So, its April 23 and we’re all still working from home. I have to tell you: I love my wife and son, but I really miss going to the office every day. I miss the routine of it. I miss the in-person interactions with my friends and co-workers. Honestly, I even miss the commute. I know eventually things will get back to “normal,” but if I’m being perfectly honest, this whole situation is getting on my nerves.
That being said, we have used this period as a unique opportunity to identify inefficiencies in our workflow and improve implementation of our core values: Gratitude, Empathy, and Compassion. We have formalized our daily/weekly/monthly meetings, and whether we’re using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or some other platform, we are communicating better than ever. We’ve already been paperless for a few years, but having everyone work from home has reinforced the importance of making sure EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT is properly named and saved in the right place(s). Communication with our clients has always been a high priority, but the uncertainty of the times has prompted us to reach out proactively to each of our clients to reassure them and to let them know we are still working diligently on their case.
This situation has helped us handle calls from new clients as well. Having our intake personnel and our attorneys working in separate places has forced us to really dial in our procedures for getting people who think they have a claim connected with an attorney quickly and efficiently so we can evaluate their situation and help them if we can. We are still taking calls from new clients 24/7 and we are working hard to keep the claims of our existing clients moving forward efficiently and effectively.
Perhaps the biggest frustrations are the things that are completely out of our control. As many of you know our new office in Greenwood has been under construction since January. That construction has been on hold indefinitely during the Governor’s “stay at home” order. Hopefully, even if the economy isn’t fully reopened on May 4, at least construction will be able to resume so we can look forward to someday soon serving our clients from our new home.
When I founded the Dubin Law Group in 1998, I set out to create a workplace where I would want to work – a space built on mutual respect and a common dedication to a single goal, to provide the highest level of service to our injured clients. Over the years, we have built a culture that is nurturing and supportive to both our team members and our clients, while having all the firepower and expertise to get the best possible results in every case. I am proud of what we have built, and being forced to replicate it virtually just reinforces how special it is and how much I miss it personally. I can’t wait to get back to work in a physical office with my co-workers, but until then we will continue to provide the best damn service for our clients from wherever we happen to find ourselves.
Stay strong, Washington. This will be over soon and we’ll have lots of work to do.