Your New Year's Resolution Check-In
Under 10% of people manage to keep their new year's resolutions for more than a few months into a new year. Now that we've officially hit February, we thought it would be a good time to do a check in on our new year's resolutions and how they're tracking.
We've had a little think about the typical work-related resolutions that people might make, and what practical steps we can start taking to make sure we are on track. We've shared some tips, resolution by resolution, on how to position yourself for success.
"I want a better work/life balance."
This resolution is a common one, especially coming out of what is usually a manic end to the year before the holiday break - people want to reclaim their personal time and improve how they manage their work/life balance. Maintaining a good work/life balance essentially comes down to three things: boundaries, time management and communication.
Boundaries
To have a successful work/life balance, you need to set some rules for how to want to manage your working and personal commitments including setting boundaries within your working relationships. These will vary depending on what works for both you and your supervisor/s and some examples include:
Not answering phone calls and messages outside of work hours;
Being available to work additional hours when required such as to meet a deadline, but only if you can use any overtime as time in lieu at a later date;
Doing exercise at lunch time and being unavailable by email or phone during that time; and
Removing work emails from your personal devices.
It is important for you to communicate your boundaries with your supervisor. You do not need to give reasons for them as long as they don't impact upon your performance at work - you don't need to justify leaving the office on time!
Time Management
Time management skills are important when it comes to work/life balance, as you will need to effectively manage your workload in order to make time for the things you enjoy outside of work.
These are some of our favourite time management tips:
If it takes under 5 minutes, do it now. How many times within a day do you review your emails or task lists, and then ultimately decide to come back to a short task at a later time? By the time that you end up getting to the task, you may have read it and not actioned it three or four times, and this multi-handling wastes a lot of time.
Schedule your time-consuming tasks in your calendar and avoid distractions whilst you are working on them. Whilst it is difficult for support staff to switch off their email notifications as they are generally required to be available at all times during working hours, you may wish to advise your supervisor/s that you are working on a specific task during that time and ask them to notify you in the subject line of their emails if a task is urgent - this will avoid you needing to read each email in detail to determine whether they are urgent, allowing you to continue working on your current task if they are not.
Learn how to prioritise. Think about your tasks in terms of how urgent or important the task may be. Most legal support tasks will be broken into the following categories which should be prioritised in this order:
Tasks that are both important and urgent (eg the filing of Court documents in accordance with a filing deadline that has been set by the Court);
Tasks that are important but not urgent (eg matter management such as updating master files, or diarising Court hearings and deadlines that are not imminent); and
Tasks that are not important and not urgent (eg tidying up your desk or drawers).
If you have not yet mastered how to prioritise your tasks, ask your supervisor/s to guide you by having them assign deadlines for the tasks that they delegate to you. If they include the deadline within the subject line of their email to you, you will be able to quickly identify which tasks are most urgent and this will save time having to determine the priority of your tasks yourself.
Of course, if you are struggling with your workload despite having the best time management skills, you may wish to discuss this with your supervisor/s as this may be a bigger issue.
Communication
To assist you in having a better work/life balance, you will need to be able to communicate properly with your supervisor/s.
By way of example, if you have a number of urgent tasks that your supervisor/s wants you to complete before the end of the day, you should let them know if this will impact upon your ability to leave on time and discuss with them any ways you can ensure that you will leave on time.
You could frame this by saying to them something along the lines of "I still have X, Y, and Z to do before I log off for the day at 5pm, and I don't think I will be able to get to A and B, is there anything you would like me to reprioritise and anything that can be done first thing tomorrow morning instead?".
Often, a lawyer will send tasks to you as they think of them, and will not consider the other things that you have to complete for the day, which is especially the case if you work for more than one person.
If your supervisor/s are guilty of frequently sending work to you towards the end of the day which results in you working past your scheduled finish time, it may assist to check in with them around an hour before you log off, letting them know you will be wrapping things up for the day shortly. If you continue to do this each day, it should retrain your lawyer to get work to you by a certain time well in advance of the time that you leave.
Flexible Working
Flexible working may also help you to achieve a satisfactory work/life balance.
Many workplaces are becoming more flexible about structured working arrangements following the covid pandemic, and you can use this to your advantage. Have a think about whether an alternative working arrangement might suit you. Some examples may include:
Working from home on a part time basis;
Working alternative hours, for example starting work later in the day and working later into the evening; or
Working part time.
When requesting a flexible working arrangement, think about how you can make the proposed arrangement work for your supervisor and for your team, and be prepared to present your case for this to your supervisor/s before being granted approval for this kind of arrangement.
"I want to be more financially secure / successful"
A lot of people make resolutions about their finances in the new year and will often make plans about budgeting or investing in order to go about this. One important factor of your financial security and success is your salary.
It is important to ensure that you are being adequately remunerated for your position. Do your research, looking to salary guides and job postings to see what the typical salary is for people in similar positions.
If you discover that you are earning less than similar roles on the market, you should consider asking for a pay rise. Many firms have a specific process for this to occur during pay reviews, which are generally held near the end of the financial year. If your workplace does not have a pay review process, you should be able to request a meeting with your supervisor to discuss your salary.
To position yourself for a successful pay review negotiation, consider your value within your organisation including:
The knowledge and experience that you bring to your role;
Any additional responsibilities that you have undertaken since you were hired or since your last pay review;
Any extra studies or training that you have undertaken since you were hired or since your last pay review; and
If possible, quantify your financial contribution to your workplace (i.e. if you have a budget, whether you are meeting / exceeding your budget).
Be prepared to justify why you should be given a pay rise during your meeting including by evidencing your value within your organisation as above, and in reference to market salaries.
"I want to undertake extra study / training / coursework."
If you want to undertake extra studies or further learning, have a think about what it is you want to pursue - do you want to develop your existing skills, or learn new ones?
It may be helpful to speak to your mentors, colleagues or other support staff about what further learning they have undertaken and what they would recommend. There are many different courses and further learning options available for legal support staff and we have listed below several options which may inspire you.
Linkedin Learning offers various short courses that you can undertake virtually with their subscription membership which costs $39.99 per month. Their courses cover everything from tech skills including in the various Microsoft Office applications, to professional skills such as leadership, building relationships and conflict management. When you have completed a course through Linkedin Learning, you can add a badge to your Linkedin profile to confirm you've completed that course course, making it a great tool for further learning and for bulking up your Linkedin profile.
The Centre for Continuing Education, which is run through the University of Sydney, provides some really great short courses to assist with developing both tech and professional skills. Some examples include:
Tech Skills
o Microsoft Office with 365 Course: Essentials
o Microsoft Excel Course: Level 1
o Microsoft Powerpoint Course: Level 1
Interpersonal Skills
o Interpersonal Skills and Effective Communication
o Assertive Communication and Conversation Skills: Practical Training
o Dealing With Difficult People
Business Skills
o Grammar and Punctuation Fundamentals
o Team Managers and Leaders Course: Essential Skills
If you want to develop your legal skills and knowledge in your specific area of law, Legalwise often run fundamentals seminars for specific areas of law, as well as shorter seminars about certain topics within those areas of law. Whilst a lot of these are aimed at lawyers, they are also suitable for medium to senior level support stuff.
If you are interested in developing your legal skills by obtaining a paralegal degree, there are a number of universities that provide what is essentially a condensed version of a law degree, and these are often available on a part-time basis via distance education.
o Diploma in Paralegal Studies - University of New England
o Associate Degree in Legal Practice (Paralegal) - RMIT
o Associate Degree in Law (Paralegal Studies) - Southern Cross University
Your workplace may be willing to contribute to any fees for any further education that you may wish to undertake, so make sure to check with your supervisor/s or with HR if this is possible. If they are not willing to contribute to these fees, however, don't forget that many fees involved with your studies may be tax deductible as it directly relates to your current job.
"I want to quit my job."
This is a big one so you should be prepared and think smart. Even though throwing all your papers into the air and screaming "I quit!" whilst storming out will be incredibly satisfying, it could be a disaster for your long-term career goals and your financial security. Make sure you have a plan in place including having a new job lined up before you resign if possible.
If you are unsure where to start, it might help for you to speak to a recruiter who will be able to help you with finding a new job. A good recruiter will also guide you through the process including helping you with your resume, your interview techniques and any other aspects of the application process.
Reach out to your network to enquire if anyone is hiring. If you don't have a network - get one! Your network can be the single most valuable tool that you have within your career because you will usually be made aware of any roles that are currently available, and you will also have the benefit of knowing people within those firms who can vouch for your character, experience and work ethic if you were to apply for those roles, skyrocketing your resume to the top of the pile.
Finally, when you do quit, make sure to be respectful and avoiding burning any bridges. If you are offered an exit interview, be prepared to leave honest feedback about your experience. Approach it as if you are giving constructive feedback to assist with the future success of the firm, not as a chance for you to vent about your grievances, which will only tarnish your reputation within the organisation. Be mindful that your feedback may be passed on to your supervisors and the leaders within your organisation, and only include information that you would be comfortable with them knowing.
We'd love to hear about any work-related resolutions you might have started this year and hear about how you're tracking, as well as any other tips you might have!
Be sure to join our Facebook Community Page and join us for our next Community Catch-Up for discussion on this and other topics relevant to legal support staff.
