Hold regular, pre-planned and productive staff meetings.

#1 “Definitely Don’t!”

Without adequate preparation and the right facilitator to ensure employee meetings are productive, positive and efficient, don’t go there.

I could stop writing now as the most critical points of my message are listed above.  A checklist is offered below, however, with a partial, non-prioritized listing of other ingredients to include in recipes for ensuring successful staff meetings.

For a far more comprehensive article, please check out my 2002 Lawyers Weekly USA column entitled, “Staff Meetings: Can’t Live With (or without) Them!” (October 18, 2002).  I would make the same recommendations today as I did then adding, of course, video conferencing and other newer technologies and systems that have since become smart management tools.

All of us bemoan unproductive, hot air only, waste of time committees and meetings and the agony of attending such “events” (many CLE programs, too, for that matter!).  Hope all of you agree with me that we should not want our names included on anyone’s list of terrible meeting planners and facilitators.  And, yet, I’d be a very rich gal if I had a nickel for every employee complaint I’ve heard through my 20+ years of law office consulting about negative, unproductive staff meetings!

Likewise, a #1 request by staff is the desire for upbeat and informative meetings to be held.  In some firms, they just want them to be taken seriously and not events that can be cancelled at a moment’s notice for non-emergency reasons (or excuses!).  For others, no meetings are held at all.  Instead, what information and instructions are shared is typically done in a “shoot-from-the-hip” and rushed manner.

History repeatedly proves, however, that productivity, office morale and efficiency flourishes continually with firm leaders who plan adequately for and hold productive, regular staff meetings. These critical office characteristics, however, will be present only occasionally and fleetingly at best in offices with poor meeting planners and ineffective leaders.

As an aside, we all know that the right and best leaders for law offices is often not the most senior attorney or biggest rainmaker.  The day we all “get it” re smarter law office management and tools will be a HUGE and positive turning point for our clients, ourselves and our legal system as a whole.

Thanks for sticking with me so far and now here’s the promised partial listing of recommended “other” ingredients for successful staff meetings (in addition to my #1 Must Do and #1 Don’t Do’s above):

1. Know what the objectives are for holding any meeting as well as what amount of time should be allotted to each matter (e.g. educational, updates regarding firm news, 10-15 minute workshops conducted by different staff members each time, brainstorming of solutions needed for specific issues, Q & A time, etc.).
2. Share an informal agenda with all participants a few days ahead of the meeting, ask them for suggestions about the agenda and remind everyone to come appropriately prepared.
3. Decide on what the parameters and “rules” will be for all (e.g. Cell phones to be banned from meetings?  Any accountability for tardiness or no-shows? Plan for ensuring all get fair time for asking questions, responding, etc.)
4. Plan ahead for how you the meeting will be kept moving in a timely manner, how to nip any verbal or body language negativity at its onset, how to set a positive tone at the start, during the meeting and at its closure.
5. Include time at each meeting for publicly thanking any deserving employees for things (big or small) they have done well and/or above and beyond the call of duty.
6. Mid-way, take time to review the written agenda to ensure all matters being covered in a fair and timely manner.
7. Before closing, have everyone write down what, if any, decisions were made, who is to do what by when and what agenda items need to be carried over until the next meeting or what new ones need to be added.
8. Thank everyone for their participation and ask them to give you some quick feedback about what parts of the meeting worked very well and what aspects may need some improvement.  Also, encourage them to send you their written, confidential feedback via a memo if they prefer.
9. Post-meeting – have a plan for monitoring who is to do what and ensure they are doing it.  Again, if not, are there any consequences for ignoring what they were asked and they agreed to do?

10. Consider rotating meeting planners and facilitators instead of depending on the same person or persons to plan and conduct re-occurring staff meetings.

As I wrote in the 2002 article mentioned above, any and all time spent on learning how to plan and facilitate more effective meetings yields great rewards. The firm, its leaders, staff and clients will reap immediate and ongoing returns.

I’m retained by professional firms to serve as their investigator, coach, consultant or temporary administrator.  My mission is to help them do a firm-wide “health check” regarding what’s working, what’s not, teach simplified strategic planning so their goals are reached sooner than later, help them minimize malpractice and other risks, enhance client services and retention, improve staff morale, efficiency and productive and a wide range of other things.

What does my work with law and other professional firms have to do with scooping the poop on our farm?   Regardless what assortment of services clients may opt for me to provide, I must always be on the lookout to identify and help them scoop up any poop lurking within their offices (a/k/a office BS).  We all know, however, that real poop is far easier, quicker and faster to spot and avoid.  Office BS can be extremely subtle and shrewdly dished out.  Cover-up disguises for BS’ers are also plentiful and may include chronic fake smiles, empty promises, excessive excuses and those oh-so-smooth talking big mouths.

The good news, however, is that once identified, office BS (as well as other office negatives) can often be turned around and nurtured into great success stories….just ask any experienced gardener and they will tell you what great fertilizer horse and donkey poop makes if “seasoned” and applied appropriately.  Ditto re law office poop which is one of the best parts of my work…not the poop, of course, but watching these success stories evolve from …well…office poop piles.  And, the credit for this goes to a firm’s excellent leadership, resourcefulness and perseverance.

Read on for a starter list of repeatedly proven and highly recommended suggestions for turning office poop into fertilizers that yield successful, profitable “crops:”

SHORT VERSION

1. Our actions speak our truths. Chronic BS in the office  must be stopped in its tracks or we must at least quit griping about the crap that piles up because of it (e.g. unkept promises, procrastination, unmet goals, lowering of other employees’ morale and so much more!).
2.Getting rid of one employee’s BS is great.  As we all know, however, it does not make us immune to others’ BS.  Be on guard.  Act wisely and quickly when you smell it.
3. Be the kind of boss and mentor you’d want for yourself when you goof up or otherwise need reining in…fair, timely, thorough, clear, resourceful, patient but decisive too……
4. Monitor the employee’s actions carefully and regularly, ensure they have the “tools” and guidance needed to turn things around successfully.  Be patient. Making great fertilizer from poop is not an overnighter, but in more situations than not, it can indeed be done.
5. Recognize and celebrate your success stories, big and small. Review how you did in handling each situation, repeat the good and avoid things you learn you should/could have done differently.

A BIT LONGER VERSION

• ACTIONS = TRUTHS & POOP = POOP = POOP We all know our actual actions – not our words – reflect our value systems, priorities, work ethic and so much more. Yet, how often do firm leaders ignore the very things needing attention including the chronic BS’ers of the firm? Why…perhaps they don’t like confrontation or don’t know how to deal forthrightly with challenges without being combative. Or, perhaps the perpetrator is a big rainmaker for the firm…hmmm…now there’s an often seen “put-our-heads-in-the-sand” situation.  Bottom line: Chronic means CHRONIC — the BS won’t stop until exposed and no longer tolerated by leadership.  Why should it if there are no consequences – no accountability whatsoever – for one’s BS, bullying, ignoring of office policy and procedure, etc.?

• ALWAYS BE ON GUARD FOR IT Be on guard and wide-eyed alert to any existing or potential unfertilized donkey dung being spread around your office.  Identify it and act quickly to end it.  It’s really that simple.

• HANDLE POOPERS WISELY Once BS (or any other unproductive, toxic or morale killing situation) is confirmed, deal with employees privately, professionally and swiftly.  This means crystal clear explanations of what behavior will no longer be tolerated and what the consequences will be if the behavior continues.  Plan such meetings for a time when you can give it your full, undivided and unhurried attention allowing time for the employee to respond to the issues fairly.  Don’t talk yourself into thinking it’s not as important as your casework.  Of course, we all must set (and frequently reset) our priorities wisely, however, to put these types of discomforting supervisory tasks on hold or worse, never to address them at all, has a huge negative effect on your firm.  This includes leadership’s implied permission that it’s okay for any other employee to act in the same negative and unaccountable manner.  And, as any procrastinator has learned, most problems will not disappear as we wished they would.  Instead, they grow into far bigger issues which means the resulting negative fallout increases as well.

• MAKING GREAT FERTILIZER FROM POOP If you want the best fertilizer, then equine poop must be properly composted.  This includes an attentive monitoring process, time and patience.  Ditto re constructive changes we or our employees need to make.  Leaders must not think their job is done after identifying harmful behaviors and talking with the responsible employees.  There are multiple key steps to successfully evolve a problem employee into a productive, highly valued one.  This includes an improvement plan that is custom designed for each employee taking into consideration their strengths, weaknesses, learning styles and more.  Other critical steps  include: persistent and consistent follow up supervision; additional training if needed; and a positive attitude by leadership that there will indeed be a successful outcome.  More harm is done when leaders let employees know they must make improvements, but then fail to follow up on whether or not they are complying or to offer the “tools” needed for him or her to be successful (e.g. classes/coaching on specific substantive topics, communications, anger management, organization, time or stress management, etc.).  When we fail to recognize the essentials of the proper and well-planned fertilization process, an opportunity is missed to create a success story.  And the damages don’t stop there because such failures send out yet another “Don’t take us seriously” message to all employees from the powers that be.

A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING Just as the horses’ and donkeys’ poop on our ranch is a non-stop occurrence, the same is true for the BS in our lives and offices.  While we can’t totally eliminate BS, disingenuous people and other office management “challenges,” we can become better and quicker at identifying and exposing the poop and its carriers.  We should definitely not be too busy to recognize and celebrate our success stories – small or big – and we must also take time to heed the lessons learned from them.  This means de-briefing ourselves on how we made lemonade from lemons or fertilizer from poop.  In other words, it’s well worth our time to conduct self-audits to ask ourselves, what could we have done better, what should we continue doing, what have we learned not to try again, etc.  The extra time taken to analyze our successes increases the value of all rewards gained.

Same re our failures … heeding lessons learned creates invaluable fertilizer from the poop in our lives.

Seminar attendees and clients alike often ask me, “What are the characteristics of successful law firms?” It’s a great question as there are indeed shared traits among firms who seem to flourish year after year based on their number of satisfied clients, their survival of tough times and the loyalty and stability of their staff. Ditto re most law firm failures as well!  Keep in mind, however, that every firm and every success (and failure!) story also has its own unique characteristics including its collective personality and culture, its motivators and, of course, those destructive and often subtly hidden de-motivators!  With that said, however, firms that maintain success records do:

1. Make ongoing efforts to improve management and leadership skills including the identification and appointment of the most qualified and ethical people to be firm leaders (vs. leadership by seniority alone).

2. Ensure that strategic plans or action plans aren’t just agenda topics at retreats or other meetings.  They are created, monitored regularly and everyone – from the top down – is held accountable to do their part.   This means there are real and reasonable goals clearly defined.  And perhaps most importantly, there are real consequences when someone fails to do his assigned tasks (i.e. ACCOUNTABILITY is an action, not merely a word!).

3. Have a “doable” and innovative marketing plan that’s tweaked as needed.  Marketing is a firm-wide activity –the newest to the oldest of employees participate and are properly trained to do so effectively, professionally and successfully.  Referral sources and other “measuring sticks” for assessing a firm’s marketing success are reviewed often to ensure the plan is indeed attracting the types of clients desired.  And, the flip side of this means they are not threshold practices –meaning they don’t take whatever client may walk over their threshold.  Client selection is done carefully and selectively in sync with the firm’s marketing and strategic plans.

4. Treat all employees — from the newest file clerk hire to the partners — respectfully at all times (including treating/training/renaming receptionists as your primary “Marketers of First & Last Impression!”). Office bullies and chronic naysayers are never tolerated regardless of the seniority of the perpetrator.

5. Have leaders that act decisively and do not shy away from the tougher decisions.  Likewise, they avoid the many negative consequences of sticking their heads in the sand and/or procrastinating.

6. Hire wisely and offer continuing and quality training, frequent and timely performance and attitude evaluations and one-on-one coaching (e.g. new software/equipment, stress or anger management, organizational skills, associate development, substantive law skills, etc.).

7. Define success independently and creatively – in other words, by what’s best/right for the firm, its people, goals and culture vs. merely adopting society’s or traditional legal system definitions.

8. Treat each and every client with the utmost integrity, timeliness and respectfulness…and as if they were their only and/or their biggest client.  They also offer clients multiple ways to offer their feedback and recommendations anonymously and otherwise.

9. Embrace risk management and technology completely and in an ethical manner and with foresight, resourcefulness, and creativity (vs. attitudes such as “My staff takes care of stuff like this.“).  Likewise, they recognize technology changes can (and often do!) happen overnight and they are willing to be persistent and patient with each new learning curve challenge.  No employee –again from the top down — is allowed to be non-compliant (ever!) when it comes to the firm’s risk management systems and policies.  In addition, these firms recognize that no consultant or IT pro holds the magic wand for the success (or failure!) of the firm’s on-line presence.  Successful on-line development and continued presence is heavily dependent on the hands-on involvement of firm leaders and other employees AND in a timely fashion. Too many folks want things to be done for them, instantly and perfectly ad preferably, without their having to hardly life a finger.  This is just not reality and successful firms understand this.  They appreciate the commitment and active participation it takes by each of their leaders in order to build and keep a great online presence.

10. Believe in and practice diversity within a positive work environment. Such attitudes and conditions are clearly evident from the firm’s morale, satisfied, interesting assortment of client types and healthy, upbeat employees – employees who are encouraged to take care of themselves, practice smart stress management and to live balanced lives.