A Typical Day
Kim describes her typical day as well, not typical at all, every day is different. She says her job is very seasonal. “Recruiting season” for young lawyers starts in May and goes through November. During this time she will meet regularly with the recruiting Member of the firm, Jeff Mackenzie to discuss strategies, and issues of acquiring the best, and most compatible upcoming law school graduates. Overlapping some of the recruiting season, starting in August and going through January is the “benefits season” during this time she meets on a very regular basis with the Executive Director, Mitch Hopwood, to discuss the various benefits plans offered to the employees and members of the firm. These meetings generally involve ways to improve the benefits packages, their flexibility and cost to the firm and its employees and members. The third season she mentioned for the year is the “off season” this happens during February, March and April. During this time she has a chance to catch up on any paperwork and various other tasks that take a backseat during the busy seasons. Even with all these seemingly structured “seasons” of different job functions, one thing remains constant throughout. On a daily basis she acts as “camp counselor” for everyone in the firm, she mentioned that this is probably one of the more important functions because you have to be able to sympathize and be a good listener.
The use of technology, for her, is critical. Kim logs on to through the intranet at home on a regular basis because, as she put it, there simply are not enough hours in a business day to get everything done. The firm also uses the Blackberry, a wireless email device, which is a very important part of her day-to-day functions. While on the road she can have access to email and answer questions, even if she is not in the office. She is also very excited about the prospect that everyone in the firm is going to get their own wireless laptops, so that all of the firms intranet functions are available at all times. Kim mentioned that without the use of these technologies she would not be able to do her job, and does not know how people did the job in the “old days”.
Kim makes decisions regularly that directly impact the firm. She makes decisions on which benefits plans the firm will offer and their cost, who gets hired, which young attorneys to present to the Practice Group Managers to get hired, how to handle on-the-job injuries, what pay scale certain jobs are in, all of these decisions not only directly affect the firm, but they also affect individuals within the firm both directly and indirectly.
Kim’s most enjoyable task is recruiting. She loves to me new people and getting them set up with Greenebaum. She says that now she has been there so long that almost from the moment someone walks in she can tell if they will make it or not. Each practice group within the firm has its own personality, and she enjoys matching up the right person with the right practice group, then watching these people develop.
One of Kim’s greatest frustrations in the job is dealing with situations that are so closely tied to people’s livelihoods. Having to fire someone or tell someone that workers’ comp or their benefits will not cover them any more are all things that she says are tough for her. However for the greater good of the firm, these things must be done. Another of her frustrations is people who do not read the materials given them before they call her to complain or ask questions. This, she remembered, is why she says it is always very important to take a deep breath before you respond.
How the interviewee’s function benefits the organization
Specifically, Kim mentioned that she thinks the people she hires have the greatest impact on profitability. Recruiting people that will become productive billing units in the firm is very important to the firm’s success. Additionally she said that she probably does too much “hand holding” within the firm. This past year we went to an online open enrollment for benefits. During this transition we had plenty of training sessions on how the process works, but she still had a large number of attorneys that simply did not have enough time to learn the new system. In turn, she ended up personally enrolling over 80% of the members in the entire firm. This allowed the members to perform their normal daily functions and didn’t take away from their precious billing hours.
Key skills and abilities
Without a doubt, Kim said that being a good communicator is the most important skill needed to perform her job, accompanied with the ability to get to know the people within the organization, and how to deal with each one of them individually. This, she says, is important for every job in the firm. She suggested that for the first 6 months she encourages all new hires to absorb the many different attitudes and idiosyncrasies that exist in the firm. Being fair and sympathetic to employees in different situations is also a key skill for anyone in her position. She says that being in a firm where we have legal counsel at our fingertips helps her to navigate through sticky situations. If she did not have this resource, she says that she would have to learn much more about the legal aspects of hiring and firing employees in a fair and legal manner.
Preparation for the job
Kim suggested that her job was learned by trial and error. Having no formal education in human resource management, or management of any kind, the skills she currently possesses she learned in on the job training. Greenebaum’s structure is different in the human resource field than most. She used the example of Tricon by saying that if you were to take this same job at Tricon there would be forms and a formal structure to follow step by step. At Greenebaum the structure is of a more organic nature, built around the needs and wants of the member attorneys in the firm. They have found a system that works for them and change is not readily accepted. In retrospect, she would have taken courses in counseling, and human resource management to acquire some basic skills that she had to learn on an as needed basis.
Would you do it again?
Depending on the situation, Kim would do it again. This job takes up so much of her personal life that if she were single and just coming out of college, yes, she would do it again. It is a great chance to meet new people, prove your worth early in a career and then move on. For someone with two kids and a dog, going to soccer games every night, like me, she said that this job would take away a lot of that precious time, and in that situation, no, she would not do it again. Since she never planned on doing this in the first place she says this is a hard question for her to answer. She mentioned that she had always wanted to own her own clothing store or go to medical school. Two things she still wants to do today, but then she assumed that she would still be performing this kind of job if she had her own store, just on a smaller scale. Besides, she said, there is even more stress on you if you own the business, so maybe she did choose the right path. She went on to say that her dad still doesn’t understand why she never did anything with the degrees he paid for; and will never let her forget that.
Other
A reoccurring theme throughout the interview can be summed up in three words: DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.
Reflections
I have known Kim for a number of years, and watched her work very diligently at her job during that time. Sitting down in this interview with her made me realize just how delicate a balance she has maintains to keep this steady ship of Greenebaum from tipping. The future of this firm, for the most part, relies on her ability to bring in the kind of talent that will continue to generate the growth the firm has enjoyed for the past 50 years. Finding ways to attract this talent through pay structures, benefits and work life is a daunting task that, before talking to her, I did not recognize. I am humbled by the fact that she gives so much of her personal life to this firm, something I am not sure I would be willing to do for the same length of service she has already given the firm. However, after seeing the daily challenges she faces, the excitement she has for her job and the rewards that come with that responsibility, I realize that I want some of those same things from my job.
