I need help! Ready to hire!
You have opened your own firm. You are establishing clients. Your workload and life are getting out of balance. You need help.
Who do you hire first? Administrator or Legal Assistant? I recently read a post that when considering hiring a new employee you should look at the tasks that end up on the corner of your desk. The tasks at the middle of your desk are the ones that excite you. The ones at the corner are the tasks you dread doing and takes longer than it should. You should first hire someone to tackle the tasks on the corner of your desk. Great advice! I would like to take this idea a step further.
Having been a receptionist, paralegal, bookkeeper, Operations Manager and Firm Administrator for a few law firms over my career, I would like to add that you should also look at hiring someone who is intelligent, desiring to learn and willing to grow- like you.
Experienced v. Inexperienced?
Know thyself! Do you have the patience to be a teacher? A mentor? Is the workload coming so fast and furious that you do not have time to hold someone’s hand?
The benefit of hiring someone who is smart, but maybe not as experienced in the law firm environment is that you can probably offer a lower rate of compensation, to start. You will need to invest more time into training. The benefit of this type of hire is you will be training someone to handle your work the way you want it done. This type of personalize investment does build a loyalty between you and your staff member. However, I will note that as your staff grows in knowledge and skill level you will need to be prepared to increase their rate of compensation as an acknowledgement of their increased value to you and your firm. It would stink for you to take all that time to train someone and have things running like a well-oiled machine, only to lose them to another firm offering a more competitive compensation package.
If you do not have the time or patience to mentor a more inexperienced candidate, you should hire someone with more experience. You will be expected to provide a compensation package comparable to their skill set and knowledge. In this scenario, the expectation is your staff member will be able to “hit the ground running’ and get you where you need with respect to your workload, with minimal guidance and instruction.
On-site v. Remote?
As we still are working through the effects of COVID, many workers have expressed that they want to find jobs that allow them to “work from home” (WFH). This is a conundrum for most law firms, especially solo and small law office practitioners. There are so many pieces of this puzzle that you need to consider:
Do you have the proper technology systems in place to allow your employees to work remotely and ensure confidentiality requirements for your clients?
Can you trust your new hire to work efficiently and effectively while not physically being in the office with direct oversight?
What systems do you have in place to monitor and assist in workflow of the office?
These are just some of the initial considerations for having any staff work remotely. Many firms have move to a hybrid model where employees come into the office a few days a week allowing them the flexibility to WFH. This may be a solution to consider for you and your firm.
Your first new hire is an important one. You are hiring a teammate. Someone who is there to support you, your vision, and your clients. Look at that corner of your desk and think!
Contact me if you would like to discuss additional hiring strategies. ADH-Consulting, LLC is a consulting firm which helps law firms strengthen their practices through developing efficient systems and staff training.
