Workflow solutions have been around the legal industry for a number of years now to aid in collaboration efforts; long enough for firms to evaluate their return on investment.  Sadly, for many firms, the return has been disappointing.  They may have purchased a workflow or BPM solution with great ideas in mind, but ended up using it only to save pennies on paperwork.

While reducing paperwork is a useful goal, it is not going to accelerate your business or contribute to top-line revenue.  Workflow solutions have the potential to bring real value to the business and set your firm apart from the competition.  Unfortunately, too many firms end up chasing mediocrity.  There are a number of reasons why this happens.

Roadblocks to Real Value
The "declare victory and move on" syndrome:  The project has been harder and run longer than expected.  You have most of the project done, it kind of works and people are somewhat happy with the results.  It delivers part of what was promised and IT had to move onto other projects, so the almost complete results are deemed "good enough."  If your workflow initiatives keep falling short, then it's hard to rise above a mediocre solution.

A lack of vision:  Too many solution providers talk about the savings a firm can realize without explaining how workflow can help you advance strategic business alignment and revenues.  While cost-savings are important, you need to look beyond the obvious benefits.  Ask potential vendors:  "How can this platform further my competitive advantage?  What am I not using in my current package?  Where else in the organization can I apply this technology?" 

Not asking these questions can be a costly mistake.  By not fully exploring all you can do with your solution, you risk settling on an ordinary implementation that fails to set you apart from your competition.  Any advantage promised at purchase may be lost.

Unwillingness to accept change:  Many firms allow some users to keep doing things "the old way" or their own way.  It is often just easier to give in to a senior partner's resistance than to explain the advantages of change.  This is the fastest way to slide into mediocrity.

Fortunately, there are workflow solutions on the market that do offer a real competitive advantage, and will contribute to your organization's growth.  Here's how to make your implementation better (and better than your competition's).

Planning for Excellence
Start small, but think BIG:  Your workflow project should include processes and services that can be reused.  As an example, let's consider the process of new business intake.  Taking on new business involves many smaller subprocesses such as conflict checking.  Often, it also involves a credit check.  In order to take on a new matter for an existing client, a firm has to know that the client has been paying his bills.  A workflow solution can be used to automate the credit check process; and that process can later be reused by the accounts receivable department when it bills the customer.  By automating once, the firm can reuse this service indefinitely.  This speeds up billing and collecting cycles, putting money in the bank faster and contributing to top-line revenue.  Workflow automation should be governed by this basic, forward-looking principle.

Communicate:  Your plan should be guided by the notion that you need to talk to your neighbors.  Your neighbor may be the department next door, the office across the country, or the client around the world.  Cross-functional communication among departments should be the easiest but can sometimes pose the biggest challenges.  Don't be afraid to get into the trenches with your colleagues, find out where their business challenges lie and how you can address them.

For mid-sized and large firms, talking to your other offices is especially important.  If you want to help your firm gain a true competitive advantage, you will need to automate processes between New York and San Francisco.  Again, start small, but think big.  Begin with a roll out in a single office, and plan to standardize processes across the enterprise.  Other offices in your own firm should be a part of the plan.

Communicating with clients is often the easiest part of a project.  Clients are becoming more technology-savvy, and they are usually more than willing to tell firms how they can meet their needs.  Finding ways to speed up and automate counsel-client processes will lead to happier clients, more referrals and more business.

Find a partner:  Technology by itself does not solve a problem; people solve the problem.  Technology is merely the tool.  Find the right people to help you wield those tools wisely.  In the pursuit of excellence, a vendor should be a partner and a mentor.  Ensure your vendor understands your specific issues and the broader issues facing the legal industry today.  Ask questions like:  "What do you bring to the table besides software?  Do you have access to industry experts?  How long have you been dealing with the legal market?  Do you understand how our business works, and what we want to achieve?"

Your choice of vendor can make the difference between a mediocre and superior solution.  Make sure your vendor is not just throwing technology at the problem.  They should be able to communicate your issues back to you and see beyond them.  A vendor should be able to explain how to solve your immediate problem and should be able to articulate how this technology can be reused to address other competitive issues.

Finally, choose the right tool for the job, one that aligns with your business strategy.  Ensure the workflow solution can grow with your needs.  Don't hesitate to talk to your vendor and ask if there is more you can be doing to differentiate your firm from competitors.

Be a Leader
As with any plan, leadership is often the key to success.  Good leaders help move a project forward and envision a future beyond the most current project.  You should be able to communicate why changes are happening, how these changes align with the core business strategy of the firm, and how they will contribute to overall revenue and growth.  With these principles in mind, your firm's workflow project can move beyond mediocrity and achieve success in the pursuit of excellence.

About our author . . .

Rob Stote is Product Manager at Whitehill Technologies, Inc.  He has been with the company for seven years and brings a wealth of experience and a deep skill set in software architecture, coding and programming team leadership to the Whitehill BPI for Legal suite.  His technical acumen is complemented and enhanced by many years of one-on-one customer interaction, encompassing not only the pre-sales process, but also requirements analysis and implementation.  He can be reached at rstote@whitehilltech.com.