WORKING SMARTER
Going Mobile
So you have your office IT all set up but what about when you are out and about?
© Ruth Moore - Whittaker Moore Associates Limited
Trusting the System
Managing trusts relies heavily on being aware of time limits and tax deadlines so that where appropriate you can ensure that you are maximising opportunities to use the trust fund in the most tax efficient manner. Sometimes your role is to protect beneficiaries from themselves.
© Ruth Moore - Whittaker Moore Associates Limited
Probate Pain
The probate process is a series of routines that have to be followed to get to the final results. That system can be streamlined by using your IT to get the job done as efficiently as possible so that you are more profitable and the clients are able to see clear progress.
© Ruth Moore - Whittaker Moore Associates Limited
Improving legislation on the web
In 1996 HMSO started publishing new legislation on its website. Comprehensive coverage was later extended back to 1987 for Acts and 1988 for SIs. Although publication of legislation was timely and presentation competent, we yearned for what had been promised for many years – a comprehensive, up-to-date version of the statute book. Finally it arrived … or so we thought.
© Nick Holmes, Managing Director - infolaw Limited
Love or Hate the Estate Accounts?
Estate accounts – their preparation can be such a simple process or they can be a form of water torture as you hunt for the missing numbers. It is the file that you get handed where no-one has ever done any accounts in the five years they have been running this contested probate, which makes the heart sink!
There really is no excuse to still be preparing accounts manually or the equivalent using a Word package and sitting there with a calculator in hand. It is always stunning to find firms that fail to use the technology they have to hand.
A little Excel training will save you a lot of time and a lot of duplicated work.
© Ruth Moore - Whittaker Moore Associates Limited
Automating your Wills
There are some steps that you can take to automate your Wills that can help save time, reduce errors and promote staff efficiency and job satisfaction.
© Miss Ruth Moore - Whittaker Moore Associates Ltd.
Motivating Others
People perform their tasks and jobs not in isolation but within the organisational structure of the firm. All people in supervisory roles are in the business of influencing behaviour in directions which will meet the needs of the firm. To inspire people to work - individually or in groups - in ways that produce the best results for the firm, you need to tap into their own personal motivation forces. You need to understand the factors which affect how people behave at work and how this influences their motivation and commitment. In difficult times how well you understand people could make all the difference to the success or failure of your business.© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd
Organising yourself 1 - Getting Started
Getting the best out of each day involves managing yourself, others and your environment to achieve efficiency and effectiveness and also have time for some fun! As Peter Drucker said “Until you manage your time, it is impossible to manage anything else.”
Over a series of posts I will explore some ideas for you to begin the process to help you achieve some winnable goals in your personal and professional life.
© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd
Is training always the answer?
Failure to perform could look like a skills gap needs plugging with training an individual but a performance deficiency does not always mean a training need exists. It could be caused by many other factors such as:
-
Poor quality materials – such as an inadequate library or no appropriate software
-
Unsuitable working conditions – such as insufficient space; too noisy; too cold; too hot etc.
-
Inefficient equipment – such as no up to date IT
-
Lack of motivation – such as poor salary; inadequate leadership
-
Badly designed working methods – such as inefficient systems which are not up to date
-
Insufficient staff – such as too much work for the wrong type of staff
-
Insufficient resources – such as lack of investment
© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd
Word Skills and more ...
Keyboard shortcuts and other useful tools
