AGENDA

Thank you for registering for, “The Benefits of a Good Hiring System – Strategies to Attract and Retain Talent” Workshop with Josh Dorcey on March 22nd. In this workshop, Josh discussed what it means to have a good staffing system and how that system affects the freedom and success of the attorney and the law firm.

We are in stretched economy and therefore, we have to hire differently than we normally would. In the workshop, Josh discussed reasons to hire which included – building profit centers, reducing the firm’s dependency on you, and freeing responsibilities within your firm. He went over four strategies to improve your staffing systems. The third strategy included the importance of a DISC assessment and behavioral profiles.

If you would like to view our Summit vendor list to see how we can help you, you can click here: https://nsslfc.com/2023-sponsors/

If you want to learn more about our Build My Great Team^®, you can click here: https://atticusadvantage.com/what-we-do/build-my-great-team/

Attached you will find a copy of the slides used in the workshop, a Skills Assessment question and answer PDF that you can use for new hires, and our Staffing Systems worksheet.

We would like to invite you to our workshop on the billable hour. Since you registered for this hiring workshop, we are offering you 50% off, “The Billable Hour Law Firm Workshop – Implementing Growth Strategies to Maximize Profits” on April 27th.

Register here: https://atticusadvantage.com/what-we-do/the-billable-hour-law-firm-workshop and use code HALFBILLABLEHOUR at checkout for 50% off.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Webinar materials:

• The Benefits of a Good Hiring System (PDF)
• Skills Assessment (PDF)
• Skills Assessment Test FILLABLE (PDF)
• Staffing Systems (PDF)

Here is a list of the questions and answers that did not get answered in our webinar:

Question: What service do you use for background checks
Answer: Some Atticus clients have used this service: https://www.professionalscreening.com/

Question: You assume we are getting lots of candidates in, but right now, it’s hard to get people in the door. What is the best way to structure the ad to get people interested?
Answer: Candidates are looking for salary and culture. Start your ad talking about your firm and your culture. Why would someone want to work there? The next section should be about the candidate. Make it as personalized as possible. “You have 5+ years’ experience as an estate planning paralegal. You have exceptional attention to detail and communication skills. You enjoy talking with clients and making them feel at ease.” Write the ad as though you’re talking with the candidate. The next section would be: Your duties include but are not limited to: and then list the main responsibilities of the job. Use bullet points to make it easier to read.

You’ll then list Experience & Qualifications and list those items that are important to you for this position. List your benefits. At Build My Great Team™ we word it: “We value our team and offer” and then bullet list the benefits. Include insurances, bonus potential, if you pay for classes or professional organizations, paid time off, 401(k), flexibility, work/life balance, convenient location including parking, etc. Tell the applicant how to apply. We usually state: To apply for this unique opportunity please submit a detailed resume as well as a cover letter telling us ________. Be sure to list a salary range. If you’re using Indeed and don’t use a salary range, they will insert an estimated salary. You’ll especially want to list the salary if it’s higher than Indeed’s estimate.

Be sure to include the name of the firm in the ad. Great candidates may be looking up the firm before applying and won’t apply to a confidential posting. I’m not a fan of the “rock star” ad and we’ve found that some candidates are turned off by that.

Question: Best candidates are satisfied and not looking, but build my great team not likely to find them with passive advertising. Any thoughts?
Answer: I would disagree. In our experience, there are great people looking right now that are tired of bad management and bad culture. However, to hire them you will need offer great pay, a great culture, solid structure and competitive benefits to attract them. In our opinion if they are looking to make a move, they want to make sure their next place is way better than what they are giving up.
We have found some great candidates who have had a change in the firm where they’re working and were actively looking for a position.

Question: What are your recommendations for how to provide those types of firm perks to your remote employees?
Answer: I think the best thing is to be open minded and be creative. It would probably be good to have your remote employees take an appreciation style test online to determine what is important to them and how they like to be appreciated. Then you will be able to create a perk program around your specific employees.

Question: Can you summarize your comments as to each DISC strength – and what number do they need to be above to be considered a D I S or C – is it just as compared to how the employee rates among their DISC numbers and the two highest?
Answer: Different DISC tests seem to report the findings in a different way, but typically in my experience, the two most dominant traits are the ones that are above the midline, sometimes you will have 3 above the midline. The D is going to be more outgoing and direct and often processes information and decisions very quickly. As such, the D is going to be a take-charge type person and that will most likely see a project through. A “D” often knows how good they are or at least feels they are the best. A “D” can often run over other people if they are not self-aware, but without a “D” it is often very hard to make decisions. A “D” is the one leading a group to go to the next bar on a night out on the town.

An “I” going to be more outgoing, can often be viewed as talkative and friendly. The “I” is likely to be the first person to greet someone new. They are very influential and often seek the approval of others. An “I” is the one at the back of the group trying to convince one last person to join them at the next bar.

An “S” is often very meek and gentle. An “S” likes safety, and security and likes a routine that is predicable. An “S” is very warm and likes being in groups of their close friends. The “S” is often someone that would like a book club or something that includes a close knit group of friends.

A “C” is often someone that is very analytical, likes structure and is very attentive to details. A “C” is likely to research a new TV or Car for several months before making the purchase. A “C” is someone that generally wants to know “Why” and will often fight change unless he or she fully understands why the change is needed. It is best to ask for a “C” to give his or her input prior to announcing a new change.

Question: What are his thoughts on peer reviews?
Answer: Peer reviews can be very helpful so long as they are done in a confidential manner and are not used to demean others. It really depends on the size of your firm, on whether that is possible.

Question: Who do we contact if we are interested in having Atticus help with employee search
Answer: You can email Susan Schmidt at susanschmidt@atticusadvantage.com and our website has information about the services: https://atticusadvantage.com/what-we-do/build-my-great-team/

Question: Last time I spoke with Build My Great team they still weren’t having luck with locating attorneys. Do you have a head hunter you would recommend for attorneys?
Answer: Currently, even the head hunters are not having luck. There are not any head headers that we can confidently recommend.