While law firms consider the training they give their people on how to communicate in the workplace, it should be noted that “in the workplace” often doesn’t actually mean “in the workplace” ― how many calls have you taken in the car, texts have you responded to at a soccer practice, or emails have you replied to quickly while at dinner? Adapting your firm’s contact channels means recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of different communication methods and thinking about what’s best not only for your clients — but also for your team.

CHANNELING THE RIGHT METHOD FOR COMMUNICATION

To this end, we also examined the popularity of different forms of work communications. Here are the results of the survey:

• Emails were the top choice at 49%
• Phone 39%,
• Text messaging 35%
• Instant messaging such as Teams or Slack 19%
• Videoconferencing such as Zoom 18%

However, these communication choices appear to vary across the generations. For example, emailing is the preferred choice for 56% of Baby Boomers and 54% of Gen X, while only 28% of Gen Z prefer it. In contrast, instant messaging was a more popular form of work communication for Gen Z (25%), while only 16% of Gen X and 13% of Baby Boomers opt for it.

THE SIDE EFFECTS OF BEING ALWAYS ON

The “always on” employee presents some potential challenges to a firm, starting with the impact it can have on the mental health of an employee who feels pressured to forever be at the beck and call of a client or new business. It also can present vulnerabilities in maintaining the integrity of your relationships ― our research has shown that people commonly send texts and emails to the wrong person with 59% of those surveyed acknowledging this very relatable faux pas.

While saying you are available whenever a client needs you is admirable, keep in mind the liability presented should you respond to a client with either a typo in your message, incorrect information, or an autocorrect flub because you felt the need to get back to them right away and didn’t take the time to make a measured response.

There’s no doubt we all love the speed and convenience of digital communication. However, there is an increased margin of error from texting rather than talking, which highlights the fact that we lose an important emotional understanding that comes with speaking to someone. The question is, how available do you make yourself for those conversations?

The answer lies in your approach to clients and the unique needs of your practice, as well as the individuals you have both working for you and that you work for. “Always on” sounds good for client service, but after four years of being on call around the clock, teams are tired.

SETTING BOUNDARIES AND GOALS

As in any relationship, boundaries are healthy, and we encourage firms of all sizes to establish clear guidelines that best serve your team, your prospects and your clients. Do you take the perilous step of opening your availability to the “always on” customer, or do you put in place a service like ours that will capably handle the calls that come in at 2 a.m., but not at the cost of waking a member of the team at dawn before they face an all-day deposition? Do you restrict the after-hours interactions your team can have to encourage them to prioritize work-life balance? Or do you embrace your role as around-the-clock counselors and cope with the side effects?

In setting your goals for 2025, consider laying more boundaries in your business, making yourself a little more unavailable in order to make yourself more available. We are at our best when we have balance. In fielding that late night message that may induce panic that disrupts your sleep, you could actually be doing your business, that client, and your other clients a disservice.

Yes, “you” should always answer the phone or reply to that email or text, but does it have to be right now, and do you have to be the one doing it?