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Give feedback often. If the work is subpar, don’t ignore it, discuss it with the associate and offer feedback about how to make the work product stronger. Encourage the associate to reach out with questions and make sure you are actually available to help and assist. This isn’t micromanaging, this is giving feedback and checking in.
If the associate is dropping deadlines, tell them you need it by X time to have enough time to review. But if they can’t manage their time and have subpar work, you don’t have to keep them. Sometimes people just aren’t good at the soft skills of the job and will have to learn to beef those up.
Some people might just not care as much and aren’t trying. Or the work doesn’t interest them and they know they can still get by for several months or even years like that.
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Seems like a risky approach, particularly in the current economic environment.
I am the same way. Very hands off until it appears more supervision is needed. This has become a problem in the past because I think the added supervision is perceived as "micromanaging" simply because it's more managing than the employee had previously. I don't have tried and true advice here. But for me I think the answer is to start off with more supervision and managing to begin with.
Are you providing timely feedback to the person producing this subpar work? As a new-ish attorney, nothing is more frustrating than learning weeks or months after the fact that I've done something wrong.
this is the most important thing as an associate- expectations and protocols have to be set in advance vs retroactively asking why things are wrong.
I think open communication and setting expectations can be helpful. Sharing your feedback (which you seem to be doing already), telling them what you wanted/expected and identifying the gap between the deliverable and your expectation can be a helpful guide for your associates. Then offering to help or review their work prior to completion to help them succeed on their own (I think this messaging will clear up any suspicions that you want to micromanage) would be great. I think you are doing all of the above, but sharing how you feel, being open or messaging it differently could help level with them better
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Definitely feeling you on this OP. Training a new paralegal and associate at the same time, and it is rough.
Some may be juggling multiple things (work and personal) at the same time. Not to get into anyone’s business, but if the work is poor compared to what you’re used to seeing from them or others in general, I would find out if they personally are ok or in need of additional assistance or guidance before I go into a heavy critique on their work product.
Like some have mentioned, it also may be just them and not you! You checking in to get advice on FB already shows you are mindful!
Software. Just have them upload drafts of their work to MS Live, or whatever law practice management you use at the end of the day so you can review it and provide feedback.
No, I’m a solo. But if I had employees, I would ask that everything gets done in the software to track everything. That’s just my two cents.
I've been burned enough times on assignments that would take 1.5-2+ weeks that i now make the juniors send me in progress drafts 1-2 times per week so that i can at least verify they're working on it. If they are consistently the type of person to push something along without frequent check-ins then i'll leave them to it and won't bug them. But that trust is earned not given at this point, unfortunately. I feel like an asshole micromanaging them that way but some i've learned if you give someone 2 weeks to do something there are a number of people who will wait until 2 days before to try to do it, and then either not finish or do a rushed, sloppy job. Assignments with quick turnarounds don't have that problem since they don't have to manage their time as diligently for those.
Setting up a schedule of check-ins and status updates such that fall-back planning can be effective is not considered to be (or at least should not considered to be) micromanaging. If this is undertaken in a teaching mode (you are teaching the underlings how they themselves can effectively manage their own future products and their own future underlings), it may even be appreciated.
Promote file ownership, give the associate complete carriage of the file with incentives. At end of year you can track their metrics on productivity, this gives your employee the ability to sink or swim & you the ability to see the big picture of what is going on and act accordingly. Typically people can be trained on competency but people at large do not change (work styles, personality, personal limitations etc.). Have a metric in the recruitment process to gauge candidates ability to work independently. In a hands off work environment, this will give you a better idea of who the self starters are that will fit this work culture.