Perhaps the most difficult part of being a manager is talking to an employee about poor performance. No manager enjoys the confrontation. But poor performance will continue and likely worsen if left unaddressed. Here's an outline of how to take on that most unpleasant job. It's explained by JoAn Majors, a speaker on people skills. Majors is also author of the book, "Encourage … [Read more...] about How to get poor performers to commit to improved behavior—without confrontation
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Walk a Mile in their Shoes:
How to Provide Exceptional Customer Service in the Law Firm
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Webinar Presentation Slides
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Treat Your Clients Right – They're Your Strongest Competitive Advantage
Learn immediate ways to turn clients into your firm's strongest marketing tool … provide exceptional service to make customers your loudest cheerleaders … and drive your firm's profitability sky high.
Join authority on law firm business … [Read more...] about Walk a Mile in their Shoes:
How to Provide Exceptional Customer Service in the Law Firm
Some assembly required
Editor's picks: How to start a new job as the firm's manager, not just as its top staffer Ensure success in your new job as administrator How to improve orientation for your new associates … [Read more...] about Some assembly required
Like a Boss: Talent and playing to your strengths
By Michelle Spencer bio This is the second in my infographics series to help illustrate why good leadership is so important to law firms and how you can create strong leaders on your team. In my earlier infographic, I highlighted the costs of bad management and the important role a boss plays in employee satisfaction. For this infographic, I collected … [Read more...] about Like a Boss: Talent and playing to your strengths
Are you managing your staff or are you mentoring them?
Good managers manage. If this seems like an obvious statement, consider the many areas of the practice you manage: client scheduling, billing and collections, purchasing and leasing, office technology, and others. You also manage a staff. If this, too, seems obvious, ask yourself a question: Have you ever taken the time to think about what "managing a staff" means? Ideally, … [Read more...] about Are you managing your staff or are you mentoring them?
Schedule employee vacations for maximum efficiency and minimum conflict
Ah, vacation. A time synonymous with sun, fun, and relaxation—unless of course you're the manager of a busy legal practice trying to create the office vacation schedule. Yes, staff members need, want, and okay, deserve time off, but how do you plan for vacations without adding stress to your calendar and causing employee conflict? Granting time off How much time off employees … [Read more...] about Schedule employee vacations for maximum efficiency and minimum conflict
The future of pay raises?
Editor's picks: Asking for a raise Solutions to 3 people problems: performance, raises, and rude clients Average starting salaries for legal jobs projected to rise 3.1 percent in 2016 … [Read more...] about The future of pay raises?
How to execute the single most difficult and valuable marketing tactic at your law firm
By Bob Weiss bio We are often asked what is the single most difficult marketing problem facing local and regional law firms. Our answer: database development and management. What we mean by this is simple—most law firms do not have a reliable and updated system of managing client and other contact information. Software companies call it "client relationship … [Read more...] about How to execute the single most difficult and valuable marketing tactic at your law firm
Five employment law questions that crop up in just about every office
Here are five employment law questions on five unrelated topics. They are answered by attorney and employee relations consultant Jodi Eisenstadt. 1. To tell or not to tell How should the manager respond when a staffer brings in information about a legal violation in the office and asks the manager not to tell anybody? That's a common problem for managers who have come up … [Read more...] about Five employment law questions that crop up in just about every office
Make your job easier by delegating more
To be an effective manager, learn the art of letting go. Learn how to delegate. Without delegation, any manager ends up doing everybody else's job and drowning in the work. But just as bad, staff never grow beyond the basics of their jobs. They never develop a sense of pride in their work, and they never experience a challenge. All they can do is become passive clones. Good … [Read more...] about Make your job easier by delegating more