Building a Client Service - Minded Staff
Faced with the most difficult economic conditions in years, many law firms are looking for ways to maintain a competitive edge – without negatively impacting cost structures. This article suggests that investing in client service is a strategy that will reap both long and short -term benefits.
Historically, firms in other industries target client service as an area ripe for cuts in poor economic times. Front line support personal such as administrators and client service reps are treated as “nice to haves” and are usually the first to go. Client service training initiatives are either scaled back or eliminated entirely. While these cuts may initially impact the bottom line, they eventually chase customers away.
Imagine if you checked into a luxury hotel such as the Ritz Carlton and had to park your own car or carry your bags to your room. Would you find it odd that an institution known for its great level of service would eliminate key customer facing positions? Of course you would. The Ritz Carlton is able to charge a premium because of its great service, and endures great customer loyalty because of it. The Ritz Carlton does a fabulous job of consistently finding and training service minded personnel across its multitude of properties and is thriving today – in spite of economic conditions.
We would all agree that it is a very challenging time for law firms. Demand is down and competition for clients has never been tougher. Clients are scrutinizing all legal expenses and are better educated on how they buy legal services. Customer loyalty, especially for commodity type legal services, is at an all time low.
Clients hire law firms for a multitude of reasons; expertise, thought leadership, experience solving a specific problem, contacts, etc. Clients fire law firms for one primary reason: they are dissatisfied with the quality of service (i.e. the relationship). If you dig further into the reasons for dissatisfaction, reasons identified include: fees not explained properly, fees much higher than initial expectations, work not up to expectations, speed of service inadequate, and poor level of communication. A client service-minded staff can minimize all of these issues.
The key elements of building a client service-minded staff include
- senior level commitment
- hiring staff with a service / relationship orientation, and
- properly on-boarding / equipping / rewarding staff to succeed.
No firm will develop a client service-minded staff without the commitment of the senior leadership team. The firm management must state a desire to be known as a client-driven organization and behave accordingly. This team must also define the specifics of an “operating model” that defines how they will operate as a client-driven organization. At a minimum, specifics should include: vision for the firm, how client service will be used as a differentiator and service pledge to clients, how service will be delivered to clients, and expectations of employees.
No client service operating model will succeed unless staffed with the appropriate people. A law firm is a service business and must be staffed with service -oriented people.
Read More: Building a Client Service-Minded Staff, continued…
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