The pandemic has not only fast tracked the move to remote working but also forced many firms to revisit key processes and technologies to improve them, particularly in relation to collaboration and employee engagement.
We’ve identified four ways embracing new technologies can improve employee satisfaction in law firms.
1. Ensuring better internal collaboration
Effective internal communication improves not only job satisfaction, productivity, and trust, but can also encourage collaboration among those in the organisation (Employee Engagement Survey, Gallup, 2017). In a recent legal industry survey, 67% of lawyers said that they would like to remain working remotely and would be open to splitting their time between the office and home.
Firms can also leverage technology to remove geographical barriers to employees creating meaningful connections in a remote environment. For example, in a recent insights piece Deloitte indicated that “technology can allow colleagues to better maintain relationships over time and space, creating a stronger attachment and loyalty to their co-workers and allowing them to have the social interactions they desire. As a side benefit, these long-lasting ties can also enhance the informal development and capabilities growth of individuals who may be better able to share knowledge across teams.”
2. Saving employees time and energy
In the majority the legal sector is lagging behind, with many processes often paper-based and time consuming. We know that embracing technology solutions in lieu off traditional processes can save time and energy. For example, our client, Riana Nel, IT projects and implementation specialist at Wedlake Bell, recently commented that using Bundledocs has helped to create long-term efficiency wins by helping their internal legal professionals to save a significant amount of time.
According to Effortless Legal, the opportunities for lawyers to benefit from Artificial Intelligence for example are endless.
Many automated and machine-learning features allow lawyers to complete several tasks faster and cheaper. For example, when it comes to predicting case outcomes, Harvard Law reports that, “because AI can access more of the relevant data, it can be better than lawyers at predicting the outcomes of legal disputes and proceedings, and thus helping clients make decisions. For example, a London law firm used data on the outcomes of 600 cases over 12 months to create a model for the viability of personal injury cases. Indeed, trained on 200 years of Supreme Court records, an AI is already better than many human experts at predicting SCOTUS decisions.”
3. Improving client relations
We know that client appetite for increasingly more sophisticated digital solutions has increased this past year, as they have been forced to rely more heavily on technological solutions themselves.
In a recent article for Legal Futures, a compelling argument was made for firms to embrace technological change with speed, noting that it is only a matter of time before both employees and clients demand a more seamless approach to that which currently exists in many firms.
4. Creating a more agile working environment
A study conducted by Global Consultancy firm Gallup, found agile companies have eight specific qualities that enable their agile approach, one of which is the ability to adopt new technologies.
However, IT should be an enhancement, not a burden, and simple tech and risk mitigation can help integrate new tools without disrupting existing activity. For example, Bundledocs effortlessly connects with other everyday solutions such as box, Dropbox, Google Drive and many more.
Ultimately, technology is here to stay, and law firms have a real opportunity to embrace the benefits. Beyond improving employee satisfaction we know that embracing new and better technological solutions can also offer a distinct competitive advantage to law firms.
Read more on how law firms can embrace automation to speed up legal processes.
