Bishu Solomon Girma is the Customer Success Director at Access Legal. He argues that businesses should invest in their employees if they wish to weather economic turmoil and emerge stronger.
It’s no secret that it is difficult to find top talent in the legal sector. Now, the economic challenges are putting even more pressure on companies.
With Q3 starting, there was a rise in the number of firms that are facing financial difficulties. Many are anticipating a difficult winter and a recession that could last as long as we’ve known. It will be very difficult for many firms to offer the high-paying salaries and other benefits that candidates expect in this environment.
In times of economic uncertainty, firms will look to cut costs wherever possible. This could be for personnel, business support services or property. They may also be reluctant to invest in things that can help them respond quickly to market changes and grow, such as technology.
Sometimes, non-billing areas like HR are overlooked in the search for cost savings. However, this is often shortsighted. Because of their experience, talent acquisition and retention are crucial to the survival and success of any company. They will be able to guide the ship at its highest level and provide exceptional client experiences. Firms must invest in all aspects of employee experience to ensure that talent is available when needed. This will help them develop their skills and progress in their careers, as well as provide a work-life balance.
Sometimes, non-billing areas, such as HR, are first looked at for savings. However, this is often shortsighted.
IT projects can be easy to overlook. We are already seeing companies being cautious when it comes time to buy legal tech. Many are choosing to purchase essential software rather than ‘nice-to-have’. They see it as an opportunity for growth and innovation, rather than a means of reducing costs. Reluctance to use technology can be as destructive as not investing in people. Both go hand in hand.
Driving Efficiency
However, efficiency can be improved in billing and non-billing areas of law firms. People who still rely on legacy software and are paper-heavy can improve their productivity and reduce the time they spend working.
You often only need to ask your teams where the greatest inefficiencies are. Logging into multiple systems or accessing different spreadsheets can be a time-consuming task that can lead to frustration for users. This is especially true if the technology is old and cumbersome.
It is a complex and highly regulated sector that requires high levels of expertise and concentration. Poor processes are not what fee-earners want to disrupt their workday.
There are also hidden inefficiencies that staff may not be aware of, but which make it difficult to do their jobs well. For example, staff might not be able to spot cross-sell or up-sell opportunities in different departments that could bring them much-needed revenue in these difficult times.
Particularly small and mid-sized businesses worry about not being able to compete on salary and other benefits with larger firms. While this may be true, they can still offer attractive work environments and empower fee-earners with the ability to grow their client base and generate higher income to support higher salaries.
Fee-earners don’t want their work day disrupted or hampered by inefficient processes.
This is why choosing a platform to help your team be more efficient in all aspects of their work is a good investment in people as well as technology.
Flexible Work
Talent management is also dependent on flexible working arrangements. The COVID-19 epidemic opened the door to hybrid work, which has led to a paradigm shift in workplace culture and expectations. Cherie Blair, KC stated last year that presenteism was a ‘curse.’ added that “we’re not going back to how things were.”
My colleague Claire Jamieson, a talent partner at The Access Group, said that talent is scarce and suggested during a recent Access webinar, that it could be presented as an opportunity and not a threat.
She stated that she was able to work from home as well as from the office. This is what many people want .”
Many people now expect hybrid working to be a standard in the legal profession. The cloud-based legal software allows people to work from anywhere, including at home or in the office. This gives them the flexibility to plan their days and be productive. It takes the stress out of having to commute to work every day and doesn’t lose those important connections with clients or colleagues.
Many people now expect hybrid working to be a standard in the legal profession, and elsewhere.
Subscription-based SaaS (‘software-as-a-service’) is becoming more popular. These packages don’t have the same upfront costs and take longer to implement than on-premise systems. This is significant because research from the Solicitors Regulation Authority has shown that a lack of financial capital is a reason firms are reluctant to invest in technology. It was actually a major or very significant barrier for 58% of respondents.
The provider manages updates, security, and servers, which allows both fee-earners as well as internal IT teams to work more efficiently while keeping running costs low.
A single provider can provide not only legal tech, but also a wide range of business software, such as compliance and finance management. This can be cost-effective and more economical. Many firms appreciate having one-stop technology. However, they want to work with a provider that is constantly adding new features and improving the functionality of their system.
Cloud-based migrations allow firms to confidently use hybrid working models to attract top talent and reduce security and financial risks (such as insecure VPNs). Employees, regardless of their business size, benefit from the intuitive technology that allows them deliver high-quality service and contribute to the success of the company.
Data is key
Many times data is the key to commercial success. This is especially true during recessions. Due to the pandemic, conveyancing services saw a spike in demand. Now, firms need to be prepared for whatever might happen next, like a rise in insolvencies. It is difficult for busy professionals to search through all the data and identify opportunities. They will need a dashboard with accurate analytics that shows changes in revenue and demand as they occur.
Not only is it valuable for commercial purposes, but also for staff data. You can combine your financial and HR data to see the top earners and help underperformers by mentoring or training. The data on personnel can also give you an early warning sign that employees are unhappy or plan to leave. This gives companies time to make changes and retain their best talent.
Look Ahead
Companies cannot afford to cut back in key areas of technology or talent.
We have seen that legal tech is not a burden on the bottom line. It can help firms be more productive, efficient, and more appealing to the talent and energy they need to make it through uncertain times.
Bishu Sion Girma, Customer Success Manager
Tel: +44 08453 453300
Bishu Solomon Girma serves as Access Legal’s Customer Success Director. She has over a decade of legal experience, both in Canada and the UK. She works closely with software developers, experts consultants, and support staff to help customers navigate their legal cases.
Access Legalis an affiliate of The Access Group, a business software specialist. Access Legal’s software solutions allow firms and their in-house teams become more productive, efficient, accurate and communicative. Access Legal software solutions are used by more than 35% of UK law companies.