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Chief
You’re in for a world of disappointment.
Treating your assistant respectfully is step one. We’re not all morons, so maybe start with a positive attitude.
What are your expectations for your assistant? I’ve been responsible for training legal interns for several years now, but I think it’s important to understand more about the assistant, their background, the job responsibilities and your reasonable expectations of them.
I’ll also add that on day one, be honest with them about the workload. There should be no surprises. If this is someone you expect to stay long term, upfront honesty and consideration is key.
That sounds great. I hope they have the spirit of service. Are they expected to assist others or only you?
I typically meet with them on a daily basis for the first week or so just to make sure the lines of communication are open. I think when you show them you can make time for them, they respect you more. I’m not a fan of hiring someone and making them just figure stuff out even if they have a ton of experience.
Thank you for posting this question.
1. Double-check their access to necessary programs, email, etc is setup correctly. Can't tell you how many times IT has spelled a name wrong or just plain forgot to setup. It's discouraging and does not instill confidence to the new person when the company isn't ready for them.
2. Have a clear path laid out for them; responsibilities, expectations, and where to go if they need direction. Have tasks ready to go for them after on-boarding. They wanted to job, being prepared makes them feel like you want them there too.
3. Clear and open communication. It's important to establish this early. They need to know they can come to you without fear of judgment, but also they need to be open enough to take constructive criticism.
4. Have fun! We all spend more time at work than anywhere else, at least make it enjoyable. My mom always said, "you can find ways to make me money, but you can't buy back time".
Good luck!!
I have been an executive assistant for 10 years now to a C- suite exec and let me tell you how much I love them and why I do:
They treat me very fairly. On Administrative Professionals Day they always get me a gift (could be as small as flowers with a thank you card), my birthday they get me an even nicer gift, they always say I’m the best or I couldn’t do this without you, they always have an open line of communication for both positive and negative feedback but in a very respectful way. I’ve seen them both very angry and upset but it has never once been directed at me even during their very bad and horrible days. I can ask for anything at any time even for help because we’re all human.
Now what do I do? All of the above makes me work really hard. I’m always available even when I’m not, I make it work. There is nothing I won’t do from the most personal tasks to the most exec firm things you can think of. I go above and beyond to make sure all their needs are met. If I don’t know the answer, I make sure I get the answer. I admit when I’m wrong or when I messed up because I know I won’t be met with anger. But it ensures that I never make that mistake again. A lot of people, like the first asshole who commented on your post, don’t treat us fairly. They think we don’t know what we’re doing or that we’re useless when in reality, we can be your best asset if you take the time. Understand that there are things that we do not know, and your guidance will be needed. Also, every firm operates differently, so even though I could be an executive assistant at one firm, it does not mean that I automatically know everything at a new firm simply because they have different ways of doing things.
Be open and clear about what your expectations are but that you are there for support and encouragement and that you are not someone to be scared of. That’s how you create a really good assistant that you can hopefully have for forever.
We are human too. We go through the same things you do, we have bad days too, we have days where we want to give up too but we are not your doormat simply because we assist you. Strive for a good working relationship with your assistant. They will pay you back endlessly.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I am not the OP, but I am a solo attorney interested in hiring an assistant, primarily a personal assistant but some administrative legal work as well.
Could you please elaborate on when you said, “…we can be your best asset if you take the time.” ?
Is that taking the time to train well?
Or also frequent communication? Time for feedback from the assistant?
Since I will be creating the job I want to create some training plan and healthy job structure before I look for someone. It’s a position that requires a lot of trust so I hope to find someone to work with me very long term
Make expectations clear from day 1. Let her know what responsibilities will be solely on her. If she is experienced enough, use her to set up templates for filings. Have her maintain a caselist for you if you don't already have one. Anything admin or not billable, she should be assisting with. Make sure she knows she can come to you with ANY question. I've had really good assistants and really bad ones to the point they weren't serving all parties on a COS claiming she didn't know she had to....and claimed she was experienced.
This is my goal! Thank you for sharing
If a mistake happens, and they might (by you or your assistant), work on resolving it instead of dwelling on it.
Set clear expectations and let your assistant also voice what she can or cannot help you with. Some of the tasks may need to be delegated to a paralegal for example
Treat them very well and be considerate!
Pro
Is your assistant an experienced legal secretary?
I had very competent but had to work with as well as very competent but also completely reliable! Sometimes it is luck of the draw and you won’t know until she starts working with you. I have one assistant for 16 and i would happily worked for another 16 given the chance. We have gotten to know each other professionally so well that she was completely autonomous. She knew what to do mist of the time and would even tell me what i need to more when she thinks i may be slacking off. She would also promptly tell me if she made a mistake (which happened twice or three times in 16 years— none of them major; even major errors are often correctable) because she knew i would be looking out for her and help her deal with the error whatever it might be. It was practice policy to inform a capable person (often an experienced attorney) of any error i make and let them decide what needs to be done. It is often nothing major but when it is your mistake you can react the wrong way. She understood that from me and that was the end of her worrying how i might react to an error. She also knew i will fight for her if anyone tries to cross her. Treat her well and with respect; get to know the person she is (including her family; etc.), create proper professional rapport; and reduce or eliminate tension from your interactions. Treat her as co-worker, not as subordinate and you will happy. Good luck’!