Most of us are pretty good at judging others…actually we’re downright expert at doing so IF we’re being brutally honest that is…..whether inwardly or out loud to others, we judge others’ looks, their work habits, their personalities, their decisions and the list goes on. What is not so easy to do, however, is to look inward…to look into that often painful...
1. Looking back over the past 12 months, what contributions have you made to your workplace that are not in your job description (e.g. cost-saving ideas, helping co-workers in need of an extra hand without being asked)?
2. Do you make an excessive number of personal calls during the workday? What about personal emails?
3. How would co-workers most likely describe your office personality...
How can paralegals maintain their profession’s highly valued niche within the legal system?
How do paralegals enhance their individual value to law firms and legal departments?
What behaviors decrease their value?
How can paralegals collectively enhance their profession for those following in their footsteps?
How Can Paralegals as a Profession Maintain Their Highly Valued Niche
Love what...
Hold regular, uninterrupted meetings with employees (i.e. We should never multitask during these meetings…employees like clients/customer deserve our full, undivided attention!)
Enforce (or ignore!) rules fairly and consistently across the board
Treat employees in the same manner you expect them to treat clients/customers & in the same ways you like to be treated
Give ongoing feedback...
Employee Terminations: Self-Audit Tips from Hiring to Firing…..okay…I know personnel management and especially employee firings are NOT desired or enjoyable subjects for most of us…but it is reality. You can read my partial list of recommendations on the hiring process, the management and supervision of employees and the termination of them when things just don’t work...
Many law firms are still trying to recover from the tornado-like aftermath caused by the economic chaos of recent years. Others are in the midst of other challenges. They may be defending allegations of ethical violations or malpractice, in shock and grieving over the unexpected death of a co-worker or trying to stabilize after the departure of key employees or partners.
Rough times can sneak...
Click here for one of my articles on these two runaway problems in today’s law firms and other offices. Workplace bullying and verbal violence poison (dilute at best) any other steps taken to reduce office stress and they are serious productivity and morale thieves. Sadly, too many leaders allow these destructive behaviors to continue without any efforts to stop them.
It doesn’t...
Many things can bring workplace morale spiraling downward. Some all-too-common Morale Busters in law offices (and other offices as well) include:
Rules applied sporadically and unfairly among employees (e.g. starting time, length of lunch breaks, # of vacation days)
An ongoing frantic pace — day after day — caused primarily by a supervisor’s poor planning and organizational...
I just sent the suggestions copied below to an attorney looking for merger tips to pass along to a client law firm about to merge w/another firm. Doing so made me realize how often in mergers (whether law firms or other businesses) there’s too little attention paid to our employees and what they are going through (e.g. the culture shifts, fast changes occurring in their workplace and...
Greetings!
I’ve previously blogged about telecommuting in regard to handling in-house employees who may be disgruntled over remote working employees (http://lawbusinesstips.com/2009/06/24/telecommuting-disgruntled-co-workers/) and experiences shared by other companies (http://lawbusinesstips.com/2009/07/08/telecommuting-cost-savings-cisco/). Today, I found this blog post that...
Hello and Welcome! My very heavy summer business travels and client visits to our farm lately have prevented me from posting as often as I’d like. I will do better come September, but in the meantime, grateful for all the business, my GREAT clients and our wonderful farm, family and friends!
Be on the lookout within the next month or so for a totally new look to my blog. ….going...
Just got the link for my most recent column for Lawyers USA (click here) which I first wrote about in my blog. Wishing everyone a great day in spite of any one or thing that may try to louse it up for you! Don’t let’em!
Readers who viewed this page, also viewed:Quality of Life and Career...
Ongoing business success stories can only be achieved with certain cornerstones in place. One of these critical foundations is feeling and showing respect for your employees. If it’s genuine (and not just the politically correct thing to say), leaders and managers consistently demonstrate this in many ways including:
RESPECT IS 24/7 ….. you appreciate, value and genuinely respect...
Alcoholism, substance abuse and depression; these three afflictions usually receive the most attention at CLE programs and in legal publications. This makes sense in light of the continuing (and alarming) rise in the numbers of attorneys suffering with these impairments.
What we don’t hear as much about, statistically or otherwise, are the more subtle impairments that many people have. A few...
Further to my prior post re tips on handling co-workers who are disgruntled over their telecommuting peers (http://bit.ly/Frk8W), I just found this blog (http://bit.ly/Jz09T)on tech giant, Cisco’s, telecommuting cost savings and other data. Let me know what experiences your office has had with telecommuting…allowed, not allowed, cost savings data, other benefits, disadvantage? Thx...
