Looking at ways to reduce costs for each employee in your law firm? Consider transitioning to a hybrid work model to align your firm with legal industry preferences and trends.
In a recent national survey sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA), insights emerged into the shifting dynamics of the legal industry toward remote work. The survey disclosed that only 30% of lawyers work in an office full-time and that most lawyers want remote work options within their firm.
Remote and hybrid work setups are especially important among younger lawyers, as 44% said they’d leave their jobs in exchange for greater flexibility.
Law firms that are looking to attract and retain top talent should consider adopting a hybrid model to remain competitive in the job market. This article discusses the challenges and best practices to consider when looking at hybrid options.
Challenges of Remote & Hybrid Work Strategies for Law Firms
With increased employee freedom and fewer expenses for the firm, it’s easy to view a hybrid work model as a win-win. But just like with other major firm business changes, some challenges can surface along the way, including:
Fatigue and Burnout Risk
Burnout is a major concern for law firms, with two-thirds of legal professionals having experienced symptoms of burnout. Many remote legal professionals still experience burnout while working from home and adding an in-office requirement with a hybrid approach can significantly raise already-high stress levels.
Coordination Difficulties
When employees are working hybrid schedules, it can be a challenge to keep track of who’s in the office, who’s working remotely, and who’s off the clock or on a meal break. These disconnects can negatively affect communication, collaboration, and team alignment.
Challenges in Team Cohesion
It can be hard for remote and hybrid employees to maintain relationships with their colleagues outside of an office setting. This can lead to feelings of isolation and affect their productivity and performance.
Remote & Hybrid Work Strategies to Help Law Firms Thrive
Thoughtful implementation, an understanding of team dynamics, and leveraging technology for effective collaboration are crucial elements in adapting to the evolving landscape of legal practice. Since the pandemic, organizations like coAmplifi have built intuitive tools designed to make hybrid work models easier to adopt.
Workforce management software can:
- Keep legal teams aligned
- Increase accountability
- Empower individuals to perform at their best
- Improve legal compliance
- Set your law firm up for scalable and sustainable success
Here are a few pivotal ways law firms can use workforce management software to improve their remote and hybrid work strategies.
Keep Communication in One Place
Workforce management software can come with a full suite of communication tools that all exist within the same system. This means legal professionals only have to keep track of one app vs. multiple to stay on top of communications from their colleagues.
Examples of workforce management software communication tools include:
- Dedicated spaces for topic-specific discussions
- Message boards for broad communication
- Company-wide memo distribution
- Improve Workplace Transparency
Transparency is critical in the workplace, especially when employees are on different schedules and in different locations. Increased transparency can motivate legal professionals to share ideas, take ownership, and accomplish their best work.
Workforce management software offers unprecedented transparency into remote and hybrid scheduling as well as task tracking. For example, coAmplifi’s software offers:
- Fishtank™ view: See who’s in the office, who’s working offsite, who’s on vacation, and who’s off the clock for any team or department at any given moment.
- Task management: See who’s working on which accounts, real-time progress that has been made on individual projects, and next steps to get a project completed.
Promote Work-Life Balance
Effective work-life balance boundaries are crucial to prevent burnout and keep your top employees. This is especially critical for law firms, considering most lawyers work more than 40 hours per week, with one in five working more than 50 hours per week.
Workforce management software makes work-life balance a win-win with tools that:
- Remind legal professionals to take their scheduled meal breaks
- Enable employees to stay organized with personal commitments that can be hidden from others
- Alert employees when they’re about to work overtime
- Ensure tasks and accounts are assigned equitably across team members
- Keep team members from overcommitting themselves by helping them develop accurate time estimates for each client engagement.
Create a Cohesive Firm Culture That Continues to Focus on Client Service
A hybrid work environment can make employees feel disconnected from their peers. It’s important to ensure any employees who are working offsite still feel like they’re in the loop with their teams and firm management.
Workforce management software comes with tools that enable the following:
- Real-time feedback and coaching
- Timely recognition for meeting milestones
- Individual goals are tracked against the firm’s goals, allowing employees to see how their contributions matter to the firm’s success.
- Employees take pride in being held accountable for their work
Create a Seamless Hybrid Work Model With Workforce Management Software for Law Firms
The future of work leans toward flexible work options, and many law firms will need to get on board to attract top talent. While the flexibility will draw in high achievers, developing the right remote and hybrid work strategies is what will make them stay.
coAmplifi’s workforce management system was built specifically to navigate the challenges of the remote work era with legal professionals in mind. See why other law firms are using coAmplifi. Schedule your demo now!
