Legal firms are held to a higher level of accountability than many other professional service providers. This is due to factors like information security and the need to offer accurate legal advice.
A way to track accountability and provide visibility into every legal professional’s workload within your firm can improve your business outcomes and the employee/client experience.
The challenge is that accountability needs to be intrinsically motivated. You can provide training, guidelines, and incentives that reward accountable behavior, but the motivation to take ownership ultimately needs to be cultivated inside each individual.
This article discusses the unique importance of accountability within law firms and practical ways to create a culture of accountability today.
Why Is Accountability Crucial to Legal Firms?
Due to the distinct nature of legal work, employee accountability in your firm is non-negotiable. Here are a few reasons why.
Confidentiality & Security
The daily operations of a legal firm require managing highly confidential information that needs to be protected. Without accountability, employees will likely make mistakes that can harm the firm.
Enforcing accountability practices can create a culture where employees understand the importance of keeping information confidential on an individual level.
Firm Reputation
Missteps in managing and storing cases can quickly damage your firm’s reputation. Lawyers rely heavily on referrals and reviews from family, friends, past clients, and other lawyers. When a client has a negative experience with your firm, prospects may lose trust in your firm’s ability to be their best advisor.
Stress Management
Lawyers work an average of 48 hours a week, which is stressful on its own. When you layer in unclear expectations and last-minute work, it’s easy for legal professionals to become overwhelmed.
The second-highest-ranked challenge for lawyers in the first half of 2023 was related to heavier workloads and more professional responsibilities, which 55% of lawyers reported as an issue.
To avoid burnout, legal firms need to make it easier for employees to remain accountable and keep track of these responsibilities.
How to Create Accountability in Law Firms
The easiest way to increase accountability in legal firms is to organize responsibilities better and who they belong to. That’s where technology comes in.
Implementing a tool like workforce management software can inherently create a culture of accountability while increasing productivity and efficiency. Here’s how workforce management software can keep your employees accountable.
Increase Transparency
Accountability is more manageable when everyone on the team can see who is responsible for which projects and tasks. Workforce management software enables anyone in your law firm to see:
- Which tasks are currently in progress
- Who’s managing each project and completing associated tasks
- When a milestone or task has been missed or is overdue
Provide Consistent & Real-Time Feedback
Because everyone within your practice can see where projects stand in real time, workforce management software allows leaders to give positive feedback when an employee meets a significant milestone or completes a project. When employees feel like their work is valued, they’re more likely to take ownership of it.
Clarify Expectations
With built-in project management tools, workforce management software enables leaders to clearly label tasks with due dates, instructions, and relevant documents. This makes project timelines clear from the beginning to set employees up for success.
Improve Your Firm’s Culture
Workforce management systems can help uplift your firm’s culture by providing increased transparency and additional tools to communicate and collaborate. This can be especially important for remote and hybrid teams.
- Implementing workforce management software can inherently:
- Increase trust due to increased visibility
- Build morale by celebrating employee accomplishments
- Encourage collaboration and two-way communication between employees and leadership
- Create internal alignment and synchronized processes
- Avoid micromanagement
When employees feel like they’re part of an open, positive workplace culture that trusts them to do their work, they’re more likely to be motivated to perform well.
Revamp Accountability in Your Law Firms With an All-in-One Solution
coAmplifi’s workforce management system for law firms can accomplish everything mentioned above. It can also manage time tracking, report on real-time billable hours, empower better decision-making with business analytics, and more.
Find out why other law firms are using coAmplifi. Schedule your demo now!
