This article is written by Vandana Shrivastava, a student of Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. This article narrates different ways in which a law firm can increase and track the productivity of the work performed by its employees.

Introduction

A part of me always wished for an unforeseen announcement of a holiday. The wish is granted, but not the way I imagined it. As hard as it is to believe, everyone needs to accept that they are on lockdown. They still need to work, but from home. With family around, and the atmosphere being as comfortable as a Sunday afternoon, finishing the tasks becomes a task itself. But when duty calls, a person is expected to perform their tasks.

I am going to elucidate how law firms in India can boost the productivity of their employees while they work from home. In a general corporate environment, employees are habitual to their work being tracked and supervised by their superiors. The same is immensely reflected in the productivity of the employee. Therefore, I shall also explain simple ways through which a law firm in India can track productivity and work status of their employees.

Various ways the law firms can increase and track the productivity

Fixed working timings

The management of every law firm knows its employees the best. They are aware of their skills and weaknesses. To increase employee productivity, the management would be required to frame the working hours of the employees while they work from home. For this purpose, it is advised that employees’ suggestions are taken into consideration for two reasons- they’re adults and they know their way around and they know their house routine better than office management. With different things going on in their homes, it becomes quite difficult to work, since there is no other place to go to. 

Laying specific work hours would ease working from home (WFH).

• A planned day would make them efficient because they would have time for themselves and their family.
• There would not be an excessive workload at one juncture.

Setting fixed work hours does not imply that the employees are required to finish all the work in one sitting. The hours could be flexible, but the firm could set a specific number of work hours in a day, or they could set particular timings, but give breaks to their employees. A break is very important while working, as exhaustion decreases the productivity of people.

Constant communication

The management must check up on employees from time to time. They should assist the employees with whatever it is that they’re having difficulty dealing with. Cooperating with employees is of utmost importance if the firm wants them to give their best. Communicating with them shows that the firm cares and is ready to take responsibility even when there is no physical presence. Efficient communication is the key to productivity. Mere assignment of tasks to employees would not suffice. In order to communicate, the management could send emails, text messages or WhatsApp messages to employees. They could reach employees on the phone, if possible. With current technological advancements, employees could be contacted via video calls. 

The management should try to put itself in their shoes. When a person is struggling with everything, a single message/email from their boss saying, “Hello, I hope you are doing well. I understand that it must be difficult to work from home instead of the office. Contact me if you are stuck anywhere. I will assist you.” Few kind messages are sufficient to boost someone’s morale.

Employees must be convinced to believe that their workplace understands and supports them. When employees are relaxed, they will work without stress and will give more output.

Submission of reports to track day to day productivity

The management could set deadlines for each employee. There are some helpful softwares which enable the management to keep a track of their employees’ work. ActivTrak and Teramind mind are two of the fastest emerging softwares in the genre. They have flexible user privacy settings so that there is not a breach of employees’ right to privacy. They will assist in monitoring employees’ work at individual, team and departmental level. There are customizable charts to show the productivity of employees at a juncture.

Finishing the assigned tasks on time is significant to employees as it increases their chances of getting a promotion, and contributes to their skills. School and college students often become more productive when their exams are close, or when the date of their assignment submission comes close. This is human nature, and it applies to adults as well. 

A deadline pushes people to work fast. If employees would be allowed to work as per their desire, most of the work would never be finished. For the sake of uniformity and productivity, it is necessary to set certain deadlines. Law firms could set personalised deadlines for employees and could impose minor penalties for non-completion of work. The subconscious mind of humans makes them more productive as the deadline of a certain task approaches.

Assignment of tasks and keeping a record of them

The management of the law firm could send a specimen of time and task table to their employee and could ask them to fill these and revert back. A simple table would be the easiest to understand. Therefore, there is one below for understanding. This could be used by employees at their individual level too, to sort their tasks according to work hours.

Hours	Tasks (for a single day)
09:00 to 10:00	xxxx
10:00 to 11:00	xxxx
11:00 to 12:00	xxxx
13:00 to 14:00	xxxx

Once the aforementioned step is finished, the firm could use the software mentioned in the previous point and track the status of the task(s) performed by the employees. It will support in identifying productive and non-productive employees. The management could then focus on the improvement of the work performed by non-productive employees.

Prioritize among tasks

When someone has a habit of working in their office every day, it becomes their work environment. A sudden shift in the workplace takes time to adjust. It is necessary to prioritize among different tasks at hand. It will boost the speed of work, and prove out to be fruitful for the firm. Employees have numerous tasks to do. Legal research, arguments, filing cases, client counselling are few basic tasks which almost all law firms are required to perform. Once the Courts reopen, a lot of paperwork would have to be filed as well.

Overload of work creates panic. Therefore, employees must start with the task they are most comfortable with. Once they speed up, the tricky tasks would appear to be easier than before. Thereafter, they should continue with easier tasks. Here’s a suggestion on performing tasks:

Easy task, followed by a difficult task, followed by an easy task, and so on. It would take less energy at a time, because easy tasks will allow the brain to rest.

Of all things, forming arguments requires more time. Legal research is comparatively easy. An employee who has to form arguments could start with research work. The memory of fresh research would still be in their mind, and would contribute immensely in forming arguments. These are little things which act as a catalyst in increasing the productivity of employees, no matter what their status or age is.

Providing incentives to support the employees

Performing the same work and following the same routine becomes tedious. If management introduces a creative way, it would persuade the employees to work better. For the same, online competitions could be organised. For instance, an online quiz based on the application of the law in the practice area of the could be organised. The winner would get to delegate one of their tasks to their colleague or they could be asked to compete in a manner that whosoever completes their assigned task first would get a day off.

The incentives offered to the employees should be such, which would not develop enmity between employees, but improve their relations with each other. Also, the incentives shall help to increase the productivity of the firm as a whole. If an incentive is working adversely for the firm, it should be dropped right away.

Providing holidays on weekends

Legal work is exhaustive. For efficiency, lawyers need to take a break or it affects their work adversely. Employees who work from home should get a holiday on weekends. Management of all law firms should recognise the need for giving their employees some time to focus on their personal lives.

For accomplishing that purpose, the management should give an off for a day or two on weekends. It relieves the employees of all the work stress they carry and freshens them up for the upcoming week.

Reading, online courses and workshops

Employees should be asked to read new landmark judgments associated with their area of work, so that they remain updated with new provisions and interpretations. This will help in dealing with potential cases of similar nature. Writings of eminent jurists will also increase the knowledge possessed by the employees and assist in their work.

Firms conduct workshops and seminars for improving the skills of their employees, and to keep them updated with advancements in their profession. The physical presence of work from home employees is not possible, but their skills need to be polished too. There are various online courses and workshops organised by reputed organisations and online education platforms. In India, LawSikho and Coursera are growing fast. LawSikho is immensely helpful in learning practical aspects of law, which are majorly not taught in law schools. 

The firms could make it mandatory for their employees to take a specific course which falls under the area of operations of the firm. Employees specialise in different tasks. They could be made to take courses or workshops of the areas which are concerned with their individual work too. The employees could be asked to create a list of all the new things they learnt in the workshop. It would help in checking whether the employee really learnt something, and important updates could be circulated among all the employees in the firm.

Access to Counsellor

All employees have different work capacities. Some could undertake more than others at one point in time. Emotional issues are common among the current generations. It does not mean that these issues could be taken lightly. It affects a person both, emotionally and academically. There are certain issues which are private, and people feel uncomfortable about sharing them with people who are familiar to them.

Online platforms for counselling are constantly emerging. The firm could hire a counsellor to assist the employees whenever they are in distress. Conversation between a counsellor and an employee is a private affair. It provides mental support to employees, making them better at their work.

YourDOST is an online counselling and emotional wellness coach. A person could chat with them anytime they desire. They are available via call too, but a prior appointment has to be made to talk to a counsellor via call. For consulting a counsellor who is physically available, one could Google it or find it on Quora.

Conclusion

Management of a firm could make numerous efforts from their end to increase employee productivity in their firm. However, a firm would prosper only when employees will give their best to their work. For the same, the employees need to have a sense of belonging towards their workplace. Management shall inculcate that sense by increasing employee participation in important administrative affairs of the firm.

Efforts have to be made by both the management and employees with cooperation from everyone. If steps from one end are not reciprocated by the other end, the entire process would prove out to be a failure. The firm will function smoothly when all the members, employers and employees will show equal interest and dedication towards their work.

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