How Employee Productivity Monitoring Can Drive Success for Legal Teams
Everyone knows the cliche - the high-flying lawyer who’s at their desk round the clock, never takes vacations, and constantly tries to get ahead. Behind that facade is a very real crisis known as lawyer burnout.
Around two-thirds of lawyers report experiencing burnout, and one in three say the demands of their job have negatively affected their wellbeing. Stressful and complicated cases, urgent deadlines, and pressure to be among the best - it’s no wonder legal teams are seeing climbing rates of anxiety and depression.
Some are struggling through it, but many are simply walking away. The post-pandemic Great Resignation hit legal firms hard, with the turnover rate for associates reaching 23.2% in 2021. Burned-out lawyers were reassessing their work-life balance and deciding that it wasn’t worth the cost to their mental health and overall quality of life. As a result, many legal firms are now dealing with significant staffing challenges, competing for talent in a shrinking market.
Employee Productivity Monitoring (EPM) can help. By identifying skill gaps, tracking workflows, and spotting red flags, EPM solutions give legal teams the insight they need to stop burnout and effectively manage employee workloads. With the right EPM in place, legal offices are transformed as employees are supported and managers are empowered.
How EPM can help legal firms increase productivity & employee wellbeing
Beating burnout
Lawyers may be great at speaking up in court, but they may not be so good at finding their voice when problems arise at work.
The legal profession has always been known as fast-paced, high-pressure, and extremely competitive. This emphasis on achievement leads to a toxic workplace culture where employees are expected to do whatever it takes to land a client or close a case - whether that means sacrificing their vacation or routinely putting in 18-hour days.
When this standard becomes the accepted norm, it’s hard to complain. Employees will simply put their heads down and keep pushing through until they hit a wall.
Managers can see that wall coming with EPM software Prodoscore, an effective early intervention solution. The software integrates with core business applications such as your office suite, and case management system like Litify, Docusign, Zoom and others, to track how your employees are using their cloud-based business tools.
Prodoscore doesn’t monitor keystrokes or store personal information. It’s only interested in how your employees are working within business applications, collecting real-time data that’s then compiled into an overall productivity score for individuals, teams and the organization as a whole.
In this way, managers can stay ahead of burnout - instantly spotting common red flags such as unexplained absences, sudden dips in productivity, and lack of communication. They can then use this data to start a much-needed conversation.
Meeting staffing challenges
With lawyers leaving the profession in droves or cutting back to spend more time at home, managers are left trying to maintain performance with less staff. Don’t be tempted to foist this burden onto your remaining employees. Not only is it unfair - your employees have a right to disconnect, no matter what staffing problems you’re having - it’s also likely to leave you even more under-resourced.
Turnover is contagious, and if one member of your team leaves, there will likely be others looking for an excuse to follow them out the door. Don’t give them that excuse.
Instead, delegate more effectively. Prodoscore can help managers do this by providing an accurate, real-time picture of where the biggest productivity gaps are located.
From the Prodoscore dashboard team leaders can see at a glance who isn’t contributing enough, and who’s taking on more than their fair share. It’s ideal for managing remote or hybrid teams where it’s more difficult to assess workloads and delegate tasks. With Prodoscore, employees aren’t given more than they can handle, and workflows become more efficient and seamless as a result, allowing managers to do more with less.
This, in turn, promotes a more positive workplace culture, allowing employees to shift from an hourly work model to a healthier ‘work done’ mindset. Instead of lingering at their desk to keep up with colleagues who are putting in exhaustingly long hours, they’ll do what they need to and sign off.
EPM also helps managers spot any training gaps among legal teams, which can contribute to burnout. Employees who don’t have the training and tools to perform their jobs can quickly become anxious, stressed, and demotivated. Prodoscore offers in-depth visibility into where roadblocks are occurring, signaling to managers when they may need to step in and provide more support.
Prodoscore has helped legal firms manage their attorney and support staff workloads, retain top talent, and improve employee wellness.
