Calling all solicitors! (Or others who have timesheets at work) How did you get better at time recording?

[Lingles]

I’m a partner now in my firm and really enjoy it apart from having to support solicitors to record their time efficiently to meet the firms targets.

our specialism is seen as one for quirky people who are fascinated by the subject matter, rather than money. I fall into that category myself but have “found my way” through years of experience. My bosses are not like that. They have never struggled, so have no understanding or sympathy for someone who does not complete their timesheet daily giving a full account of the day.

two of my solicitors confess to being really efficient only in emergencies. When there isn’t an emergency they will tend to:
1 “store up” work
2 go down rabbit holes of intellectually satisfying things that grab their attention
3 get too interested in the topic at hand and forget to record their time
4 get distracted
5 start a job well but then get stuck and let it fester whilst newer shinier tasks take their attention.

HR would support me in asking for external productivity training if anyone can recommend something. But I would be grateful for any thoughts at all really.

Is there anyone in the team who is really good at time recording? Can you get them to share their 'top tips'? I relate to that feeling of only being really productive when work is piling up, but the commercial reality is that working like that isn't acceptable.

Things that have worked for me have been an absolute focus on chargeable work at the time of the day when I work best - for me that's morning, others it could be afternoon. No faffing/non chargeable until I've got a good few hours chargeable down.

Really though, they have to form the habit of recording absolutely everything. They just have to do it. At my firm we will have an informal 'chat' with those who are struggling with their hours because, fundamentally, it's their job to record them. They're not paid to go down 'intellectual rabbit holes'. You might just need to get firm with them.

Sorry op I can't answer this but I have always wondered whether clients can ask to see the time sheets relating to the work?

It seems like a dark art and once you engage a solicitor there is no way of knowing time scales ( a flat owned, EMPTY by my mum, sold to her sister no chain took a year to complete)

How does a client get any hold on what's going on?

Thanks Bird,
there must be something more than big stick…..

I bought a time tracking app for a few pounds. When you start a ask start the clock running for that project and stop it when you finish or get interrupted (don't forget to start the clock on the project which has interrupted you!)
Really made things easier for me.

Bird, I think the trouble with asking people who are naturally good is that they don’t know what it’s like to be bad at it iyswim.

it’s like asking a musician to help someone who is tone deaf.

“don't forget to start the clock on the project which has interrupted you!)”

yep, that’s one of their problems…

Is it time recording which is a problem or actually getting on with the task at hand and sticking to that task?
As a client, I wouldn't want to pay for one of your associates to go down an intellectually satisfying rabbit hole unless it was of direct benefit to me. Nor would I want to be charged extra for routine tasks because a particular associate had procrastinated or get distracted but kept the clock running. On the flip side, I wouldn't care if they stored up their work and did it at the last minute, working late into the evening or over the weekend, provided it was completed by the deadline and done well.
If this is a department wide issue, do you actually need to look at your model? Is time recording necessary?

Hi spider,
because of our culture and my personality and the area of law we are in we tend to attract solicitors who do a great job for the client but undercharge for it.

the clients do well out of it!

And spider I would love to ditch time recording but that’s not going to happen any time soon

But yes, the same mindset that makes you struggle with time recording also makes you struggle with distraction/focus iyswim

But what do you mean by "undercharge"? Are you charging purely off hours billed rather than quoting for a piece of work and billing that?
Do you need to increase your hourly rate? Or just someone add 10% to all bills? Or employ someone whose job is literally to police completion of timesheets on an daily or weekly basis?

Solicitor here, reasonably good at time recording. I mean, it sounds like what they're saying to you is that they can't be bothered to do part of their job, and you need to manage that.

Sometimes we all go down intellectual rabbit holes - and to reassure pps, when that's the case it's often the internal decision that that's not properly chargeable to the client and it's written off. But if they're needing to do that then it either gets recorded to i) a client (decision to be made on write off) or ii) learning, so you can track what they're doing.

Do you have regular meetings where you go through capacity and deadlines (weekly) and wip / time recording / billing/ write offs (monthly)? What are the implications for their careers if they can't demonstrate how their time is spent? Have you given them tangible goals to e.g. increase utilisation / recovery to x% that month and see how they get on?

As an accountant I understand the issue.
I was hopeless at recording on the system as I went along but used to keep notes by hand and at the end of the day allocate a"reasonable" amount to each client/task on the system. I had an amount of non chargeable time I was allowed each week so had to be productive the rest of the time. No client got allocated more time than it took me, and I often ended up working longer to make sure I had enough time.
So, for me, a recording method that worked for me, a strict rule that I had to work to else there would be an unpleasant conversation, and the habit of updating the system before I logged off.

I’m not sure this is so much a time recording problem as a focus/personal management problem.

Time recording itself, that “just” (I) starting a clock, without fail, when you start the work and (ii) releasing time at the end of every day. This gets reviewed weekly (partners get sent an hours sheet on a Tuesday), if someone has lost hours you call/sit on their desk- unfortunately you need to create a bit of a culture and that will be uncomfortable but they will soon get it. They also need to know it’s acceptable to record all time, and any write off decisions will be taken at the end of the matter- otherwise people self edit and dither.

However, it sounds more like they aren’t very disciplined. This is harder, especially given the characteristics you’re talking about- pairing people up to hold each other account, weekly team meetings, a project tracker with assigned responsibilities, a capacity tracker all help, but there is no shortcut. Honestly, they are very highly educated and well paid people so they have to take a bit of responsibility themselves for their behaviour. Also worth considering if the storing up work etc matters, as long as they get the job done and billed, does it really matter?

Thank you this is all really good stuff. I am reading with care.

any ideas on adding some carrot to the stick? If stick it must be, so be it…..

I'm also intrigued by what you mean by "quirky"? Do they actually have a diagnosis of anything like ASD or ADHD for which you should be making reasonable adjustments? Even if they don't have a diagnosis, might that have an underlying neurodiversity which has never been recognised? And therefore might some of the things which you would put in place for them if they had a diagnosis help?
For example, if they procrastinate, do they need help chunking the task and then checking in with you/someone else?
Also, if you yourself are bad at this, are you best places to solve it? Can you outsource this aspect of your role to someone else?
Finally, what are the consequences of not doing time sheets? Does it have any impact on the individuals whatsoever?

I think it sounds like what you actually need to look at is the different working styles that exist. There are a variety and if you can work out who likes to work in which way and work in a sympathetic way to that with just the most necessary of individual boundaries then you'll maximise your staffs work ethic naturally. In one of my old workplaces we did this through personality typing training- it really helped us understand the team better and also identified strengths and weaknesses in a very neutral way for each person. For me it meant that if I got stuck on a particular problem I went to the person in the office who's most opposite to me for their take on it because I then knew I'd get a completely fresh perspective and i was able to value the way they worked instead of thinking- 'that's not how id have done it'. It also helped the managers identify how to work with each team member to get the best from them and which personal boundaries they needed help keeping on top of. Could something like that work for your workplace? In terms of recording timesheets I hated it- it made me feel untrusted by my employer when most of the time I worked additional hours due to dedication without expecting to claim the time back and I just didn't appreciate it. Whereas if it was framed in a way that helped people work out how they prioritise their time and can use it to plan their week then that's maybe a better exercise but people are busy so you need a system that breaks it down for people rather than expecting them to break it down themselves because then it's just another chore in the middle of a very busy day. I would say habit stacking helped me with this. I would come in early each morning, make breakfast and update my timesheets while eating breakfast most days before I checked my emails and got into the chaos of the day.

DH’s firm (accountants) are discussing dropping timesheets.

I'm in a different industry but similar and would like to add a comment about work prioritisation.

We have a senior member of staff who only really works hard when there's a deadline. I do understand this isn't uncommon. However, we are short staffed and it means that those with a personality to try and stay on top of work and get things out in a timely fashion, are the ones that feel the most stress. He swans around as if there's nothing to worry about (because it's not deadline time yet!) While others know there is simply too much to do in the timeframe due to lack of staff and so they need to be upping the ante and getting on it now. He will work hard in the final month eventually but, by then, others of us will have been working flat out for two months.

This is a very tricky situation to manage I understand because it revolves around personalities to some extent but it's led me to burnout, anxiety and very poor mental health. I'm now leaving simply because Im ill and need to be able to find space to get well again and I never will in this situation.

So do be mindful of these things too and, depending on how your firms work is allocated, that actions of others can lead to others suffering.

Of course some people tell me I shouldnt care so much! I don't really know if they are right or wrong. I guess the perfect solution would be for us all to be the same.

The two teams of Consultants I manage are shocking at submitting their time sheets by 5pm on a Friday and up to now, have been since I took them on 18 months ago. They know exactly how to do it, but don't.

After 18 months, I've gone in with a big stick and have basically said, if you don't, I have to question your utilisation and whether we need you, low utilisation means we don't need you. No surprise that time sheets are now submitted on time and are accurate.

Kez

🦯 s and🥕 s galore!
I’m not adding much but believe me I’m reading all the posts

Same profession OP and similar problems. You get what you monitor. If they have to send their time to you weekly there is a greater focus. Monthly monitoring makes it seem much more remote. If weekly doesn't = seven hours x five days then go to daily. With a reason for why they were off if they were. They have to be more assiduous today because they know at 9.30 tomorrow they'll have to explain. No need to be harsh or wave a big stick. Simply, can I have your time, why did you think you weren't at seven hours. I really need you to get seven today, right off you go have a fab productive day. If they are being held accountable it concentrates the mind. Then the habit starts to build and you can reduce monitoring.

I also break down billing targets so they know how much they have to do on average each day to make the monthly; it feels more accessible and you're more likely to spot a problem early rather than having a whole bad month creating a deficit to fill.

It shouldn't be necessary when they're bright and experienced but it clearly is in your team's case (and mine!). And I'd rather monitor more closely than get into performance management.

So you have a team that are good at what they do, enjoy it, and get it done by deadlines, and presumably make money despite undercharging? You personally wouldn't have a problem doing away with timesheets so you trust them to manage themselves.
Your bosses have a problem with timesheets because they don't understand the culture in your team.
You have a boss problem not a team problem.

I am a trainee and have really struggled to get to grips with time charging properly. I was very much undercharging because I felt bad for the clients. I have not had a lot of money for a long time (I have switched to law, was previously in retail part time as a single mum) and I found myself subconsciously thinking about how much I'd struggle if I had to pay for legal advice for whatever reason.

I also struggled with the fact that work would typically take me longer than a partner to do the same thing because I am learning and it seemed unfair to charge clients for that.

Two things have helped me. There's a book by a solicitor called Hannah Beko called The Authentic Lawyer which really encourages you to identify why you are undercharging and addresses some common issues to change your way of thinking.

Secondly I sat down with my supervisor and admitted it was something I was really struggling with and why. In respect of it taking longer she pointed out that my charging rate is half her rate and therefore even if it took me twice as long (which it typically doesn't to reassure pps on the thread concerned about being over charged) it would cost the client the same. She also pointed out that all of my time charging is reviewed before billing and anything unreasonable is written off.

What I would have really appreciated was being sat down at the start of having to time charge and being taught properly what was and wasn't chargeable. We just got told well chargeable work is chargeable and that's anything that moves the file along. Which isn't incorrect but isn't particularly helpful when you're really new to it all.

I would have found it easier if there was an example file set up with various types of work on it and someone had gone through, explained what was and wasn't chargeable and why.

I don't necessarily think you need to take the big stick approach. If you have the time, I'd try and sit down with them individually to try and identify why each of them are undercharging and check they've been trained properly as to how to do it. Try to find a method of managing those reasons (and that would direct me back to the book I mentioned) and explain the impact of undercharging on the firm as a business. If its still a problem a few months down the line then I think the big stick approach becomes a more reasonable reaction.