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How to Win With Temporary Staff: Guidelines
for Success
The primary cause of problems with temporaries is miscommunication
or misunderstanding of a client's expectations. A quality
agency will provide its temporaries with a set of general
rules for law firm work, as well as any specific information
provided by the client firm.
Once the temporary arrives on the job, however, it's up to
his or her manager to provide detailed information about the
project and the firm's expectations. Here are some guidelines
to help supervisors in your organization give temporary staff
the information they need to work at maximum efficiency:
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Inform the temporary of reporting and departure times,
maximum hour limitations (if any), permissible break times,
and other similar guidelines.
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Provide a general overview of the project, along with
deadlines, expected levels of productivity and phone numbers
of persons to contact with questions.
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Explain the specific procedures for completing the project,
ensuring that the temporary fully understands them before
beginning work. Check back to monitor progress, every
few hours at first, then periodically thereafter.
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Give specific illustrations of your firm's protocols
whenever possible. For example, some firms create deposition
digests with line and page numbers on the left, and the
summary on the right; some use the reverse procedure.
Even an experienced temporary will need to be given this
information to perform to your satisfaction.
-
Explain your firm’s policies regarding use of
the telephone and other facilities. Quality temporaries
will know to keep phone use to a minimum, and that messages
should be directed through their agency. Nonetheless,
for the convenience of law firm staff, receptionists should
be informed of the temporary's location.
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Expect temporaries working in a group to converse with
one another. This conversation can be essential to maintaining
morale on a difficult or tedious project. Conversations
should not, however, undermine productivity. Supervisors
must use their best judgment to determine when conversations
are hampering a project's efficiency.
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If space permits, consider allowing temporaries to work
in separate areas, especially on longer projects. On long,
tedious projects, try replacing temporaries at intervals
to avoid productivity declines due to burnout.
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Advise your agency immediately if a temporary experiences
a decline in productivity or some other difficulty. Once
they know about a problem, quality agencies will respond
immediately to ensure your satisfaction.
Contact us today
to learn more.
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