Time Management of a Legal Secretary
October 27, 2009
The legal secretarial role has changed dramatically over the years. And each law firm has different expectations of how their secretaries should spend their time. I would appreciate help from all secretaries if they could complete the questionnaire below. The results will give us a snap shot of where time is being spent and what secretaries would like more time for.
Please complete the boxes with a number which represents the percentage of your where you think you spend your time.
If you have any other comments, please leave them in the box below.
7 Headaches cured
September 7, 2009
What causes stress and disruption to your business operation? I’ve come up with a list of headaches commonly found in all businesses at some point. Are you in pain now when you don’t have to be?
1. WHO’S COVERING THE SICKNESS AND HOLIDAYS?
The holiday season (or the flu season) can be massively disrupting to your business if you don’t have skilled temporary staff to call on. If you work in a quieter rural area then chances are you will struggle finding a temp who’s available when you need them. And once you’ve got them trained up on your systems (often about 2 days) then it’s time for them to move on. You’ve probably wasted half a week of your time training the temp and you’re still left with a backlog of work by the time your usual secretary arrives back. Some larger firms don’t even use temps. They hire an additional secretary to provide the year round cover they need. What an expense! Your outsourcing company doesn’t require you to send a minimum amount of work or sign up for a specific contract period so you can make use of the service just when you need to. PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
2. A BACKLOG OF WORK
If your dictation is taking 2 days to turn around then you have a backlog. And it’s costing you money. Files are not up to date leaving you at risk of negligence and, let’s face it, the faster you can work through the files, the faster cases are settled, and you get paid quicker. Why put up with it? PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
3. NOT ENOUGH INTERNAL RESOURCES FOR A ONE OFF JOB
Dealing with an unusual heavy workload with limited resources can cause backlogs to your usual workflow. You need to have a database typed, perhaps a lenthy document which can take a secretary 2 days to reproduce, or lots of recordings but it’s too much for one secretary and you need it quickly. Making use of a team of outsourced secretaries for those one off jobs is a very cost effective way of keeping up to date with your workload. Document Direct has hundreds of registered secretaries and it’s a straight forward process for us to manage “bulk” transcription/copy typing and return it to you in the fastest time (usually the same day). PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
4. ASKING PEOPLE TO WORK OVERTIME - AND PAYING THEM!
Managing people and overtime rates for “out of hours” work can leave you exasperated. There’s a reason why you need to work late in the night or at weekends — because you’re busy and have to deliver a quality service to your clients. So your staff should be helping you, not hindering you and making your job harder. But not everybody wants to work late, earn overtime and have their weekends disrupted. Document Direct’s outsource typing service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’re non-threatening to your existing staff, we simply wait in the background for the day that you need to use us. PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
5. RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND RETAINING
Would you rather recruit a fee earner or a secretary? If we unravel the job specification and look at each task that we ask our employees to do and look at specific processes, it’s possible to see just how easy it is to take the typing part of a secretary’s job and outsource it. Once that’s done, putting your resources (people) to better use is easier. Secretaries are no longer just “typists”. They’re asked to be personal assistants, office manager and unqualified fee earners. Quite frankly, they’re too expensive to type. PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
6. FINDING SKILLED STAFF
Love it or hate it, but none of us can live without it. Technology. It’s the most rapid changing industry and it affects us all. So when it comes to finding a secretary who has the skills to keep up to date with the last versions of software it can cause huge headaches. After all, unless you already employ an expert who knows what skills to recruit, how do you know what questions to ask? At least with outsourcing your documentation you’re assured that you can keep up with your competitors and work on their documents with the most up to date word processing techniques. Poor word processing and presentation of your documents to a competitor firm says a lot about the skillset of your workforce and speaks volumes. PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
7. TOO MUCH WORK AND NOT ENOUGH HOURS
If you need more time why waste time travelling to the office? Why not work from home or on the train while commuting? Using a digital dictation system will give you valuable hours when you realise you don’t have to travel to the office to send work to your secretary. In fact, you can be anywhere and send your work from a mobile phone. And you can send your work at any time of the day when you’re accessing a 24/7 remote service. Would that give you the flexibility you need to use your time more effectively? PAIN RELIEF CAN BE FOUND HERE
So would you like to have one or two headaches removed? Ask for our Free Trial and give yourself some pain relief.
Technology to beat swine flu
July 27, 2009
With swine flu predicted to affect 30 per cent of the population and cost the UK economy up to £50bn, experts are urging businesses to utilise technology to help prepare for the outbreak.
The first wave of swine flu is likely to occur between August and November - peaking late August to late September. Peak weeks could see employee absence rates for illness reach 12 per cent of the workforce - in addition to normal holiday absence.
Document Direct is receiving a large number of enquiries as firms consider implementation of contingency plans for secretarial cover. Those companies who already have digital dictation systems installed are now looking at how their systems can be integrated with outsourcing partners.
Innovative technology such as BlackBerry dictation means it’s easy for professionals to continue working from home or away from their offices but further business interruption occurs when secretaries can’t make it into the office to do the typing.
The virus is spreading rapidly through the UK, with 55,000 new cases reported last week and experts predicting that 30 per cent of the public will be eventually infected.
Companies need to start preparing for soaring absentee rates before the peak of the virus hits the UK’s business community. Phil Bird, Managing Director for the PC Support Group says:
Swine flu can vary in seriousness and in a number of cases, particularly towards the end of the illness, sufferers will be able to work although due to being contagious may still not be able to return to the workplace, extending their absence.
For many smaller companies this loss could even lead to them going out of business if they don’t plan ahead.
With such potentially serious consequences it is crucial for employers to start planning and implementing emergency strategies now. As a priority, they need to make arrangements for staff to work from home in the event of high levels of infection, in order to minimise disruption to their businesses.
Document Direct has solutions to provide temporary secretarial cover to help during holidays and sickness absenses that are very easy to implement. If a firm already uses a dictation system it is simply a case of re-routing the destination of the author’s dictation. If a firm does not have any dictation system in place then our software is available at no charge.
Contact us for more information about digital dictation systems and outsourcing.
Which digital dictation system do you choose?
July 15, 2009
- It’s not expensive
- The devices work in the same way you’re used to
- Manufacturers are no longer producing analogue tapes, so we’re all forced into the “digital switchover”
Document Direct is compatible with the majority of digital dictation systems (DDS) and sound file formats. That means we can work with Philips, Olympus, BigHand, Winscribe and many other formats now available. But which system is the best for you? We’re almost 4 years old and have amassed a great deal of experience when it comes to working with the different systems, types of hardware and the various costs associated with them. There are many benefits to switching over to digital.
- The dictation can be transcribed faster by fewer secretaries which reduces your secretarial overhead and increases workflow
- Opportunities are created for flexible and remote working, you (and your staff) are no longer office bound
- Hard cash is saved when overhead can be slashed by outsourcing
So why are there still so many firms who don’t yet have a DDS? We’re in a situation now where firms need to save money but they can’t afford to invest in a DDS. Add to the fact that most people don’t like change and are fearful of new technology so they will procrastinate even more in making a decision. But each of these objections can easily be overcome.
We recently set up a solicitors practice, using free software, so they could choose to send their dictation to their in-house secretary or their favourite outsource typing agency. The only cost to the firm was for the handsets (and they vary vastly in price). The solicitors practice no longer needs to worry about secretarial cover during the holiday season. With a click of a button, their work is outsourced at a much lower cost than using a temping agency. Their work was backlogged by as much as three days. Now that we’ve helped them clear their dictation they’re working through their files faster. This can only be a good thing when it comes to holding onto work in progress and billing.
Would you like more information about implementing a digital dictation system in your firm? If so, contact us now.
Online directories. I’ve had enough.
June 30, 2009
Online directories. Over the years I’ve paid for a few. I should have learnt my lesson by now. I’ve just received another telephone call from yet another legal directory asking me to “upgrade my listing” to a banner advert. I didn’t even know I had a listing with them. Apparently it’s been there for a while. I did point out that I’d not received a single solitary lead from it, but thanks anyway.
Given the fact that I’ve not received a single solitary lead from a free listing, why would I want to pay a “special price” of just £200 to have a flashing banner on a webpage?
The salesperson couldn’t event tell me how many hits “transcription services” receives each month, let alone what hits their current customers receive. Then I was told that there are no guarantees with any marketing. So no thanks. I’ll refuse your offer of a “special price”.
Now, if I was asked to buy something that would give me something tangible and I could have guaranteed results, I might be interested.
I offer a “try before you buy” freebie so clients can see for themselves how outsourced typing services can impact on their business. Do you think online directories will use the same tactic?
Solicitors business plan can affect PI premium
June 18, 2009
I have been helping Tracy Thompson and Steve Battarbee, Directors of NSA, with their roadshow in various locations around the country. It’s a great way to meet solicitors, hear their concerns and receive some education at the same time.
The past few seminars have teamed up with Robin Bayley, Director of Prime Professions and Underwriter, Lewis Edwards of Allianz. Their presentations have been enlightening. Lewis tells us why Allianz is entering the market for Solicitors Professional Indemnity and how they hope to make it profitable. Robin is giving guidance on how to differentiate your law firm from more than 10,000 other practices who will be hoping for good rates of premium in a hardening market. From what I’ve heard so far, it is doom and gloom.
Having said that, if you’re not a “head in the sand” law firm and choose to be innovative and proactive in providing best quality services and have excellent risk management, then you can stand out from the crowd and put yourself in a better bargaining position than others when it comes to negotiating your renewal terms.
One question made my ears prick up at yesterday’s presentation. Do you have a business plan? Are you managing your overheads and what are your strategies for future growth and risk management.
Managing overheads is where I fit in with anybody’s business plan. On a very simple and straight forward cost analysis, send just one day’s dictation from one lawyer and it will cost about £39 to have typed by us. It would cost a whole lot more for a good quality secretary/temp to type up the same amount of typing in a working day.
Making use of confidential and secure systems, 24 hour availability and totally flexible hours and places of work then businesses can become more creative and innovative in the delivery of their services. Would this help your business stand out from the crowd?
- Document Direct
- Free telephone calls for the legal sector
- Merit - An information/communication/technology user group
- No Option for a Law Firm - High-tec law firm IT jargon at it’s best
- Online Training Courses
