applicant does all the talking, and the administrator finds out what to expect from that person.
14. What’s the best way to talk with a partner about a problem and still stay in the firm’s good graces?
Use a nonconfrontational opener: “there is something I would like to discuss with you that is somewhat uncomfortable.” The partner will want to know what that is.
Then explain the problem but in terms of how making a change will improve client service or the bottom line. If the problem is that the partner yells whenever there’s a mistake, phrase it as “when you yell, I am not able to give your clients enough attention or get your work done as well as I’d like to.”
15. When one staffer comes in with a complaint about another, make the staffer participate in the solution.
Ask “what do you want me to do?”
Give a few choices—”you can discuss this yourself with Staffer A, or I can tell A that you complained, or I can talk with A and leave your name out of it.”
Then turn the table: “if you were in A’s shoes, what would you want to see happen?”
Almost always, the response will be a logical one, perhaps that administrator and staffer should together talk with the other person.
16. The best staff education is small, positive, and on the spot.
When a staffer is doing something the hard way, point it out. But instead of “you’re doing that wrong!” say “let me show you an easier way to do that” or “did you know there’s a button you can push on that copier for such-and-such?”
Don’t look for serious things. Just stick to the small things that are time savers and step savers.
And to emphasize that the staffer is not at fault, say “you may not have known about this.”
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