Warning: Here is what every law firm needs to know before hiring a new employee

Maybe it’s time to hire a new employee. You have so much work to be done that you feel stress and burnout. There is not enough time to get things done. 

You want to grow your business but when? How to find the time to go to networking events? Start doing Webinars? Return calls to possible clients? 

It’s time to hire and delegate, but can you actually afford it?

With your current financials set up a forecast to understand how your numbers will look like with the new fixed expense. That will help you also know how much revenue you need to bring to your firm to cover that new expense and still be profitable. You need to get a good handle on your numbers. Set up concrete goals to hit and make you more comfortable with what it will take to afford a new staff. Consider that it will take a few weeks or months to train your new staff before you can actually see results and get that free time to work on your business.

If you run the numbers and don’t feel comfortable with the risk, consider that you don’t need to hire full-time. Part-timers, freelancers and agencies can also be great options.

We suggest that law firms handle the following numbers before hiring:

• Average rate for your clients cases.
• Check your commitments and monthly expenses, you might be able to cut expenses a bit
• Average cost to acquire a new client
• How many new leads you are getting a week
• What is your conversion rate
• How many new clients you need to hit your goals to be able to afford a new hire

This information will give you a better understanding of where you are standing with your numbers and also you know what you need to do, what are the goals you need to hit if you can’t afford a new hire right now. The path is clearer and you know where you are going.