Start Your FREE Membership NOW
• Discover Proven Ways to Be a Better Law Office Manager
• Get Our Weekly eNewsletter, Law Office Manager Bulletin,
    and MUCH MORE
• Absolutely NO Risk or Obligation on Your Part -- It's FREE!
EMAIL ADDRESS

Upgrade to Premium Membership NOW for Just $90!
• Get 3 Months of Full Premium Membership Access
• Includes Our Monthly Newsletter, Office Toolbox, Policy Center, and Archives
• And MUCH MORE!
You are here: Home / Archives for Your career
YOUR CAREER

Listening as if you mean it: an important managerial skill

July 22, 2021 by

By Lynne Curry It’s easy to give an excuse for not listening. You don’t have time; the speaker rambles or bores you. You already know what you’re about to hear. It’s harder to admit you’re a poor listener—isn’t listening something we do all the time? No. The opposite proves true. Most of us find it hard to listen to someone who has something to say we don’t want to hear. We instinctively interrupt, tune out, or wait until the speaker finishes and then say what we wanted to say in the first place. The result—we miss hearing information we later wish we’d heard; we fall easily into “yes…but” arguments in which neither you nor the other person comes to terms with each other’s viewpoint. We sacrifice opportunities to draw out… . . . read more

Tagged With: , ,
YOUR CAREER

Potential for disaster when you serve on a volunteer board

July 14, 2021 by

By Lynne Curry Sometimes you take on work for which you aren’t paid—because it matters, or because you’ve been talked into it. Perhaps you serve on the board of a non-profit legal aid corporation, offering your experience and knowledge as a law office manager. Possibly you run for your condo association’s board of directors because you want some control over the condominium unit in which you live. Despite the zero pay, you occasionally face situations that require hard work and take every ounce of skill you possess. Recently, I helped a community health clinic 11-person board of directors when they found themselves petitioned by angry former employees and upset community members. They hadn’t expected the depth of allegations against the clinic or its top two leaders, nor to find their… . . . read more

Tagged With:
WELLNESS

Burnout is building for 43% of workers, research shows        

June 10, 2021 by

Many workers are worn out and ready to make up for lost vacation time, new research shows. More than 4 in 10 professionals surveyed (43 per cent) said they are more burned out on the job today compared to a year ago, up from 33 per cent in a similar 2020 poll. The new survey by global staffing firm Robert Half shows employees experiencing increased fatigue, with 42 per cent blame it on a heavier workload.  “For the past 14 months, many professionals have dealt with increased workloads, longer hours, minimal vacation time, and juggling personal and professional responsibilities,” said David King,  senior district president of Robert Half. “With burnout clearly on the rise, now is the time for organizations to encourage their employees to prioritize mental health and well-being,… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , ,
EMPLOYEE RETENTION

More than one-quarter of employees say pandemic contributed to career setback

May 20, 2021 by

According to new research from a global staffing firm, more than one-quarter of professionals (27 per cent) said their career has stalled since the start of the pandemic—and that number jumps to 55 per cent for those ages 18 to 24. In a separate poll, 49 per cent of senior managers revealed that they postponed promoting top performers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 61 per cent of those respondents worry about staff retention as a result. How careers have taken a hit Workers experiencing a stalled career reported feeling stuck when it comes to: Salary growth: 62 per cent Career advancement: 62 per cent Skills development: 42 per cent Ability to grow their professional network: 42 per cent And some professionals shared that they’re ready for a career move:… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , ,
WORKPLACE WELLNESS

Survey: 60 percent of US workers concerned about their mental health in pandemic’s aftermath

May 14, 2021 by

Amid growing anxiety about the pandemic’s impact on wellbeing, a new survey finds that US workers rank mental and psychological wellbeing as one of their biggest wellness concerns. Despite these worries, The Conference Board survey reveals that participation in programs including mental health resources and Employee Assistance programs has dropped. On the upside, the nationwide survey found that most respondents continued routine doctor’s visits to some degree during the pandemic—although women struggled more. Employees also report that they aren’t suffering in silence: An overwhelming majority feel their supervisor genuinely cares about their wellbeing—a likely basis for their comfort speaking of wellbeing challenges at work. Conducted from early to mid-March, the online survey polled more than 1,100 US workers representing a cross-section of people across industries, from lower-level employees to the CEO. Key findings include:… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , , ,
MANAGING STAFF

5 action steps for regaining staff trust

April 14, 2021 by

By Lynne Curry bio  When employees or colleagues no longer trust you, they don’t tell you. Why would they? They don’t trust how you might react to what they say. Their distrust descends below the surface, though it shows up in them keeping their distance from you. Distrustful employees or coworkers protect their backsides. They withhold information. Their morale and productivity lowers. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, one in three of the 33,000 employees surveyed don’t trust their employers1 and as a result provide their employers lower levels of engagement, productivity and loyalty.2,3 According to recent surveys, 25 to 50 percent of employees plan to leave their employers in 2021,4,5 with distrust ranking among the top reasons for this talent exodus. What created this distrust? Some describe it as… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , ,
YOUR CAREER

17 proofreading tips for the law office

February 7, 2021 by

Proofreading is part of your daily work life in a law office and you are probably already an expert. But here are 17 tips and tricks you can use to help you catch every typo, misplaced comma and wrong word. First and best tip is to proofread backwards. Begin at the end and work back through the document paragraph by paragraph or even line by line. This will force you to look at the surface elements rather than the meaning of the document. 2. Place a ruler under each line as you read it. This will give your eyes a manageable amount of text to read. 3. Know your own typical mistakes. Keep a list of the errors you make repeatedly. 4. Proofread for one type of error at a time…. . . . read more

Tagged With: , ,
HUMAN RESOURCES

5 people problems and how to solve them

December 14, 2020 by

By Lynne Curry bio We can’t guess all the challenges facing us as office managers in this new year, but we can assume that we will be dealing with an old one: people and their personalities. Whether working together virtually or in-person, chances are good you will be dealing with people problems. Here are five common problems and strategies for dealing with them. Stopping a bully senior manager without losing your job Question: I face a situation that has no easy answer and no easy solution. As the office manager and human resources director, I supposedly enforce our corporation’s code of conduct and oversee the human resource issues. I report to the report to the chief operating officer, a bully who runs roughshod over any employee unlucky enough to cross… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , , ,
MANAGING STAFF

Professionals working remotely clock long and weekend hours

December 3, 2020 by

A new study by global staffing firm Robert Half shows employees are working around the clock while at home. More than half (55 per cent) of professionals who transitioned to a remote setup as a result of the pandemic said they work on the weekend. In addition, one-third (34 per cent) of remote employees reported regularly putting in more than eight hours a day. “Despite the significant benefits of working remotely, such as saving time spent commuting and increased flexibility, it can also lead to putting in longer hours,” said David King, senior district president of Robert Half. “Heavier workloads have become a reality for many professionals during the pandemic, making it more challenging to disconnect while at home. It is critical that employers encourage their teams to take regular… . . . read more

Tagged With: , , , ,
YOUR CAREER

Preparation is the key to a good ZOOM interview

September 7, 2020 by

By Lynne Curry bio Question: After unsuccessfully responding to job listings on LinkedIn and Indeed.com for five weeks, I finally received a request to interview. When I asked, “Where do I meet you?” I learned I’d be interviewed via Zoom. I’ve had bad experiences with Zoom. For some reason, they have my name misspelled; I’ve tried but haven’t been able to fix this. I can’t even get into my Zoom account; my password’s at my former office and Zoom insists on sending the password reset to my former, extinct email. And I find it distracting looking at my face when I’m speaking. My brother-in-law promises to help me fix the name thing, but I’m even more panicked about the interview itself. I need this job and need to know how… . . . read more

Tagged With: ,

(-0)