Home Front Legal Services LLC Telecommuting Legal Staff Can Work For You
"Work" is
now something you do, not a location. The explosion of technological
advances in communications like high speed broadband internet connections,
cell phones, personal data assistants, laptops and other mobile means
of communication is testimony to the fact that more and more people are
leaving the traditional office behind. An AT&T Telework White Paper
in April of 2003 stated "a significant increase in remote working
is taking place." This quiet workplace shift promises to literally
alter not just the entire commercial landscape but also the where, when
and how people choose to live and work. Ironically, advances in modern
computer and communications technology are allowing us to return to a
lifestyle where we live and work in the same place, just as it used to
be.
The next time you need additional law clerk, paralegal or attorney help for your law practice, ask yourself this question: “Do I really need someone to be physically in my office in order to do this work?” Given some thought, and considering the advantages of telecommuting, your answer will often be a resounding “No.” Home Front Legal Services LLC can help you take advantage of all the benefits of telecommuting when you need temporary or contract legal staff, or staff recruiting assistance. If access to your computer files is necessary for the task at hand, you can use your existing remote access system, or we can help you establish temporary, “road tested” remote access for the use of our temporary legal staff. Our telephone system allows our temporary legal staff to seamlessly make and receive calls related to their work on your firm’s behalf.
What Are the Benefits?
In general, the elimination of the daily commute and the sense of increased freedom to work effectively increases employee job satisfaction. Telecommuting also provides many rewards for law firms and corporate legal departments. Usually, employee productivity is increased. Companies and law firms also save money using telecommuting workers. Overall, increased job satisfaction translates into increased loyalty, dedication and employee retention rates. Telecommuting presents a “win, win” situation for employees and companies. The overall or shared benefits to telecommuting include:
- Increased worker productivity by as much as 15 to 20 percent
- Cuts in real-estate and office overhead costs by 25 to 90 percent
- Increased free time for workers, leading to improved family life
- Savings on money previously spent on clothing, meals, child care and parking
- Reduced air pollution by cutting down on the number of people driving to work
- Savings in gas and automobile wear and tear
- Less wear and tear on roads and public infrastructure
There are many benefits for law firms and corporate legal departments when they use Home Front Legal Services LLC for telecommuting temporary or contract legal staff:
1. A Recruitment Tool to Get Top Talent
Since so many workers are attracted to telecommuting,
there's no questioning its benefit as a recruitment tool. For example,
according to a recent survey of 1,400 CFOs, 46% said telecommuting
is second only to salary as the best way to attract top talent. However,
a full 33% said telecommuting was the top draw for recruiting, even
above salary. In addition, a 2004 survey by Careerbuilder.com showed
that 42% of working fathers who responded were willing to take a pay
cut for the opportunity to work from home. The ability to telecommute,
at least part-time, has clearly become more important to many workers
than a greater salary. Access to a greater labor pool increases opportunities
for Home Front Legal Services LLC to help you find the best talent
at a lower cost and give you the chance to work with the prospective
employee before making a commitment to hire.
Not only is telecommuting effective in attracting and retaining the best people, it also expands recruitment possibilities. When Home Front Legal Services LLC offers a telecommuting position, it is free to select the best and most qualified candidate regardless of geographic location. Our labor pool expands well beyond Indianapolis, to anywhere in Indiana and Michigan without the expense, time investment or complications of relocation.
2. Increased Staff Productivity
Most surveys show an average productivity increase
for teleworkers ranging from 10% to as much as 40%. For example, telecommuting
temporary legal staff can avoid commuting time and the interruptions
of an office environment. While there can be benefits to participating
in office chatter, too much time around the water-cooler, employee
personality conflicts and other problems inherent in staff working
in close physical proximity can often be a significant drain on productivity.
Productivity can be measured in many ways, most telecommuters would
agree that because of their increased job satisfaction, the elimination
of a commute and less distractions from the office, they are able to
do more work in less time, and do it better. Employees of Home Front
Legal Services LLC also have greater opportunities to match their work
times with their peak productive periods. Plus, flexibility in work
schedules can increase over-all available work hours as well as job
satisfaction. Home Front Legal Services LLC can help law firms and
in house counsel take advantage of this beneficial situation to use
temporary legal staff to increase the overall productivity of their
law practice.
3. Higher Staff Morale and Loyalty
Improved employee morale is consistently cited
by employers as one of the primary benefits to establishing a teleworker
program or use telecommuting temporary legal staff. Eliminating the
time-consuming commute to the office each day, and the ability to achieve
a better work-life balance by working from home are important boosts
to over-all job satisfaction. Once they experience these benefits,
Home Front Legal Services LLC employees work hard for our clients to
make sure their telecommuting situation can continue.
4. Mutual Cost Savings
An effective telecommuting program, or use of
telecommuting temporary legal staff, can result in significant savings
in reduced office space requirements and associated overhead for law
firms. Part-time or temporary telecommuting staff can be rotated into
a shared desk or office to conserve space. IBM, Cisco, and other large
corporations have reported saved millions in recent years through their
telecommuting programs. Employees of Home Front Legal Services LLC
also benefit through reduced costs through lower gas consumption amidst
continually rising fuel costs. By telecommuting, they also save in
vehicle wear and tear, and can realize savings in childcare and other
areas. This translates into many of the other benefits for law firms
that are listed here.
5. Reduced Turnover
Surveys show most employees are happier and express
higher job satisfaction when allowed to telecommute, even if just on
a part-time basis. Consequently, employers see employee retention rates
increase when using telecommuting employees. According to the Employment
Policy Foundation, employee turn-over costs increased to an average
of $13,355 per full-time private-sector worker in 2004, or 25% of the
worker's salary. That includes such costs as recruiting, selection,
training and lost productivity expense. Reducing turnover remains a
high priority for today's law firms and businesses. Using temporary
legal staff from Home Front Legal Services LLC can help law firms deal
with employee turnover in the short run by providing temporary legal
staff or in the long run, by using our legal staff placement service.
6. Reduced Absenteeism
Studies estimate that three to six percent of
any given workforce is absent every day due to unscheduled issues,
personal matters, illness or disability claims. However, when telecommuting
employees have similar problems, they miss less work. Because each
such occasion, with the possible exception of caring for a sick family
member, usually takes only 2 to 4 hours to complete, the remainder
of the day can be still be devoted to work in a home office, whereas
traditional office staff would miss the entire day of work. Conversely,
in a recent survey 54 percent of teleworkers, approximately 10.6 million,
indicated that that they work the same or more hours on days that they
work at home, while managing personal and household matters that would
have kept them out of a traditional office. Because of this, temporary
legal staff employees from Home Front Legal Services LLC are better
able to meet your deadlines and can help your law firm handle work
overflow due to absent paralegals and attorneys.
7. Flexible Staffing Options
In a law practice that generates peaks and valleys
of workload, such as litigation, engaging a telecommuting paralegal
or attorney through Home Front Legal Services LLC can enable you to
increase your staff to more easily work expanded hours to match time
of peak work load, without hiring additional staff.
People working in dispersed teams can be assembled and reassembled as the needs of the law practice change. Virtual teams representing the best skills and experience for a particular project can be created quickly and on demand with the help of temporary legal staff from Home Front Legal Services LLC. With the aid of telecommuting paralegals and attorneys, this can be accomplished regardless of geography and time zones, and with a minimal need for extra travel.
8. Staff Safety and Well Being
Most of us know someone who has been involved
in a car wreck. And more people drive to work than to any other destination.
Consequently, fewer trips to work inevitably result in fewer auto-related
injuries and deaths. Additionally, colds, flu and other disease which
are traditionally passed from one employee to another in a traditional
office do not put our telecommuting temporary legal staff at risk for
illness. Temporary legal staff from Home Front Legal Services LLC can
help your firm cope with staffing shortages caused by illness or injury
of your in office employees.
9. Operational Resiliency
Organizations which use effective telecommuting
legal staffing like Home Front Legal Services LLC are more resilient
in the face of external disruptions like transportation strikes, clogged
highways, terrorism, and severe weather, like snow and icy road conditions.
Telecommuting law clerks, paralegals and attorneys never need a “snow
day” and won’t need to take an entire day off of work if
their children’s school is closed due to bad weather, which greatly
reduces the impact of these types of disruptions on the productivity
of your law practice.
10. Good for the Environment
Although it does not directly affecting a law
firm’s bottom line, it’s socially responsible to recognize
the environmental benefits from telecommuting. Fewer cars on the road
means less pollution to the air we all breathe. Telecommuters also
help relieve congested highways, and avoid the stress-inducing phenomenon
of "road rage." The federal government, starting with the
Clinton administration, estimated that 40% of its workforce could telecommute,
given the right tools. The government then launched an initiative to
allow more workers to telecommute, first for environmental reasons,
and then for quality of life, improved productivity, and increased
availability of services. Telecommuting programs that help the environment,
while also offering other benefits, can demonstrate your law firm’s
commitment to the environment and can
also make for good public relations.
To see a full copy of the survey
report referenced here, visit workingfromanywhere.org.
Contact Home Front Legal Services LLC to
find out how you can take advantage of the benefits of telecommuting
the next time you need temporary legal staff or placement services.
