Working remotely is becoming more and more common. But it wasn’t always that way – especially at law firms. As previously reported, Cindy Laberge has worked in law firms – both remotely and on-site – for over 30 years and has seen first-hand the challenges that lawyers, managers and staff face in trying to help law firms move with the times. Although there are risks to working remotely, there are very good reasons to consider this option for both employees and employers: no commuting, and reduced overhead to name but two. (Click here for Cindy's first article.)
After four months of remote working (from Wellington, San Francisco, Florida, and even Canada), Cindy now counts herself as part of the full-time contingent at Aspiring Law in Wanaka, having moved there earlier this month. There was no way that Cindy and Aspiring Law could have teamed up had Directors Janice Hughes and Mike Toepfer not been open to giving remote working a try. Remoting in from other cities within and without New Zealand did not daunt the team, although conducting meetings from a variety of time zones could present its challenges!
Since this first venture into remote working, Aspiring Law has branched out again: augmenting its support team to include professionals from three different locations inside and outside of New Zealand. In fact, there is so much enthusiasm around finding great synergies with like minds, wherever they may be, that Aspiring Law is currently recruiting additional legal talent – from anywhere inside New Zealand.
Although Cindy’s previous list of three requirements for a remote team to be successful – trust, discipline and technology – are what she lives by, she does concede that there is a fourth. And that is finding some way to connect with team members . . . in person. “Although you can start a relationship online, the best way to develop that relationship is to have a chance to get to know each other a little better face-to-face – that is how great teams are created.” In answer to how you do that with people working remotely, Cindy adds, “One way is to welcome your remote professionals to come for a visit to your workplace - or even your home. For example, one of our fellow remote workers has indicated that he will be in Otago sometime later this year. Although we have not met in person, I felt an instant connection with him over Skype (which is a big reason why we hired him in the first place!), and I invited him and his family to come and stay with me and my family if they make it to Wanaka.”
While her commute these days is shorter, Cindy still appreciates how flexible the Aspiring Law team was in being open about remote working. But for their openness, their paths would never have crossed – and a great opportunity for them both would have been lost.