How to Onboard Your New Remote Legal Assistant in a Hybrid Environment

Legal Assistants, Virtual Assistants and Virtual Paralegals Need Proper Onboarding in your Law Firm

 Many law firms are choosing to embrace a hybrid work environment for the foreseeable future. A distributed workforce has become the new normal. For solo and small law firms, that means a wider talent pool and the ability to bring people onto your team from anywhere in the world and outsource more.

While the benefits are numerous, the transition to this next version of remote hiring/onboarding still has a learning curve that needs to be addressed. After years or even decades of doing things, it can be difficult to switch things up. 

To make sure you’re able to find and onboard the right candidate to support your law firm goals, mission and vision, there are a few important things to watch out for and pay attention to in order to help your new Legal Assistant, Paralegal or Virtual Assistant be successful out of the gate. 

Write Out an Onboarding Plan 

This seems obvious, but planning ahead is critical to successful onboarding for your new hire. Not just for their first day, but several days further. Start a checklist of things and topics you need to be ready to onboard your new team member. This is the pre-work. 

Planning the onboarding process will allow your new team member to jump in on their first day and hit the ground running. While there will still be paperwork to sign, access and passwords to set up, and introductions to make, having a plan for your new hire’s first week is a great way for them to feel supported and empowered in their new role. 

Make it Personal To Your Law Firm’s Brand and Company Culture

Your law firm is unique. Share your mission, vision and values. What matters in your business and why? While it can be difficult to infuse company culture with a distributed workforce, try making your onboarding process personal by integrating them in a personalized way. If you like, you might even send them a welcome package with an Uber Eats Code for their lunch to be sent right to their door. This allows you to go beyond the screen and make them feel at home in their new role. Be sure to infuse your company culture everywhere you can. 

Arrange a Team Group Welcome 

Being a remote worker can often feel isolating. Working in your own home can make it difficult to make the same kinds of connections with team members as being in the office or coworking space together. Schedule a video call with the whole team and host a virtual brunch or lunch. Get everyone together and show your new hire who they will be working with and what kind of vibe your company has. Understanding your small business will be a lot easier if they understand the people behind the business as well as their roles. 

Introduce Your Law Firm Tech Stack 

A big part of your Legal Assistant’s role will be using your law firm’s technology or tech stack. Your law firm tech stack consists of your legal practice management software or task manager, your cloud software, document management, calendar, and more. You can use a video messaging tool like Loom for recording training videos with your screen. (yes this is my referral link, but it’s free for videos up to five minutes in length).

Be Available For Questions and Communication

As a leader, your availability during the onboarding process makes everything smoother and less stressful. While it can often be tempting to set your new hire up and tell them to “get to it,” there are things you can do to make the process go smoother. 

Put together a one-on-one call to discuss any questions, and eliminate any doubt by being specific instructions. Show your new hire exactly how things work and put together a demo of how to do some of the main tasks they will be responsible for. This will eliminate any doubt in the future and ensure they don’t need to come back to you or the team for more questions later. 

Create a 30-, 60- and 90-day plan to help you and your new hire measure success and assess where any gaps are in skills or training.

The onboarding process doesn’t have to be complicated, and it can be a great way for your new hire to get to know your business and feel empowered joining your team. 

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