Transform the role of secretary
The traditional secretarial support structure no longer meets the needs of many companies. Multiple reasons have been attributed to a sea change in support needs: Client and lawyer expectations have changed, with administrative support, information management and client liaison coming to the fore and the need for services traditional typing, filing, and phone messaging reduced by technology; a 24/7 global work environment exceeds the traditional 9-5 secretary’s work schedule; and the secretary position itself no longer attracts or retains talent from the job market. The main reason secretaries give for ending employment is simply a lack of challenge.
Expense is also an issue. An office of three hundred New York lawyers has a support payroll of up to $8.1 million, or closer to $9 million if real estate, equipment, and other support are included. At the current attorney to secretary ratio of 3 to 1, this is $30,000 per attorney, per year.
At a large New York City law firm, a senior manager noted that changing the existing support structure did not solve these major problems. At best, it marginally improved productivity and, at worst, lowered employee morale. The decision was made to conduct an interview study with the aim of determining how administrative and secretarial services were used and what new strategy could be devised. Secretaries, partners and associates unilaterally expressed these deep concerns:
Different support needs. Partners, consultants, and senior associates needed workers with administrative skills, able to manage the flow of information, communicate with clients, help with marketing presentations, and complete billing and research. Junior lawyers needed assistance with document production and administrative help.
Inconsistent support for associates. With secretaries supporting attorneys of varying seniority, junior associates in particular received poor service or no service at all.
Lack of skill development. A purposeful career path was missing, one that would allow secretaries to take on a more challenging and valuable role.
Concept of “single point of service”. Having a single point of contact when dealing with all support needs was an apparent gap in overall operational efficiency.
Customer-centric support. The service schedule that was offered had to be closer to the global schedule that was demanded.
In response to all these inputs, a new strategy was developed; implementation was carried out.
The strategy created four separate secretarial posts. Each has different roles, assignment structures, and salary scales, providing a career path for future hires: Secretary Coordinator, Administrative Secretary, Service Center Secretary, and Floating.
The Administrative Secretary operates in a team that supports, within a specific practice area, a specific group of partners, attorneys and senior attorneys. Teams are made up of two or three members, each supporting two or three lawyers, up to a total of 12 lawyers per team. Through constant participation in a practice area, secretaries become an integral part of your operation. As a team, they can offer all the core competencies lawyers need and hopefully a ‘do-it-all’ expert. The secretaries accepted the training initiative implemented for this position: continuous and extensive training in administrative skills related to customer service, technical applications and high-level support. The firm understood to direct the desired training towards sustaining its most valuable administrative resource.
The salary range for administrative secretaries is at the higher end of the secretarial range. Due to the enhanced skill set that this group of workers develops, the traditional market-based ceiling may even be raised moderately.
The Secretariat Coordinator and Service Center Secretary positions are located at the Secretariat Service Centers. These are full-service support areas for junior to mid-level paralegals and associates; each practice floor has a center that, including the Coordinator, has up to four people. A secretary is assigned five to eight attorneys/legal assistants to help so that one center provides coverage for up to 32 fee earners. In addition to handling all phone, document production, and support services for junior workers, document overflow for senior partners and associates can be handled there. Ultimately, secretaries benefit from close supervision in a high-leverage pooled environment.
The floor coordinator is the single point of contact person when an attorney needs service. Coordinators oversee a center’s workflow, manage staffing, attendance, and vacation scheduling for the floor, and help prioritize courier, fax, and copy projects; in addition, they handle a part of the workload.
The centers recruit at entry-level salaries. There is a set ceiling with further increases possible only as one progresses beyond the hubs. Floaters, as an interim position, also have opportunity for advancement: Floaters provide on-demand support for the Centers and Administrative Secretary teams.
These four positions are an integral part of a carefully crafted strategy made to remedy a real-world situation. Real-world implementation was a painstaking process: detailed job descriptions and performance guides were developed for all staff, secretarial teams received extensive skills training, and a pilot program demonstrated what expectations should be for Data Centers. Service. Various stakeholders were considered in the process and a communications plan was developed, which was then presented to senior management, partners, practice groups and secretaries. The overall goal of all this effort and planning was to substantially improve service levels.
It was a success. Associates now receive consistent, high-quality service offered at all hours of the day. The most talented and experienced secretaries are focused and challenged to work for partners and other senior attorneys. As service has improved, cost savings have been realized: the attorney-clerk ratio has improved to 5 to 1, which, not including savings on real estate, equipment, and other support services, has translated into savings of over of $3.2 million per year.
