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Motivating Law Firm Staff
By Jim Calloway, Director, OBA Management Assistance Program

Sometimes when discussing matters with the partners of a small law firm, I will ask the question, “Who’s your director of human relations?” Inevitably the answer comes back “We don’t have one.” Sometimes this is accompanied with a quizzical look as if wondering whether I understand small firm law practice at all. I then respond by stating, “Of course you have someone, now which one of you is it?”

Whether one of the lawyers serves as director of human relations or you have enough staff to justify an employee in that role, it is important to take care of the people who take care of us. Money cannot be the sole motivator for law firm staff. This is particularly true for law firms on a budget. But even the largest law firm knows that staff can be lost to a more attractive compensation package at any time. Good working conditions, respect, flexibility and other “intangibles” are part of the package.

So as we discuss law firm management in this month’s Oklahoma Bar Journal, let’s discuss a few things we can do to have happier, more productive staff.

1) Cultivate a happy and professional attitude on behalf of everyone. Law firms are fairly stressful places to work. It is easy to become frustrated after dealing with a difficult opposing counsel or receiving an unanticipated ruling. Do not take out your frustrations by being rude with your staff or snapping at them. When you violate this rule (and you most likely will), apologize afterwards and try to do better.

2) Don’t let staff get caught between dueling lawyers. In many law firms today, lawyers share staff. For a staff person, there are few things worse than being caught between two demanding partners, both insisting that their work be handled first. A staff person needs to be instructed in advance as to how to handle these potential conflicts. Often the solution is as simple as notifying both lawyers by e-mail of the demands and asking for them to work it out between themselves. Sometimes a supervisor may need to be involved. Just anticipate that this will happen and work out a process in advance.

3) Be flexible. We all have lives outside of our office and they all tend to intrude on the office activities from time to time. Flexibility is greatly appreciated and builds loyalty. You cannot always be flexible. The phone has to be answered during business hours. However, allowing someone to work a few extra hours earlier in the week so they can be present when their child is honored at a school assembly builds a great deal of employee appreciation and loyalty, and really costs the firm very little.

4) Staff training is a good thing. Good employees like to do their job more efficiently and many of them appreciate the opportunity to improve their skills. Whether it is something like a “lunch and learn” or actually sending them off for training at the local career tech, give more training a try.

5) Do something nice and unexpected. Buy everyone lunch. Let the staff go home early one day. (Just don’t do this on a day they are so backed up they cannot take advantage of your offer without feeling guilty.) Give all of the staff a small present or gift card. We have lots of unpleasant surprises. So try for a pleasant surprise.

6) Be judicious with criticism. If you do have to criticize or correct a staff person, do it in private. Criticizing one staff person in front of another makes them both uncomfortable and unhappy.

7) Everyone loves a bonus. If the firm has had a good month or quarter, think about a small bonus to share that good fortune with the staff. (The tax withholding may take a $100 bonus down to $80 or so, but they will still appreciate it.) Send the message that profitability of the law firm directly impacts the employees.

8) Free uniforms? Your employees probably spend a significant amount of their personal funds on purchasing appropriate clothes for work and cleaning. Maybe you should consider buying each of them a couple of shirts with the law firm name tastefully inscribed on the front. They should appreciate the free apparel that meets the dress code policy for the office and you get a little marketing boost when they wear the shirts in other settings.

9) Retirement planning is important. We appreciate that certain employee benefits are quite expensive. But you should appreciate that they do build loyalty to your firm. If your law firm has employees who have reached a certain age and offers no retirement benefits, you may lose them to another employer on that basis alone. Shop around and find out how much a modest 401(k) plan would cost. We have noted that the ABA member retirement plan has signed up many small law firms at our solo and small firm conferences, and you don’t even have to be an ABA member to participate. This may be an important step for you as well as your employees.

10) Give and get feedback. Many small law firms do not have an established, regular process for employee evaluation and review. This is a good practice no matter what the size of your business. In the daily press of business, it is also sometimes difficult for an employee to make their needs or ideas known to you. Take the opportunity regularly to give and receive feedback and ideas. Be particularly attuned to promptly dealing with complaints that affect staff constantly, such as an uncomfortable chair, cold working space or any other issue that makes them unhappy and reduces their productivity.

Good employees are hard to find. You want them to stay with your firm. Taking some time to inform, train and motivate your staff may help average employees evolve into good employees, and good employees transition into truly great employees. Certainly we can all use a little help with motivation from time to time.