What is the biggest challenge facing most law firms? Most law firms do not have an organized onboarding system for new team members and simply ask a member of the team to train new employees. This is not a system—it’s a recipe for failure.
“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”
--Henry Ford
You want everyone trained the same way at your law firm. You need an organized onboarding system so your new team members receive the type of training that you want them to receive. An organized onboarding system for new team members will ensure that they will know what it will take to succeed at your law firm.
The Management Learning System
So, what can you do? The Management Learning System is a course created by the Mike Morse Law Firm, the largest plaintiff’s law firm in Michigan, for training their team members. The course has a curriculum and every new team member must complete each section of the curriculum. “Exam 307” is the defense medical exam; new team members need a score of 80% or higher to pass.
The “Training Academy Curriculum” ranges from human relations, office administration to case management.
- 100 series: HR/Onboarding
- 200 series: Office Basics
- 300 series: Operations Basic
- 400 series: Advanced Operations
There are 140 active courses in the Management Learning System and team members rate each course from 1 to 5 stairs. The course is completed within one week.
“It’s about us being a learning organization. You have to allow your people the time to learn.”
Jennifer Harvala, Senior Vice President of Operations at Fireproof Performance
Set time aside to provide feedback. Feedback is hugely important; your team members want to know how they are doing. Schedule dates for feedback at the 30-day mark, and then periodically request feedback throughout the onboarding and training period.
Invest in Your Superstars
Where do you spend the majority of your management and training time? You should spend the majority of your time training and managing your Eagles. Spend the most amount of time leveraging your Eagles and maximizing their strengths.
- Eagles are your top performers.
- Sparrows are good and dependable and provide stability.
- Turkeys are your detractors and disengaged employees who are creating chaos.
Is this beneficial to their growth path? This works even if you have 5 people in your law firm. And let’s face it, if your team members aren’t working out, it’s because you haven’t trained them.
