10 Tips for Managing Remote Law Firm Employees During Social Distancing, with Tiana Hardison

Tiana Hinnant Hardison has practiced law for 29 years, with an emphasis in personal injury and disability law and now balances her time and energies between practicing law and working with PILMMA. You may contact Tiana at tianamhinnant@gmail.com.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why it is important to help your employees make the adjustment to working remotely, and why you as the firm's leader need guide and provide security and empathy
• Why strong communication will help you and your team address the new challenges that are cropping up every day
• Why tools like Slack and other collaborative video and audio conferencing programs are vital for helping to maintain strong connections despite the physical distance
• Why a "daily huddle meeting" helps your entire team coordinate their tasks and remain on the same page, and what three pieces of information each member should share
• Why you should set clear expectations for each team member's role as well as the hours they should be at their computers
• Why systematic oversight can help offset fears that remote work won't be done or won't be done correctly, and why you should be looking at reports to track your team's progress
• Why phone coverage 24/7 is critical, and why you should carefully plan your phone coverage by anticipating employees' time needs and availability
• Why you should be conducting weekly team meetings to address problems and review metrics, KPIs as well as to reiterate core values and "rally the troops"
• Why you should be flexible and focus on the work being completed rather than what time of day it is getting done so that staff can work around their other responsibilities
• Why you should be focused on signing up clients remotely, and why software like DocuSign can help clients complete documentation remotely

Additional Resources:

• PILMMA's free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/
• Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/
• PILMMA Join Page: www.pilmma.org/marketing-lawyers-law-firm-management/