Iken CEO Elizabeth Miles



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Should Fee Earners Type ?

Posted @ 09 August 2010 By Elizabeth Miles
Posted in [Using IT: an inside view]
The objective is high quality professional composition

When my son was studying for his GCSE English Literature he would regularly achieve ‘A’ grades for his coursework. His teacher was somewhat perplexed that his mock exam grade was lower – the quality of composition was poorer than expected.

As we explored this with my son’s teacher, we realised that he had composed his coursework on a computer, whereas in the exam he had to resort simply to pen and paper and had very little experience of using this technique. We surmised that the process of composition was, for him, most effectively achieved with a word processor, and that the skill of composition with pen and paper had not been well enough rehearsed.

This shifted route to high quality composition is typical of the younger generation now entering professional life. But where does that leave those of us who are somewhat more advanced in years?

I have heard it said that there is no point in professionals typing their own letters and documents when they are costly to the business or can be charged out at £nnn+ per hour. Typists are so much more cost efficient.

Let’s examine some of the assumptions behind this view.

Do people who type efficiently need to achieve speeds in excess of 60 words a minute?

Whilst it is true to say that all people typing at this speed are efficient typists, it is not true to say that, to be efficient, you must achieve 60 words a minute.

In the case of a person composing text, efficient typing is any speed that is at least as quick as the speed of their thought. If the person is frustrated because they cannot get the words down quickly enough as they think of them, then it is true to say that their typing is inefficient. Otherwise, their typing is efficient because there is no lost time.

The comparison that needs to be made here is not “How fast can I type as compared with a typist?”. The appropriate question is “How many words per minute can I typically dictate or write with a pen whilst I am composing, and how does my typing speed compare with this?”
Do you have to be properly taught to type?

Whilst a touch typist needs to use all their fingers to achieve 60 words per minute, it is perfectly possible to type at the speed of thought with one or two fingers of each hand.

The brain learns very quickly, and with word processors rather than typewriters it is easy to correct mistakes. Word processing also makes it easy to improve on composition and to correct grammar as you go.

Aren’t there lots of formatting things to be done as well as just typing?

Many professionals are put off by the number of things that have to be typed in before they can even begin on the professional or technical content of their work. Letters require the recipient’s address details, salutation, our ref, your ref and re to be placed correctly before the professional can make a start on anything really useful.

Where a modern approach is taken to information systems this problem can be completely removed. Basic address and other reference information should be to hand exactly at the point it is needed, so that the computer can automatically complete the details.

When this is achieved, the frustration caused by backgound tasks is completely removed so that professionals can concentrate on the professional content of their work. Their typing is restricted to that content which only he or she can compose.

But I need a secretary to do so much more than just typing!

Yes, and you will probably continue to use secretarial support for some typing.

However, it is getting increasingly difficult to find good legal secretaries, and it is therefore important to make the best use of the resource that is available. Good secretaries are far more than typists: they are excellent at organising professional life, and that includes managing business information.

Where information applications are used, secretarial resource can be directed at keeping them up to date so that professionals automatically have the right information in place at the right time.

The objective is to speed up all of the business processes, make sure that information is captured in one place only and that is just at hand when it is needed.

Who better than a secretary to perform this task?

How can I be sure that it would be cost effective for me to type?

I have prepared some cost comparisons for a short letter and for a more complex document. These appear below.

You may be inclined to argue with the assumptions that have been made, and this is fine. The comparisons merely provide a simple framework for evaluation that can be copied to any business situation. With a stopwatch and a pen and paper (!) it is easy to derive figures for your own working patterns.

So should I be typing myself?

The answer is that you should work in the way that is most effective for you and your business. To be effective you need to be comfortable with your way of working. Some people are more dexterous than others, and learning new technical skills can be difficult as people age. However, this blog may encourage some staunch dictators to ‘give it a try’ for a week or two. You may be surprised to find that you never look back!

Cost benefit comparison for a complex letter

A secretary types the letter, which is hand written or dictated by the professional

Professional

Secretary

Hand write or dictate the letter

15 minutes

 

Interact with secretary

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Secretary types letter & prints it

 

15 minutes

Take letter back to professional

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Professional checks it and amends

3 minutes

 

Interact with secretary

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Secretary finds file, makes changes and prints

 

2 minutes

Takes letter to professional for signing

0.5 minutes

 0.5 minutes

Professional checks and signs

3 minutes

 

 Secretary collects, envelopes and sends

 

 1 minute

 

 

 

 Total

22 minutes 

20 minutes 


If a professional types his or her own letters, this is the result:

 

 Professional

Secretary 

 Type the letter

 15 minutes

 

 Check online, print and sign

 3 minutes

 

 Collect, envelope and send

 

1 minute 

 

 

 

 Total

 18 minutes

1 minute 


This represents a  20%  saving in fee earner’s time and a  95%  saving in secretarial time. 

Could it actually be taking more of your time if you use a typist?

Ah ha you may say, but what about simple letters?  There follows an example of a simple letter:

Cost benefit comparison for a simple letter

A secretary types the letter, which is hand written or dictated by the professional

 

Professional

Secretary

Hand write or dictate the letter

5 minutes

 

Interact with secretary

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Secretary types letter & prints it

 

5 minutes

Take letter back to professional

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Professional checks it and amends

1 minute

 

Interact with secretary

0.5 minutes

0.5 minutes

Secretary finds file, makes changes and prints

 

1 minute

Takes letter to professional for signing

 0.5 minutes

 0.5 minutes

Professional checks and signs

 1 minute

 

 Secretary collects, envelopes and sends

 

 1 minute

 

 

 

 Total

9 minutes 

9 minutes 


If a professional types his or her own letters, this is the result:

 

 Professional

Secretary 

 Type the letter

 5 minutes

 

 Check online, print and sign

 1 minute

 

 Collect, envelope and send

 

1 minute 

 

 

 

 Total

 6 minutes

1 minute 


This represents a  33%  saving in fee earner’s time and a 79% saving in secretarial time. 

Might it still be costing you time to have a simple letter typed?

I would be very interested to hear your opinions on whether it’s a waste of professional time for fee earners to do their own typing.  Please feel free to share your experiences and views via the comments …


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Comments

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  1. Anil Gupta's avatar Anil Gupta said on 17 January 2011: Reply  
    Dear Elizabeth

    I find the above topic interesting but the logic seems to be slightly flawed in the following respect,

    The ratio between a dictated letter and secretarial transcription is approximately 1:3. So 1 minute of audio takes approximately 3 minutes to transcribe. However, the average ratio between secretarial and professional typing is again at least 1:3. So if the secretary takes 1 minute to type something the professional would take at least 3 minutes. You have assumed both taking the same time which can only be an exception and not a rule.

    If you use the above ratios in your table comparing the cost benefits between the professional and secretarial typing it produces a different picture altogether.

    Kind regards
    Anil

    P.S. One of your totals should read 23 instead of 22 as shown in the table.
  2. wsi's avatar wsi said on 20 January 2011: Reply  
    Test comment from a MacBook, running OS X 10.5.8, in Safari 5.0.3

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