Secretaries Being Asked to Cut Costs: Could it Save Jobs?

Greenberg Traurig is trying to tighten up their administrative ship. The kind of normal, everyday instances of over clocking that many administrative assistants engage in are being directly addressed by management. Secretaries and administrative assistants received the following memo earlier this week.

The per attorney cost for overtime in the Chicago office is higher than the firm average and significantly higher than some offices. You may think that working an extra 15 -30 minutes per week is not significant. It is. We have to reduce our number and we are instituting the following guidelines. The guidelines are simply stated and easy to achieve. If you have questions, we are happy to discuss them with you.

In normal times, the guidelines (printed in full after the jump) would seem a bit petty. Here’s one example:

Take your full lunch hour and clock out BEFORE you go to pick up or purchase your lunch.

Yes, everybody knows that people should do that, but normally it wouldn’t be such a huge deal that you have to issue an entire memo about it. At least you shouldn’t have to use the excessively formal “All-Caps” method of communication.

But in these times of significant economic stress, 15-30 minutes of pay a day could literally save jobs. Everybody really should be looking for ways they can become more cost efficient.

Read the full firm memo after the jump.

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GREENBERG TRAURIG — MEMO — OVERTIME GUIDELINES

The per attorney cost for overtime in the Chicago office is higher than the firm average and significantly higher than some offices. You may think that working an extra 15 -30 minutes per week is not significant. It is. We have to reduce our number and we are instituting the following guidelines. The guidelines are simply stated and easy to achieve. If you have questions, we are happy to discuss them with you.

1. Work your scheduled shift, e.g. if you are scheduled to work from 8 – 5:30 do not log on to Kronos because you are here early. If you arrive to work before your your scheduled shift as a result of your train schedule, we suggest you set an outlook reminder to clock in every morning at your scheduled start time.

2. Do not log on to Kronos before you get your breakfast, or before you apply your make-up, or before you put in your contacts or run down to Starbucks or McDonalds. Log on AFTER you have done all your personal items and only once you begin your work day.

3. Take your full lunch hour and clock out BEFORE you go to pick up or purchase your lunch .

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4. Do not eat your breakfast or lunch at your desk.

5. If you leave the office for a break you must log off.

* Log off when you take a cigarette break

* Log off when you run to Walgreens

* Log off when you run to Starbucks

* Log off anytime you leave the building.

Thank you for your cooperation.