FEATURE
Business Intelligence & Performance
Redefining Business Processes: Unleashing the Most Powerful Tool of the Digital Age One of the current most significant growth opportunities facing law firms is aligning processes across traditionally separate departments. Why? Because aligning business functions fosters an understanding of the data that supports those functions. The result? Data-driven decision-making is strengthened. And make no mistake, business intelligence is rapidly becoming the primary differentiator of a law firm’s ability to adapt to unrelenting global, digital, and regulatory change. Law firms positioning themselves to meet strategic goals over the next five years will focus on three key areas: business process alignment, a firm-wide data management plan that is business process-focused, and a business intelligence (BI) strategy enabled by customer relationship management (CRM) technology. 1 What does successful alignment of a law firm’s business processes look like? • It’s visible. Everyone knows what the process is and who is involved. • It’s in sync with the firm at large. There is heightened awareness of the connections between and among business functions and the firm’s strategic goals. • It’s accessible. Everyone is able to utilise and share current information. 2. What data gaps should a law firm identify to inform a firm-wide data management plan? These are the top questions to answer: • What data is being captured (or not) and when? • If data is available at multiple points, when and for whom is capture most beneficial? • Where do productivity drains or duplication of efforts occur? • What data and metrics do constituents need to receive (and in what format)?
22 | Wilson Allen CRM Supplement
3. What characterizes a law firm’s optimal BI strategy? • The technology incorporates data across the organisation, across the client relationship, in the firm’s collective context. • Metrics are available via on-demand insights, offering broad possibilities for understanding firm performance, planning, and decision-making. • The driving technology, ideally CRM, is highly userfriendly and inspires proactivity. Addressing the three areas above provides a law firm with the ability to harness the most powerful tool available in the digital age: a single source of truth. Let’s turn to business examples that illustrate the practical realities.
Seeing the forest and the trees Firms’ administrative and legal departments work daily to resolve parts of the same client/matter projects – but function-specific processes are micro-focused and often siloed. A classic multidisciplinary law firm project is that of reviewing and determining whether to accept a new client’s Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs). The firm’s typical macro focus is to negotiate the best terms that allow the firm to meet any obligations to which it agrees, maximise ability to take on work for other clients, and meet the client’s requests in a manner that fosters a positive long-term relationship.
