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You are here: Home / Archives for Productivity
MANAGING STAFF

How to improve employee experience and organizational culture as COVID-19 takes toll on staff

October 24, 2021 by

The pandemic dramatically changed how, when, and where work gets done. And while a majority of businesses reported that productivity increased as employees settled into working remotely, for many, it came at the expense of the employee experience. Employee burnout, time spent in meetings, and the number of employees with mental health problems increased, while work-life balance, engagement and morale, and the number of employees reporting high levels of personal well-being decreased. A new report from The Conference Board, Reshaping Employee Experience and Organizational Culture: Lessons From the Tumultuous Events of 2020 and 2021, examines how the events of the last year and a half reshaped both employee experience and organizational culture and what lessons organizations can take away to thrive in the future. The report combines qualitative findings from interviews with… . . . read more

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MANAGING THE OFFICE

Creating the right spaces for your post-pandemic law office

August 19, 2021 by

Staff have returned to law offices this summer, with more likely return in the fall. But the pre-pandemic office design might not work anymore, with some staff continuing full-time telework, others opting for part-time presence in the office—and many accustomed to the freedom they enjoyed while working from home. Allwork.Space, a company that focuses on what it calls The Future of Work, has this advice for reconfiguring offices for today’s needs: The open office may be a thing of the past. Large, one-size-fits-all spaces certainly don’t fit all needs, and can negatively impact productivity. Buildings may be static, but people are dynamic, so physical design must account for the motion of people through the static space. Re-designing your space for activity-based working can improve the workplace experience by better meeting… . . . read more

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MANAGING STAFF

Amid higher productivity, 43% of US workers question need to return to workplace

July 14, 2021 by

Are you having trouble convincing your staff to return to the office? So are many employers. More and more offices plan to reopen their doors in the coming months, but will their workers show up? Amid higher productivity, 43 percent question the wisdom of returning to the workplace at all. The new survey by The Conference Board reveals a notable shift in employees’ greatest return-to-work concerns. Once dominant fears of contracting COVID-19 or exposing family members to it now lag behind anxieties about returning at all, dropping by nearly half in the last nine months. Moreover, a clear divide among workers emerged, with lower-level employees, women, and millennials questioning the need to return to the office at higher rates than their counterparts, despite expressing more concern about mental health.  … . . . read more

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HIRING & FIRING

Hiring mistakes come at a higher price amid pandemic

April 14, 2021 by

A hiring mistake could cost your office more today than it would have a year ago. New research from a global staffing firm shows more than three in four senior managers surveyed (77 per cent) admit to recruiting the wrong candidate for a role, and more than half (56 per cent) said the negative impact is more severe now than it was a year ago. Four months lost on one hiring mistake When it comes to their most recent regrettable hire, senior managers said it took 11 weeks, on average, to realize the person was a poor match and to let them go, and an additional 5 weeks to restaff the role. That’s a total of 16 weeks, or 4 months, of time squandered on a recruiting blunder. Companies have… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

8 ways to cut the chaos on Zoom

March 12, 2021 by

By Lynne Curry bio Question: Our department’s weekly Zoom meetings are a train wreck. One coworker’s kids pop their heads in front of the screen and wave “hello.” Another guy’s kids are on the other side of the table from where he sits, and they interrupt him when he’s talking to argue with him. I’m obligated to attend these meetings. Any advice would be appreciated. Answer: Every train needs a conductor; yours appears to be asleep at the wheel. Zoom meetings go off the rails when those who attend forget that while they’re at home, they’re also at work. If you ask every attendee to observe eight guidelines, it might get your meetings back on track. Professionalism: Please demonstrate professionalism as well as comfort in your attire. Use your video… . . . read more

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INCREASING PROFITS

Can every attorney in your office answer these 10 critical questions for 2021?

December 14, 2020 by

Want to see more profit in 2021? Get each attorney to draw up a practice plan for the year. A plan forces the attorneys to organize their work agenda by focusing on practice development, production, and self-improvement. What’s more, it ensures that everybody does work that furthers the firm’s goals, it keeps the marketing focused, and it keeps the collections in line. Use this 10-point format: First are the hours goals 1 What is the number of hours you will devote to billable work? This forces the attorneys to take a serious look at how they should spend next year’s time. It also forces them to look at their historical performance. It’s not reasonable, for example, for an attorney who has billed 1,400 hours for the past two years to… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

Technical issues and too many participants are biggest virtual meeting pet peeves

November 28, 2020 by

Have you had about enough of video meetings? If so, you’re not alone. A new study by global staffing firm Robert Half shows video calls may be wearing on workers. Almost three-quarters of professionals surveyed (72 per cent) said they participate in virtual meetings. Those respondents reported spending about a quarter of their workday (24 per cent) on camera with business contacts or colleagues. In addition: 44 per cent said they’ve experienced video call fatigue since the start of the pandemic. 59 per cent said video calls can be helpful but are not always necessary. 22 per cent noted that the practicality and novelty of video conferencing has worn off over the past eight months. 15 per cent confirmed they find virtual meetings inefficient and exhausting and prefer to communicate via… . . . read more

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BLOG

5 ways high-performance organizations make meetings effective

September 6, 2019 by

By J. Elise Keith  bio
Every organization has to figure out how to make meetings productive. It’s a complex challenge. To be effective, each meeting needs to…


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BLOG

5 simple (and inexpensive) ways to bring a breath of fresh air into your law office

July 26, 2019 by

By Nicole Groshek  bio
Providing employees with a change in scenery helps keep them inspired and productive. According to a recent survey, majority of office workers wish…


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BLOG

“What’s it really like around here?”

July 19, 2019 by

By Lynne Curry  bio
You feel it the moment you enter the organization. Ask the employees “What’s it like around here?” and they confirm…


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