Jeff has lots of legal work to do and he wants to do it during the workday – not on nights and weekends.

He was using the strategies I teach – like blocking the time for his legal work – but he was constantly interrupted by paralegals and staff. So he never got into the flow. He struggled with how to be efficient and keep an “open door” policy for his staff.

Jeff’s problem is a pretty common obstacle to growing a law firm. It’s also a tension that virtually all leaders face. They want to be available, but they also need focus time.

First, we identified the most common interrupters and interruptions. Once we saw the patterns we created guidelines to reduce the number and frequency of questions. This became part of his office operating system.

Next, we adjusted how he was delegating and managing so the staff could have the confidence to work independently – and he had a way to check up on delegated work without micromanaging.

We also provided a path so those really important interruptions got through to him at the right times.

Putting these changes into Jeff’s office operating processes didn’t just make his life easier and more productive. His staff got more confident and productive as well. With just this simple shift.

Having an outside perspective with experience in creating business processes – and who wasn’t neck-deep in the fray – really helped Jeff set the stage to grow his practice.

If you’re having the same problems with staff, start by identifying the patterns and then what things you can do to make it better. And if you’d like help with that, just get in touch.

His long-time assistant emailed him just to give him a “heads up” that she wasn’t happy and was looking for another job.

It was shocking.

She is like his “Oz” behind the curtain. She’s been doing a great job for him for more than 10 years – even following him to his new firm. He felt completely blindsided.

A few days later he got another message that she had interviewed and she expected an offer. She would let him know when she got it.

So begins the scramble to save a really important employee in the year of the “great resignation” – and where your competitors are actively trying to poach your people.

The assistant’s decision to look elsewhere is not made out of disloyalty or a lack of gratitude.

It might be about the money. But valued employees generally don’t leave you because of money – as long as they are being paid fairly.

Most employees who leave are looking for:

1. Growth Opportunities. Top performers want challenges. They want to grow and evolve. If they don’t see a path to grow they will start looking. Don’t count on them to ask you about development opportunities. That conversation needs to be part of your regular (at least quarterly) performance and development conversations.
2. Appreciation and Recognition. Top performers need recognition. Gone are the days when you should expect your staff to be grateful to have the job. You don’t need to fawn over your employees and they don’t need a sticker every time they do what they are supposed to do. They do need, and deserve, sincere and honest engagement and feedback. You’d be surprised at how far a simple “thank you” will go. Just don’t make it conditional or a precursor to giving them more work.
3. Reasonable Workload. Top performers don’t mind work. They enjoy being busy – but it’s a fine line between busy and overwork. Especially when they get more because their colleagues can’t carry their weight.

There are many more reasons people leave – including lack of time flexibility and unhealthy work environments. The answer for your team will come from having open and honest conversations with your top performers. To do that you have to have healthy self-awareness and proven strategies so your conversations don’t backfire.

This is just one of the things I do with my private coaching clients. We spend a lot of time working on how to help their staff be productive and anticipate issues. We talk about the words they can use to build rapport and find out what’s really going on – and be a much more effective leader. And I share strategies I’ve used to build a culture of high engagement, performance, retention, and create a high-performance culture – where people feel I spend a lot of time with my private coaching clients helping them learn how to do this effectively.

The work of retaining your best employees doesn’t start on the day you get the “heads up” email. It starts before you hire them – and it continues every day. Which can sound pretty daunting. Especially if you don’t have a system to do it and a guide to help you put the pieces together.

There is too much at stake to ignore this issue or to leave it to trial and error. If you’d like to know how you can get started – without having to become a full-time HR professional, just reach out and let’s talk: doug@summit-success.com

-Doug

P.S….. These days everyone with employees should be concerned about getting the “heads up” email – or worse – the surprise 2-week notice. If you don’t think it can happen to you – then you’re probably at a higher risk than you think. You don’t have to stay up at night wondering when the next shoe will drop. Send me an email and let’s talk.