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THE X FACTOR FIRMHIRING FOR LAW PRACTICE

SUCCESS.

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Chelsey LambertVice President, Clients and Communication

Co-Chair, ABA GP Solo, Technology Green Team

Chelsey.Lambert@Smokeball.com

312-667-1768 office

847-702-2774 cell

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COMMON HIRING MISTAKESHiring out of desperation

Hiring out of laziness

Skipping Phone interviews

Did not define role

Did not define company needs

Infatuation

Blind promotions

Lighter screening of referrals

Inconsistent hiring processes

Skipping reference checks

Reset with every interview

Under budgeted for the role

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THE COST OF A BAD HIRE$25,000.00 - $150,000.00

❏Recruiting

❏Screening & interviews

❏Training

❏Paid time

❏HR & Tax costs

❏Productivity losses

❏Expenses; ads, coffee, lunch, etc.

❏Social media | Word of mouth

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SIGNS OF A BAD HIRE

+ YOUR TIME

❏Laziness

❏Immediate attendance issues

❏Negative Attitudes

❏Lie

❏Failure to produce quality

work

❏Instigate client complaints

❏Failure to meet deadlines

❏Unable to work with others

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- ROBERT KIYOSAKI

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HIRING FOR TODAY’S LAW FIRM

New Client Demands Growing Talent Pool

❏ Elevated Expectations

❏Self | Google Educated

❏Technology Centric

❏Social Media Savvy

❏ Impatient

❏Career Changers

❏Graduates

❏Life Experience

❏Transferable Skills

❏Ex-entrepreneur

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"You can learn most jobs extremely quickly once you are thrown in the deep end. Within three months you can usually know the ins and outs of a role. If you

are satisfied with the personality, then look at experience and expertise. Find people with transferable skills – you need team players who can pitch in and try

their hand at all sorts of different jobs. While specialists are sometimes necessary, versatility should not be underestimated."

Richard Branson, Hire for Personality - Business Insider

“People who are "fun, friendly, caring and love helping others" are winners and the rest of the job can be taught”

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FORGET WHAT YOU

KNOWHire for Personality & Performance Forego Experience & Education

❏Unteachable Human Traits

❏Motivated through metrics

❏Rewarded with autonomy

❏Does this require special

education?

❏What can be trained?

❏Any transferrable skills that can

benefit my business?

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The Behavioral

Hiring Process

The following process

combined with behavioral

interview questions and team

participation yield well

matched candidates with long

term growth potential and

increase retention.

Define the Role

Match Personality Traits

Craft Job Description

Craft Job Ad

Collect Applications

Identify Call Backs

First Phone Screen

Second Phone Screen

Check References

Team Interview

Debrief

Decision & Offer

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DEFINE THE ROLE ❏Why do you need this hire?

❏What is your budget?

❏Do you need full time? Right away?

❏What company goals depend on the success of this person?

❏Who will this person interact with on a daily basis?

❏What are the most critical functions of this role?

❏What are the daily activities, or ideal duties of this person?

❏How could this position contribute to the success of the company, if

they had a particular skill or trait?

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THE BIG FIVE: PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS

1. Neuroticism: Negative emotionality, we all have a level of negativity, self deprecating behaviors, complaining, can you laugh and move forward, or are you stuck in a circle of self loathing?

2. Extraversion: How outgoing are you? Sparking conversations in elevators or hiding behind emails? Does a person’s social gratification come from interacting with others or are they more of a loner?

3. Openness to experience: Acknowledgement of other’s experiences. Is open to new ideas, displays a curiosity for life or a love of learning. Variety is the spice of life. Often used as a blanket judgment of intellect. Example: Appreciation for the arts must mean they are wicked smart.

4. Agreeableness: Natural social harmony, empathy, cooperation and level of trust or distrust given to someone at first meeting. Are they even tempered?

5. Conscientiousness: Self discipline & compulsion to act dutifully. Attention to detail, being on time, respect for obligations, commitments and ability to foster and maintain long term relationships. Perfectionism, normal and exaggerated also falls into this category.

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COMMON TRAITS OF

SUCCESSFUL

PROFESSIONALSAttitude

Enthusiastic Ethical

Goal Focused Listener Network

Persistent Self-Aware

Self Confident Self- Disciplined

Friendly

IntelligentOrganizedPrepared

ProductiveRelationship-Oriented

ResponsibleSincere

Self-SacrificingTrustworthy

VisionaryHumorous

AdaptiveAnalytical Mind

ArticulateBalanced

CollaborativeCommittedCourageous

CreativeDecisive

Detail-OrientedMetrics Driven

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MATCH

PERSONALITY

TRAITS

• Successful management means putting the right people in the right places.

• Then getting out of their way.

Receptionist: Proactive, punctual, polite, organized, detail oriented, comfortable on the phone, motivated by positive reinforcement and performance milestones.

Client Coordinator / Concierge: Empathetic, persistent, motivated by client satisfaction.

Associate Attorney: Client friendly, comfortable on the phone, creative, punctual communicator, technology savvy, motivated by career opportunities and client satisfaction.

Accounting / Clerk: Detail oriented, introverted, efficient, technologically savvy, problem solver, motivated by delivering solutions that help others accomplish their goals.

Billing / Collections: Persistent, comfortable on the phone, creative, diligent, proactive, motivated by completion and overcoming adversity.

Marketing / Sales / Intake or Outbound dialer: Hungry, driven, confident, empathetic, excellent listener, motivated by winning and money.

Ideal Personality & Skills

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CRAFTING THE JOB DESCRIPTION

One to three short paragraphs outlining the basics of the role

Include: Title, wages, duties, reports to, related company goals

List of daily duties

Hypothetical wage structure: Base + bonus / performance scale

Wage information may be kept separate & private

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CRAFTING THE JOB AD

❏Be honest about the job❏Target your ideal candidates

❏Callout personality traits

❏Give them a call to action

❏Consider your location

❏This is a test!

❏Show some excitement!

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CRAFTING THE JOB ADAttorney Position

Title: Growing New Orleans Law Firm seeks Aspiring Attorney

Currently seeking a Louisiana licensed attorney experienced in the area of Family Law for our growing legal practice. If you are looking

for an opportunity to grow with a law firm and are not afraid to take on and manage a medium caseload you should explore the possibility

of working with us. We are a business minded law firm who invests in marketing, so sales experience is a plus. Training and support

come standard, your success as an associate in our firm is important to us and we are committed to helping you grow into your role.

Your daily responsibilities will include meeting with first time visitors, converting them into retained clients, and participating in the intake,

and case preparation process. We work as a team, while you may have support staff, we expect everyone to share the workload. You

may have to answer a phone call, or reach out to a client in need. In our firm, there is no such thing as 'That's not my job.’

If you are ready to take your career by the reigns and join a firm that wants to expedite your professional growth please respond with the

requested items below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please respond with:

1. Why this position interests you

2. Your resume

3. The best number to reach you on

4. Your Bar Number

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FIRST PHONE SCREENER

❏Between 5-10 minutes

❏How do they answer?

❏What is your first impression?

❏Let them talk, what pieces of information about themselves do

they showcase?

❏Why are they leaving their current job, what are you looking for?

❏Sort candidates by: Call Back, Not a Fit, Back Up

❏Texting speeds up the interview process considerably.

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SECOND PHONE SCREENER

❏Used to compare and filter first round rock stars

❏Look for consistency

❏Confirm wage expectations

❏Potential start date? How are they leaving their other

employer

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CHECK REFERENCES

❏Call all of them!

❏Would you hire them again?

❏Verify their role / position

❏You can ask for salary info

❏What was the candidate’s strengths?

❏Would you describe them as a hard worker?

❏Did they get along with teammates or clients?

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TEAM INTERVIEW ❏Behavioral questions + two for fun

❏How do they interact with each member of the team?

❏Identify any frictions

❏Account for nervousness

❏Compare notes afterwards

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BEHAVIORAL

QUESTIONS❏Cite specific examples of past work

❏Open ended

❏Do not interpret the question for them

❏Repeat as many times as necessary

❏Be quiet, listen and take notes

1. Describe a time on any job in which you were faced with stresses which tested your coping skills. What did you do?

2. Tell me a time in which you had to not finish a task because of a lack of information. How did you handle it?

3. Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.

4. Relate a time in which you had to use your verbal communication skills in order to get an important point across.

5. Describe a job experience in which you had to speak up to be sure that other people knew what you thought or felt.

6. Can you tell me a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers?

7. Give me an example of a specific occasion in which you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

8. Describe a situation in which you felt it necessary to be very attentive and vigilant to your environment.

9. Provide an example of a time in which you had to use your fact-finding skills to gain information for solving a problem.

10. Give me a time in which you had to set an important goal in the past and tell me about your success in reaching it.

11. Describe the most significant piece of writing which you have had to complete.

12. Tell me an example of a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

13. Can you tell me a time when you were able to effectively “read” another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their individual needs or values?

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DEBRIEF❏Team consensus

❏Confront noticeable frictions

❏Listen to concerns and objections

❏Identify points of infatuation, selling the candidate

❏Use this time to reinforce company goals

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DECISION & OFFER

❏Use this time to reinforce company goals

❏Prepare the written offer letter

❏Confirm start date and time: when, where,

what to wear, what to bring

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BEGIN WITH A GREAT FIRST DAY!

❏Employee Welcome Sheet

❏List of Daily Duties

❏Privacy / Confidentiality Policy

❏Social Media Policy

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NEW EMPLOYEE

WELCOME SHEETShow the Love! Setup for success.

❏ Important info; email, phone, etc.

❏ Daily activities

❏ Office info, hours

❏ Checking email from home

❏ FAQ’s

❏ Reinforce dress code

❏ Lunch policy

❏ Privacy policy

❏ IT List

❏ Daily Duties

❏ Policies, HR docs

❏ Tax info

❏ Training Calendar

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ONGOING MANAGEMENT❏Leverage technology, shared spreadsheets & logs

give you visibility without being a micromanager

❏Reward performance with money and autonomy

❏Encourage efficiency and creativity

❏Bonus business savings

❏Reviews are valuable and necessary

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Q & A

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Chelsey LambertVice President, Clients and Communication

Co-Chair, ABA GP Solo, Technology Green Team

312-667-1768 office

847-702-2774 cell

Chelsey.Lambert@Smokeball.com

@ChelseyLambert