Situation:
After the firm’s Executive Administrator reached out to our team, the managing partner, Doug, hired us for coaching.
Doug is already a whiz at productivity, but he’s just one person.

Despite already being stressed for time, he does his best to help other members of the firm. He simply doesn’t have the time to do his job AND step up as a productivity coach for everyone.

What They Thought the Problem was:
Doug and the team knew that they were spending too much time on tedious tasks like emails. But their big issue was having their billable hours below their goal while everyone was still working long days.

What Had They Tried Already?

• Doug was providing guidance where he could to help with productivity
• Senior attorneys were coaching and training newer members
• They had implemented a new case management system to help with automation

How We Worked With Them
Step one was one-on-one coaching with a handful of the attorneys, including Doug. These were the results:

• We helped assess and address their personal productivity challenges
• We uncovered several issues that Brown and Carlson’s leadership were unaware of
• It became apparent that there was value in examining their entire workflow and handoff between team members

The Solution
Our ability to blend our services allowed for Brown and Carlson to get individualized coaching as well as a full evaluation, and streamlining, of their workflow.

Working with CTC allowed Brown and Carlson to:

• Develop the art of effective delegation, planning, and accountability
• Address individual productivity issues at their source
• Create a new onboarding process that helps the supervising attorneys better understand new hires’ current skill levels and where they needed development
• Accelerate the development of junior attorneys
• Play to each team members’ strengths
• Clarify roles and responsibilities through step-by-step processes and instructions
• Fully leverage all the features in their case management system

What Made This Solution Effective?
Doug fully embraced the concept of creating a culture of productivity. Instead of seeing small pockets of productivity, Brown and Carlson saw an entire overhaul of their inefficiencies.

Doug’s leadership enforced the need for change. Because of that, the entire organization’s processes were improved — permanently. They are still following the processes we put in place to this day.

Years later, during the pandemic, Doug again thanked us. All the work that went into leveraging automation and streamlining workflow allowed the firm to easily pivot to remote work when necessary.

What Were Their Biggest Successes?

• Doug now has 2.5 more hours in his day every day (he’s maintained this for the last seven years)
• The entire firm is now 30% more efficient (they know this because of the increase in their billable hours as a firm)
• Employees are much happier
• Employee engagement has peaked
• They continue to win Best Places to Work because of their drive to improve the lives of their employees

Testimonial from Doug (from early on in CTC’s relationship with him)

“We hired Jan Lehman to assess the workflow across our organization, as well as with each of our lawyers independently. Our ultimate goal was to reduce stress levels and increase productivity. The project is still in process, and I already see improvements in overall efficiencies and job satisfaction. I do not doubt that the changes we are making will directly impact our billable hours. Jan has provided us with practical, valuable advice. Having an outsider with a fresh perspective has helped us understand how we can better manage our time and tools (i.e., email, software). Her ideas will help us expedite the onboarding of new team members while also supporting the development and retention of high performing employees. I highly recommend Jan and CTC Productivity. Money and time well spent!”