TLOMA Today

Employees are an organization’s greatest asset, representing a significant (if not the largest) investment it will make. How organizations design and deliver on their compensation programs is critical in the achievement of sustained, long-term company performance. 

This promises to be an exceptional time for most Canadian organizations as they tackle significant workforce challenges, including a constrained labour market, inflation, ongoing pressure on salaries, economic headwinds, and growing expectations to address any diversity, equity and inclusion pay gaps. 

In This is creating significant pressure for organizations and they seek to balance evolving employee needs alongside growing concerns related to inflationary impacts to their compensation programs and the frequency and degree of salary increases happening in the market.   

External market conditions combined with changing employee expectations are driving organizations to rethink their total rewards programs to provide engaging and cost-effective alternatives.  

Business leaders are starting to ask themselves the following questions: 

• How do we ensure that our compensation spend is being utilized most effectively? 
• Are we investing our financial resources / budgets on the right components of our total rewards portfolio?  
• Do we know if our total rewards portfolio is optimized?
  
  

Taking Action 

Leveraging independent salary surveys is a key foundational tool in assessing the competitiveness of an organization’s compensation programs. Compensation surveys provide date-driven guidance to key internal questions, while supporting an organization in remaining competitive as it relates to the attraction and retention of top talent. The balance of this article examines a few key points on the value and merits of using compensation surveys as part of the compensation planning cycle. 

Support Recruitment and Retention of Top Talent 

A recent pulse survey conducted by Normandin Beaudry summarizes some key findings as it relates to why employees leave their current employers and what drives them to stay. 

 Main drivers of why employee choose to leave a company include:

   a) More competitive compensation from another employer  '
   b) More challenging/interesting opportunities 
   c) Career reorientation or desire to work differently  

However, the main reasons employees stay with their current employer:

   a) Competitiveness of the compensation offering 
   b) Flexible HR policies and practices
   c) Well articulated career pathing programs 
   d)Teamwork + atmosphere and leadership quality and proximity 

Cleary a competitive compensation program plays integral part in solving the retention and recruitment equation. By understanding what the external market range of compensation looks like for a particular job, organizations are better equipped to attract top candidates. Regularly participating and leveraging salary surveys can also help ensure your organization develops a competitive total rewards package that keep employees engaged and drives retention. 

Supporting good governance and pay transparency 

Leveraging the use of compensation survey leads to a data-driven, defensible decision-making process for HR professionals. The use of a replicable, defensible, and conventional (also used by competitors) approaches in using salary survey data remains a best practice when externally benchmarking your jobs to market.  

Compensation surveys also help support a culture of consistency in the application of compensation programs, which is paramount in the age of pay transparency. When you are transparent about using compensation surveys, stakeholders gain confidence by knowing exactly where you’re getting their salary numbers from. Also, consistent participation is surveys demonstrates not only your internal stakeholders, but also interested potential candidates that you are justified in your compensation planning. A data-drive and defensible decision-making process also better equips an organization towards greater transparency in its compensation program design decisions. 

Every company needs to consider how transparent they want to be with their broader total rewards programs. What should your employees know and understand about their compensation? Where on the transparency spectrum does your organization best fit today, and where do you want to be in the future? 

Spectrum of Pay Transparency 

As an employer, weather you are fully transparent to employees on your compensation programs, or just partially transparent, having a well-governed model and defensible process in how compensation programs are developed is key, particularly as expectation on pay transparency and legislation continues to gain momentum. 

How organizations use salary survey data 

When companies externally benchmark their roles using salary surveys, they aim to ensure pay programs are market competitive, however other consideration should be made when making data-driven pay decisions, including: 

• Market pricing provides information to support decisions about “how much” and “how to” pay  
• The goal is to provide market-based anchors to support compensation-related decisions, and reduce the risk of: 
• Underpaying, and losing talent to competitors or being unable to attract the talent it needs.  
• Overpaying, and wasting organizational resources or possibly impeding desirable turnover 
• Market pricing is a descriptive, not a prescriptive activity. Market data is not “the sole answer” but serves as an important tool— there’s often (if not always!) more to the story. 
• Market data are only as valid as the salary survey and associated samples being referenced. Is the data aligned to your industry? Are the peer companies in the survey sample appropriate competitors for talent? 
• Data is not always readily-available in sufficient detail – especially for narrowly defined talent markets, newly emerging jobs, or unique/bespoke industry-related jobs.  
• Understanding external market salary levels for comparable roles, skills and body of knowledge begins with an assessment of where in the market those reside. Talent pools for many roles will likely come from a broader “all industry” market, while certain roles are unique to your industry, i.e., not found in the broader Canadian market.  Industry-specific compensation surveys can help alleviate this problem, using a highly targeted data sourcing approach for bespoke or hard to source industry jobs.
  
  

What to look for in a compensation survey 

The following key areas can help organizations determine the creditability and relevance of third-party compensation survey. 

• List of participants provided– This will determine the relevance and depth of data for your company. Are the companies that you lose employees to or recruit employees from included in the report? 
• Effective date of the survey data – How old is the data? How fast is the market moving? 
• Relevance of the job descriptions to the positions being benchmarked – High quality surveys will provide job matching guidance to participants. Look for a good match (at least 70 percent) between the survey and your company for most positions. Be sure to compare job descriptions, not just job titles. 
• Survey methodology – Review the summary of the methodology to make sure it's consistent with best practices. Be sure that the research organization is surveying human resources or compensation professionals within a company (where possible). 
• Data Validation – Quality survey vendors will contact participants after data submission to confirm and/or correct any potential errors or outliers in the data submitted.  
• Confidentiality – Ensure the survey adheres to standard protocols, including:
• All data are reported in aggregate form only, i.e., no individual data points should ever be reported 
• Data should be excluded from reporting for any benchmark job or level, where sample sizes are fewer than 4 companies (to report market median) and a minimum of 3 companies (to report a market average).
  
  

When organizations incorporate compensation surveys in their total reward strategy, they gain a better understanding of the current market and, over-time develop broader perspectives on how the market is moving. Organizations should aim to actively participate in and obtain data from salary surveys and re-evaluating employees’ salaries as part of their annual compensation cycle. 

Welcome to Spring! On March 22, we had our first New Members lunch that we have not had in a long time. There was a great turn out with an opportunity for new members to connect within a small group and learn about upcoming events and to form some connections. 

On April 4, we have the launch of the Compensation Survey.  The aim of the compensative survey is to capture up-to-date market data to equip you to attract and retain your workforce in the context of high inflation, the ‘’Great Resignation’’ and labour shortage. This year the compensation survey will look at two areas, Associates and Business Services.

On April 27, we have the first Networking Event of the year at the CN Tower.  This is free for members so why not come check it out and the views will be fantastic.  I look forward to connecting with a lot of you at this event.

National Volunteer Week is the week of April 16 to 22 so want to give a special thank you to all our TLOMA Volunteers. This organization wouldn’t be possible without the time and effort put in by so many.

Link and details to upcoming events:

• April 4: Launch of the Compensation Survey
• April 27: TLOMA Networking Event at the CN Tower
• May 30 – Professional Development Event - Stay tuned for details!
• June 21, 2023 – Golf Tournament at Royal Woodbine Golf Club – no experience necessary so come give it a try!

And don’t forget to register for the TLOMA 2023 Conference & Trade Show held in Ottawa at The Westin from October 11 to October 14. This will be the first time the conference is held in Ottawa so you don’t want to miss it!! Early bird registration ends May 31, 2023.

Join us October 11th – 14th at the TLOMA 2023 Conference & Trade Show at The Westin, Ottawa.

Early bird rates end on May 31 – Register today and be entered into the Early Bird Draw to win a $100 gift card to the SHORE Club Ottawa or Toronto at the Westin Hotel. 

REGISTER HERE!

No matter how efficient your digital transformation, nor how systematic your data minimization, law firms will remain the custodians of physical, original documents. These can be historic documents or “wet ink” documents commonly found in real estate, wills, trust funds, and patents.

The trouble is that these documents need to be kept indefinitely and must also be produce-able whenever a client or court requires them, or if the related matter, for whatever reason, is subject to matter mobility. Wills must be brought out for whenever the client wants to make an amendment and, in the end, when their executors show up. In the US, it’s vital that property deeds are retrievable. They constitute vital records when there’s a dispute or sale. There’s no way to reconstitute them from your electronic records. It’s not only a blow to your firm’s reputation if these original documents can’t be produced. There’s also the possibility of a malpractice suit.

Firms might also hold documents, and other artifacts, of historic value. You might hold records of a landmark case or original patents on what turned out to be a ground-breaking invention. Such things are prestigious for your firm as well as constituting “money in the vault”. That is, until it gets mislaid. So how should firms be keeping track of these vital pieces of paper?

Information governance

Information Governance best practices dictate that firms conduct regular inventories of all their physical documents to ensure they’re securely located, usually in a safe or a fire suppression vault. However, in practice, conducting such inventories is highly labor intensive.

Most firms will be using barcodes. But it’s still a laborious task. One firm that LegalRM works with has a fire suppression vault containing approximately 40,000 jackets. In the past, inventories of these materials would take one individual three months using a barcode scanner. Moreover, if something was not in the vault, barcodes didn’t help locate a missing original document. There needed to be a better way of tracking these documents, and fortunately, there now is.

Radio Frequency Identification

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is  a long-established technology, first developed in the 1940s, but it’s the more recent refinements that have made it a cost effective and practical solution for law firms.

RFID tags are miniscule chips containing unique information that can be read remotely by RFID readers. The readers use radio waves to transmit signals that “wake-up” tags which then send a radio wave back. RFID is used to, for instance, tag and track pets, or livestock, or marathon runners, where it enables individual times to be accurately recorded. It’s also widely used in inventory management.

The reason tags can be allocated to thousands of cattle or marathon runners is that they’re not expensive, at around 15 cents each. Handheld readers cost around CAN $1,600. And the key word here is “handheld”. Older instances of RFID technology relied on static readers. It meant you could only keep track of what passed through an enabled portal. Today’s handheld readers are portable, they’re much quicker than barcode scanners and critically – unlike barcode scanners – they don’t rely on line-of-sight.  They also double as portable barcode readers.

Conducting inventories

To do an inventory using RFID is a simple task, especially when adding the tags to jackets that have already been barcoded. Tags are placed onto jackets and then scanned into the system, along with the jacket’s existing barcode. The barcode and the RFID tag are both scanned and identified to the jacket. Inventories can then be conducted using the RFID tag. Subsequent inventory checks are a breeze. All you need to do is open your tracking software and use the RFID reader in the proximity of the tags, noting that readers commonly have an effective operational range of up to 30 yards, and can work through glass and wood (but not metal). Each tag can be activated and read in less than 100^th of a millisecond. That’s the gamechanger. A task that previously took three months is now taking comfortably less than an hour.

And the reader can also be used to locate items that have “walked” from where they should be stored. It can be used to scan a room or office – it’s not even necessary to disturb piles of paper – and a visual or audio alert will let you know when the reader locates the item. Suddenly firms have a high functioning and cost-effective way to keep track of those vital original documents you can’t afford to lose.

To find out more about how advances in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can offer a highly effective, time saving way to keep track of vital pieces of paper join our ILTA Masterclass where Chris Giles from LegalRM and Chris Francis from Allen & Overy will be offering their experience of efficiently safeguarding documents. Click here to register.

Non-billable time is limited and valuable. For many lawyers, it can be challenging to integrate business development into a regular routine. Not knowing where to start can stifle legal professionals from taking any action at all. Business development can easily become a low priority or nonexistent.

Supporting lawyers in their business development efforts is an important part of any legal practice. So where do you start?

A coaching approach can help your lawyers simplify business development by focusing limited non-billable time on the most effective strategies.

What is coaching?

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

In a business development context, coaching supports and challenges lawyers to be better versions of themselves by clarifying their current state of business development and identifying a desired future state of business development.

Regardless of your firm’s level of business development expertise, the starting point to effective coaching is having an inquisitive mindset.

Business development: advisor versus coach

Being a business development advisor means having subject matter expertise in areas of lead generation to client engagement. Being a business development coach means creating the space to explore options and develop a strategy that aligns with the capabilities and interests of your lawyers with the needs and engagement styles of your contacts (i.e., clients, prospects and referral sources).

Whether or not you have the business development skills to engage with your lawyers as an advisor, a coaching approach suggests that you begin a business development conversation with an inquisitive mindset before moving into an advisor role.

The role of a business development coach is to ask thoughtful questions that evoke awareness and provide clarity around options. The role of a business development advisor is to apply relevant experience to suggest the best course of action and provide support to execute business development activities. How can you do this effectively?

Clarifying marketing and business development

Marketing includes profile-building activities such as speaking, writing and networking, among others. Ask your lawyers what they enjoy doing, where their strengths reside and how much time they can allocate to a particular activity. Which medium offers direct and meaningful access to their contacts?

Business development includes lead generation to client engagement activities that focus on building and deepening relationships. Client engagement and growth, identifying and qualifying prospects, and deepening referral relationships are essential business development strategies that are extensions of marketing activities.

With this distinction in mind, which activities align with the interests and capacities of your lawyers and the resources of your firm? Without this clarity, your lawyers might be spending their limited non-billable time on activities that don’t provide the return on investment they expect.

Marketing and business development activity analysis

A profile-building activity analysis is an important step for your lawyers to gain clarity on where to focus. There are several aspects to this type of analysis.

Helping your lawyers to identify their ideal client is the starting point to successful and long-term relationships. An ideal client profile includes details about key contacts such as company size, industry, location, interests, values or business challenges. This also helps to identify prospects and provide referral sources with clarity around relevant connections within their networks.

The value propositions of your lawyers highlight their service offering as it relates to their ideal client and their challenges. A clear value proposition engages contacts in effective business development conversations.

Contact activity analysis

Your lawyers should consider both professional and personal connections that might serve them in advancing their business development strategies. A deep dive into identifying and understanding clients, prospects and referral sources can offer insights into where to focus.

Contact activity analysis is another key step in simplifying business development. What do your contacts enjoy doing? Where do your contacts congregate for their networking, learning and development? Which activities provide meaningful access to your contacts?

A simplified business development plan

Through the clarity that comes with coaching you can then create a business development plan that helps your lawyers to:

• Identify profile-building activities that meaningfully connect them to contacts.
• Identify key relationships with clients, prospects and referral sources.
• Set objectives for each contact and track all interactions.
• Use SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) goals.
  
  

Develop a business development coaching mindset

Whether you are a small firm with limited resources or a large firm with dedicated expertise, business development is an important part of any legal practice. A coaching approach can help you and your lawyers focus limited non-billable time on business development activities and contacts that offer the greatest return on investment.

If you were asked to describe how ‘document management’ can help you, what would you say?

When discussing document management with clients and prospective clients, many can recite the core principles and facets of it, but not what document management is able to open up beyond that.

A document management system allows for the electronic filing of documents and emails into a virtual electronic filing cabinet from where they can be easily searched and retrieved, but that’s document management 101.

What’s really powerful are the things beyond that that become possible when paper filing is eliminated, and the physical is transformed into the digital. This short article is about what can be achieved when you start to realize the opportunities beyond the core facets. 

Collaboration

First off, document management enables collaboration – either in real time or individuals can work on files at their own pace. Individuals can mark-up, comment on or annotate shared documents and those are then layered as films of information, so the latest version is always on top, and the system always maintains version control for a ’single version of the truth’.   

This lets colleagues work seamlessly together, even when they are apart. Eliminating a lot of ‘back and forth’ emails and speeds up how quickly contracts and agreements can be drawn up.

Clients can be invited into the process as well – a real plus when it comes to opening up the service as part of the digital marketplace we are now in. Clients are no longer left wondering what is happening to their matter and forced to call for updates.

On the contrary, they are empowered not only to check-in on their matter’s progress, but also to participate in it. Moreover, clients experience transparency around how their work is being handled and delivered, deepening their trust in your firm.

Data security

An extremely important facet of document management is to give you and your clients assurance of an exceptionally high standard of data security. Part of that is because with everything filed away digitally in one place, it is easily attainable and easier to secure.

When people are sharing documents and collaborating within folders it tends to reduce the number of emails flying back and forth, which again reduces the risk of data security breaches.  

Most compellingly of all, though, document management system providers are required to institute the highest levels of data security. NetDocuments has many global professional services and financial services institutions as clients. It provides advanced data encryption, off-site back-ups and compliance certifications as standard. The ongoing investment made in data security is exponentially higher than that which any individual firm, no matter how large, could possibly afford.  

In today’s world it’s hugely useful to firms that their provider takes care of data security. Especially since there’s clear evidence that cybercriminals target law firms because they are understood to be the weak link in the information security chain. Document management takes the pressure and cost of data security provision off the firm’s hands and puts it into the hands of specialists.

Matter-centric filing

A document management system can host documents and related emails for any given matter, but it can also integrate ancillary applications and information like task-lists, timekeeping, project management, financials, and case calendars.

This elevates the speed and efficiency with which matters are handled and provides a 360-degree view of the matter at the fingertips of the professionals.  

Furthermore, this single matter-centric space can be moved onto a business communications platform like Microsoft Teams or Zoom. This enables anytime, anywhere conversations with your clients in which all the elements - the latest tasks, versions and comments - are immediately to hand. Collaboration is turbo-charged, and this functionality again enhances the client experience and the firm’s reputation.

About NetDocuments

You can trust NetDocuments to remove the barriers to efficient document management and transform your documents into an efficiency engine for collaboration, productivity, and growth – without limitations or restrictions.

With NetDocuments you get market-leading features in a document management solution, including:

• 24/7 access from anywhere
• Security and compliance through the Cloud
• Business transparency with NetDocuments Analytics
• Customisable flexibility with purpose-built add-ons
• Scalability through open APIs and integrations with multiple applications
  
  

As a NetDocuments worldwide Platinum Partner, Advanced are accredited to deliver, train, and support NetDocuments. As a first step, we will advise and support you in selecting the document management functions that can deliver exactly what you need.

Following implementation, our training team can deliver tailored onsite, remote, or online training sessions to ensure smooth user adoption. And you will always have access to our ISO-accredited support team who are available 24/7/365 to ensure on-going ease and efficiency.

Investing in onsite employee health & wellness is beneficial to both the company and its employees, as it yields a range of positive results, such as increased job satisfaction, improved productivity, and reduced stress levels. A culture of workplace wellness encourages employees to prioritize their health and well-being, leading to increased engagement and enhanced job satisfaction. Additionally, when employees have access to wellness services in the workplace, it can lead to a better work-life balance, thus improving their mental and physical health. It is easy to see the value of investing in employee health & wellness as a key growth strategy.

Onsite health & wellness programs can help to create a workplace atmosphere that fosters a sense of connection to the company.  Such programs can include on-site chair massages, ergonomic assessments, wellness seminars, yoga and meditation sessions, and more.  Benefits for employee productivity are tangible - employee morale, satisfaction and engagement rise, which in turn creates more collaboration and a more positive culture.

The tangible benefits for employers are important ones: reduced health care costs, increased employee retention rates, increased employee engagement.  Workplace wellness programs are a great way to attract and retain talent by showing employees that you care about their well-being. Investing in workplace wellness is a win-win for both employers and employees.

Exploring Practical Workplace Wellness Strategies

When exploring practical workplace wellness strategies, there are a few key points to consider. First, it is important to understand the current culture of the workplace; what works for one organization may not work for another. Additionally, employee preferences should be taken into account when developing wellness initiatives. For example, it is beneficial to offer a variety of programs.  Providing support for physical AND mental health is also key to the success of your wellness initiatives.

Understanding areas in need of improvement is key to your plan.  This includes health benefits, access to healthy snacks, exercise programs, on-site healthcare services, etc.  It is important to recognize employee wellness as an investment and not an expense since there’s a clear benefit to the company AND their team.

Finally, it’s important to ensure that employees understand what’s available to them; if they aren’t aware of what they can access, they can’t use it, so like anything, communication is key to the whole process. Proper communication between management and employees as well as making sure that all team members are aware of any initiatives put in place by the organization, must be laid out from the start.

Budget-Friendly Solutions for Creating a Wellness-Focused Workplace

Creating a workplace that promotes health and wellness doesn’t have to mean breaking the budget. There are budget-friendly strategies to achieve this goal, such as encouraging employees to take regular breaks throughout the day, providing healthy snacks in the break room, and offering flexible work schedules. These measures help to create a culture of wellness, and show your team that you’re thinking of their wellbeing, which in turn has a positive impact on morale and productivity. Companies should also consider offering short meditation and yoga classes (in person or virtual) to provide employees with the tools and coping strategies for support.  With a few simple changes, businesses can create an environment that supports the health and wellbeing of their employees without breaking the bank.

Employee engagement is a key component in any workplace wellness program. Consider incentivizing employees to participate in wellness activities, by recognizing employee engagement and making and adding an element of fun.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from investing in on-site employee health and wellness programs.  Keeping your employees healthy, engaged and motivated through offering regular wellness initiatives, is far superior to a “one-and-done” approach.  It’s essential for businesses to prioritize workplace wellness in order to reduce employee health risks and create a positive working environment for their employees, both for the good of the organization and the employees.  Not only does investing in employee wellness help attract and retain talent, but it also reduces healthcare costs and increases productivity, morale, and engagement, but most importantly it helps build a stronger organizational culture that will provide a return on that investment for years to come…

Since the pandemic, firms around the world have needed to change. They’ve had to shift how their employees operate. Remote work is very much here to stay. Firms and employees can both benefit from the work-from home and hybrid work revolution.

Cost savings is a driver for supporting remote work. Employee morale and productivity also can be higher when employers grant this flexibility. While there are benefits, there are also challenges to this new environment. Firms worry about the cybersecurity risks of remote teams. Managers can find it more challenging to make sure employees are doing what they should do. The remote and hybrid work environment has led to the rise of employee monitoring tools. These tools have mixed reviews from employees.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE MONITORING SOFTWARE?

Employee monitoring software tracks digital movements. This can include everything from general clock-in clock-out tracking to taking screenshots of an employee’s computer several times per hour. Tracking tools track many activities on a person’s computer. The information is then sent in a daily or weekly report to the company.

These tools can track the following:

- Time clock         - Websites visited
- Keystrokes         - Desktop screenshots 
- Mouse activity    - Apps used and how long in use

The most invasive of tools can even track the sounds and video of the employee. Tracking can be visible, so the employee knows about it, or the tracking can be completely hidden from the employee.

It depends on the tool used and the cultural and ethical considerations of the employer.

This type of monitoring can benefit an organization worried about "productivity theft.” But it can also alienate good employees and torpedo morale and trust. Regulatory requirements in Ontario mandate that for organizations that employ 25 or more employees, a written policy must be in place disclosing the organization's monitoring policy.

While there are many monitoring tools pro's and cons, ultimately each firm must find what works best for them and their team. Book a free IT consultation with our team of experts here.

History is full of examples of technological change and evolution. At one time, families sat around the living room listening to the radio, and then, the television was introduced. Technology like the typewriter, fax machine, and telephone were all transformative to the way we lived and worked, and over time led to the introduction of smarter, faster, and improved ways of completing the same tasks.

Sometimes the change happens so gradually we aren’t even aware of our own behaviours shifting, like when many of us moved from the pager to mobile phone, or the flip phone to the smart phone. When it comes to legal technology, it must be a more deliberate choice as the evolution of technology and how firms should adapt can seem more daunting. While most law firms are using some form of modern cloud-based technologies in their firms, like Microsoft 365, we understand many are struggling with more robust technology changes.

Commonly, when we discuss new ways of working with law firms, we hear statements like:

• What we have works, no need to rock the boat.
• We are too busy; we don’t have the time to implement.
• We have seen various products, but they do not work the way we do.

Evolving Pressures
The law firm of today is under immense external and internal pressures that ultimately impact how a law firm operates and how profitable it can become. Some factors firms are facing include:

• Economic pressures including inflation and recessionary risks,
• Increasing competition from traditional competitors and non-traditional legal services,
• Increasing expectations of a customer base that wants personalized solutions and instant answers,

• A changing workforce that wants the newest tools and greater work flexibility.

• Increased workload with fewer staff,
• Technology that may be outdated, disjointed, or not fully meeting your needs today or for the future.

Firms who have been addressing these issues head on and who readily adopt new technologies benefit from the tangible gains of technology including increased productivity and profitability and also benefit from more intangible gains including happier, more dedicated staff. Many of these firms who have been early adopters of legal technology are benefitting from:

• Time savings and reduction of errors with automation of documents, time tracking, data storage, and electronic communication.
• The capacity to take on more files.
• The ability to work from anywhere; 24x7 availability.
• Streamlined workflows and internal communication.
• Greater compatibility with other key software.
• Robust data backup and recovery.

Risk of No Change
Legal technology is evolving rapidly and those firms who have not yet fully embraced advanced technologies to support their productivity will simply fall further behind their peers.

For those continuing to use on-premises software, they are likely to face:

• Increasing costs to upgrade and support their software as on-premises solutions are difficult and costly to build and maintain.
• Growing frustration and/or low adoption rates within the firm.
• Compatibility issues resulting in disjointed systems and inefficient workflows.
• Increased data security risks.

The Bright Side
Law firms have options. For over 40 years we have been developing solutions to support our client’s practices. In addition to providing a best-in-class on-premises solution, we are part of a joint venture with LEAP Legal Software, which uniquely positions us at PCLaw Time Matters to help law firms understand and evaluate their options, comparing on-premises technology and cloud-based software, legal accounting requirements, and overall practice management workflow needs.

As a best practice, we recommend firms evaluate their software needs on an ongoing basis with a critical lens on their goals and how technology will assist in achieving their desired future.

Questions you ought to ask to determine if you need to evolve and if now is the right time.

• What are your firm’s goals in the next 3-5 years? 
• Does your current technology support those goals?
• What challenges do you or your staff face in day-to-day work?
• What might help you overcome your challenges?
• What would you gain by implementing new features, processes, technology to overcome your current challenges?
• What is the opportunity cost of not acting now?

As a legal software provider, we want our clients to have the right solution for their firm, to be able to limit the risks to their business, to keep evolving, to be able to grow and succeed. For more information about evaluating your firm’s software needs, visit https://pclawtimematters.ca/solutions/.

For many law firms, private offices are not going anywhere. However, times are changing, and it is important to take note. Shifting economic realities, new technology and methods of working are merging with a new set of early careers attorneys' expectations and work styles. As a result, it is critical that law firms pay attention to these changing expectations and ensure that the built environment is intended to best support how legal professional’s work. When a workplace is designed with the employee experience in mind, staff feel more supported and are more engaged, productive, and efficient. Law firms have unique requirements that make it difficult for some design trends to have successful results. Regardless of the difficulties, there are certain design principles that can make legal workplaces more agile and modern.

Continue reading to learn how law firms can utilize office design to attract and retain talent, increase productivity, and create a better-built environment for staff.

Utilizing office design to attract and retain talent.

At this pivotal time, leading law firms have the opportunity to utilize office design as a business tool to attract and retain talent. Law firms have always competed for new graduates, who tech companies, accounting firms and consultancy firms are now wooing. In addition to having competitive salaries and benefits, these companies have beautiful workspaces, amping up the competition for talented lawyers. Furthermore, younger associates are no longer only enthralled by high wages and health benefits. Instead, they place a more considerable emphasis on experiences and seek out workplace cultures that will give them a feeling of community, work-life balance, and opportunities for personal growth. In many respects, these new employee expectations fundamentally affect the design of modern law offices.

Employees are no longer tolerating mundane work environments. Office design must now focus on delivering engaging workplaces orientated towards creating a positive employee experience. Implementing more third spaces, enlarging break rooms, and collaborative areas are excellent ways to provide staff with more flexibility within the office. Furthermore, rearranging floorplans to balance private spaces and open, collaborative areas gives employees more autonomy and empowers individuals to work in a place best suited for the tasks at hand on any given day. Providing a balance of open versus private areas in the workplace supports effective engagement, productivity, and options for privacy. When agile office design is prioritized, and law firms adapt to changing employee expectations, your firm will maintain its competitive advantage in a rapidly developing marketplace.

Integrating tech within the built environment

Integrating something new into the workplace is never simple, especially regarding technology. However, restricting the implementation of modern technologies in your law firm can limit its growth. Now more than ever, employees require more flexibility and adaptability within the workplace. Therefore, providing staff with added flexibility to work remotely when needed will require the right tools and technology. By increasing digital investments and adopting a firm-wide culture of innovation, employees can ensure they can collaborate and communicate with colleagues efficiently and effectively, no matter if they are in the office or not.

It is vital when building your workplace that spaces are constructed around technology rather than attempting to fit technology into the finished design. Integrating technology after an office has been established and completed can make it difficult for employees to accept and comprehend its capabilities completely. Some ways law firms are integrating technology include video conferencing, digital libraries, and cloud-based solutions, as well as outfitting traditional conference rooms for video meetings with sophisticated audio and video capabilities.

Third spaces: neutral ground for organic interactions.

Working from home during the pandemic taught employees that work does not necessarily need to be done in the office. Hybrid and remote work have risen in popularity, allowing employees greater flexibility. However, as time has passed, law firms have realized that remote working models may not be the best fit. Legal professionals need to be in the office more often than in other sectors for various reasons, from paper documents to career development and knowledge transfer. However, firms can still create different types of spaces within the workplace to offer staff more flexibility rather than just a standard workstation. One way to do this is by incorporating third spaces within the workplace.

Ray Oldenburg, an American urban sociologist, developed the term "third places," which refers to a social realm that exists outside of the "first place" (the house) and the "second place" (the office). Third places play an essential role in strengthening a sense of community because of their capacity to bring people together and allow for more connection. They are designed to facilitate casual conversation, collaborative discussions, and relationship building and are especially crucial for firms trying to increase retention. When employees see the office as a place to hang out with people they like, they tend to stay for longer. The Third Space provides employees with a change of environment to freshen up their routine while allowing for individual, focused work time when needed.

The most impactful third spaces are those inspired by the hospitality industry, such as hotels, restaurants, and spas - locations that people often connect with relaxation, leisure, and socialization. Third-space designs often incorporate more textured materials that feel opulent, warm ambient lighting, and built-in amenities like food and refreshments. When they take a break from their focused work, employees enter a different frame of mind, one that is more amenable to creative ideas and new connections.

Conclusion

It is evident that workplace design has a significant impact on employee experience. When an office is designed with careful considerations, employees are more engaged, productive, and happier. Law firms have historically been associated with more traditional workplace design views, such as corner offices and limited flexibility. However, there is a historic opportunity for law firms to take a leap and create more agile and modern workplaces that place a high priority on aesthetics, technology, and third spaces.

It’s a lot of work to onboard new employees. The technology part always takes longer than one would think. If you can get organized ahead of time, it can really help a new employee’s first week go smoothly. Here are some tips for onboarding new employees (technology edition):

Give them time

Plan for the time it takes to get logged in and familiar with new systems, add personalized signatures, etc. There is a lot to learn, and it takes time.

Set up new employee profiles on all technology platforms

If possible, have ready for your new employees all their logins and first passwords for all computer systems, email, billing systems, communications systems, etc. Make sure you get their names and pronouns right!

Share office technology policies

Let your new team member know what equipment they will be using, how to access it, who is paying for it, and who is helping with questions and upkeep. Also, do you have a “right to disconnect” policy? Share what your office expects in terms of office hours and communication.

Whether you have an internal staff member taking care of IT or an IT support company helping you, let new employees know who to contact with IT questions, should issues arise.

Technology training

You might consider setting aside time to do technology training yourself, or you may ask your IT support partner to help. Training can include in-person sessions, virtual sessions and video resources, welcome videos, Q&A sessions.

Include the information above in your employee handbook

Everyone gets nervous on their first day(s) in a new role, and it’s easy to forget the new information that’s coming their way. Include as much information as you can in your employee handbook. This is a “living” document, a resource where your team can review policies. For anything that’s unclear or missing, you can update your policies and handbook for next time.