Contractor Retention: Keys to Running an Efficient Document Review Project

The crush of discovery or intense due diligence related to a merger requires you to engage a team of contract attorneys and paralegals. You review resumes, hire the team and train them on the factual issues of the matter at hand. Having a well qualified team of contract professionals allows you to complete a massive amount of work in an organized and efficient manner. Once you have this team in place, another challenge presents itself. How do you promote contractor retention and prevent turn-over on your project?

Whether you have a team of 5 or 100, the following steps will help you improve retention, reduce the costs associated with training replacement contractors and improve the efficiency of the team:

1. Select a Good Team Leader

Every team needs a captain. The captain should be a firm or corporate employee who knows the facts and strategy of the matter, has excellent communication skills, is decisive, has a strong working knowledge of the software and hardware being used, and has immediate access to the decision makers. The key ingredients in a good team captain are an even temperament and the ability to troubleshoot.

2. Communication with the Team

Good communication is essential to a consistent work product. Good training on the facts of the matter is essential at the outset of the project. As facts and strategies evolve, conduct regular updated training sessions. Keep the contractors apprised of the duration of the assignment. False rumors that a project is down to its last week may cause team members to look for a new assignment. When the document queue gets low, let the team know that more data is being loaded or more documents are being produced.

3. Keep the Team Comfortable

Performing electronic document review for 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, requires a comfortable work station. Make sure computer monitors are properly positioned, chairs are ergonomically correct and lighting allows for a clear view of the computer screen without glare. Stiff necks and back aches lead to absenteeism, reduced productivity and resignation.

4. Maintain a Consistent Pay Rate

Working in a close environment for long periods of time builds a sense of community and shared experience. This comfort level inevitably leads to discussions of pay rate. Contractors performing the same work should receive the exact same rate of pay. Morale on a team is destroyed as soon as a contractor learns that the attorney in the next seat makes $5.00 per hour, or $200 a week, more. Keep the pay rate consistent.

5. Reward Longevity

When a project is expected to last many months, build raises or retention bonuses into the budget. For example, the promise of a $2.50 per hour raise, or a $500 retention bonus at the three-month mark is strong incentive for the contractor to stay with the team. Let the contractors know on day one that the incentive is part of the intended compensation package.

6. Flexible Work Hours

Contract work is appealing to many well qualified legal professionals because it allows for a certain element of flexibility. Contractors should be required to bill 8 hours per day, but this should not be required to be done during a strict 9:00 am -­ 5:00 pm schedule in most cases. If your firm or corporate culture can accommodate it, defining core business hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. allows contractors to come in later or leave earlier based upon the demands of their individual schedules. Demands of child care, eldercare and the like are easily accommodated by this flexibility.

7. Respect

Contract attorneys and paralegals are skilled legal professionals. The work they perform is very detail oriented, often tedious and always vital to the outcome of a matter. Contractors treated as disposable cogs in the legal machine are not invested in the outcome and will jump ship the minute a new project comes along that offers a higher hourly rate or a mere change of scenery. People who are respected and involved become invested in the outcome and are more likely to remain for the duration.