Advice to the new administrator:
“The first few weeks of the job are very, very important and you have to use them well because you can’t get them back.”
Using them well means establishing a professional management relationship with the partners, finding out what the partners expect of their administrator, and showing staff what’s expected of them, says attorney T. Hensley (Ted) Williams of The Williams Group, a Des Moines, IA, human resource management consulting company.
Most legal administrators don’t recognize the importance of their job, he says.
Attorneys learn law, not management, and some of the finest attorneys have absolutely no skills in dealing with employees. The managing partner may manage the attorneys, “but the down-and-dirty sleeves-rolled-up task goes to the administrator.”
By taking care of the people and the operations, it’s the administrator who makes it possible for the firm to serve the clients and make a profit. And to do that, the new administrator needs to start out on the right foot.
Meet the former administrator
The place to start is with the former administrator, Williams says.
Assuming the parting was amicable, take advantage of that person’s experience. Meet and find out the good, the bad, and the challenging parts of the job and of the firm.
People rarely do that, he says. But former employees have a lot of information and are willing to talk about it because they’ve left the job. They tell things a newcomer might never suspect. The firm could be looking at layoffs or reorganization that nobody knows about right now.
He recommends asking these questions:
- Why did you leave? If the answer is that there were too many late nights or that it wasn’t easy to get along with the managing partner, expect to see the same.
- If you had remained in this position, what would you have wanted to fix? This gives an idea of what to address first.
Suppose the answer is “I’d improve the marketing. It’s inadequate, and several attorneys are thinking about leaving because of it.” Knowing that, the new administrator can focus immediately on the marketing and possibly ward off a disaster. Finding out about it weeks or months into the job could be too late.
For each item the predecessor cites, ask why it needs to be fixed and when and how the former manager would have done so.
- What would you not change about the office? These are things to leave alone. These are elements that work well and that everybody likes. Changing them is not only unnecessary but could cause issues with productivity or morale.
Williams points out that there’s no requirement to act on anything the previous administrator says. But do recognize it as valuable information that can prevent unpleasant surprises later.
Meet with the managing partner
Next, meet with the managing partner – a logical move, but again, one few new administrators think to do. In fact, Williams says, “70% to 80% of the time it doesn’t happen.”
Ask “what is your vision for the practice, and how do you see my role in delivering that vision?” Ask about management style and the firm’s expectations of the administrator. The partners may want to get reports on certain trends or get weekly updates on the finances or whatever.
The meeting is also the right time to ask for management support. Some administrators, for example, ask the managing partner to review any significant staff directives so staff see that their new manager has the firm’s backing.
Ask to meet again each week during the first few months to ensure the job is being done to everybody’s satisfaction.
Psychologically, that establishes a strong footing. It makes the administrator part of management, not just the top staffer.
Many new legal managers “inadvertently assign themselves to a staff position” by not doing all that, he says. The initial meeting is the one chance to clarify that administrator and partners have a professional and managerial relationship. Once that’s established, the firm sees the administrator as its leader.
A big-deal meeting with staff
Next, set up a big-deal meeting with the entire staff. And to solidify the position as boss, ask the managing partner to attend.
Make a self introduction. Outline goals and work philosophy. Outline the challenges that will be addressed. And compliment staff on whatever successes they have achieved up to that point.
Williams also notes that if the new administrator has been promoted from within, now is the time to address the issue. Add a statement of “I’m in a new position. We are still friends, but I am now responsible for managing you.”
Explain too that “We are in a workplace situation. When I give a directive, you will have to follow it, just as you would for any other boss you’ve had in the past.”
Now some individual meetings
During the next few weeks, meet with the staff individually to find out about the work they do and the goals they’d like to achieve.
Ask questions such as “What do you like about this office?” and “What would you like to see addressed?” and “How would you address it?”
Along with those meetings, it’s good practice to give staff an anonymous survey asking them to rate the firm in areas of concern to any employee – fairness, responsiveness, efficiency, and so on.
A workplace audit
Another job for those first weeks is to audit the office’s operations and procedures to identify inefficiencies, duplications of work, and even legal risks.
Look at the billing procedure, the employee handbook, the overtime policy, the anti-harassment policy, and of each one ask “Does this make sense? Is it pru-dent? Is it legal?” The outcome is many times surprising. Some of the very largest law firms, for example, don’t have handbooks. Neither is it uncommon for a firm to have a sexual harassment policy but no procedure for reporting harassment.
Look too for practices that need to be stopped.
He gives the example of staff routinely work through lunch so they can leave an hour early. Besides being something the new administrator may not want to deal with, a practice like that can extend the workweek and create overtime violations.
Look around for new peers
The last recommendation is to join both local and national professional associations.
Those organizations provide education, networking, and peer support. They are good places to find mentors, Williams says, because many of the members are “long-time veterans.” They are also good places to link up with other new legal managers and discuss common issues.
Without peer support, a new administrator can be forced to turn to staff for help in solving problems. While that’s not a bad approach, do it too much, and “it can be a manager’s Waterloo.”
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