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Building a Client Service-Minded Staff: continued…Most law firms hire staff strictly by looking at credentials. This practice could be flawed for a service minded firm. Think for a minute of how much time partners, associates, paralegals, or administrative assistants interface with clients on a weekly basis. Each "client touch" has one of two results (1) the interaction "sells" the client on your firm or (2) "unsells" the client on your firm. How do you find staff that recognizes each client interaction can impact the relationship? Service oriented people tend to be good listeners, can multitask, and have strong desire to deliver results. A simple review of the candidate's background can provide insight into their service orientation. Look for people who at some point in their career performed a job where the pay was in direct correlation to the level of service they delivered (example – waiter / waitress, retail sales, etc.). Performing in this type of environment develops acute awareness of customer needs and reinforces service delivery skills. Other background experiences to look for include leadership positions in team-oriented organizations such as sports teams, publications, and charitable organizations. Leadership opportunities help to develop awareness of an overall mission and sensitivity to the needs of multiple constituencies. Also, the interview process should be a strong indicator of the candidate's ability to work well in your operating model. Does the candidate consistently and proactively drive the recruiting process? Do they understand your expectations and articulate why they are the right fit for your organization? Have they built rapport with your interview team and developed internal champions? Once hired, your staff must be equipped to succeed in your operating model. Initial training (for ALL employees) should include: understanding of vision and operating model, firm strategy / capabilities/ clients, why clients hire your firm, what clients expect, how your role delivers value to clients, and how to handle common client situations you will encounter in your job (irate client, etc). Most firms overestimate their people's initial ability to understand the nuances of their job. Assuming everyone will handle a client situation the correct way is a bad assumption. For each position, identify common client situations encountered and document the appropriate way to manage the situation. This exercise will pay huge dividends in client satisfaction and minimize "react mode" client scrambles. Employees also need a resource to access from time to time that will supplement learning's from initial training. Many firms have documented their "way" (policies and processes) and allow easy and timely access to this resource. To reinforce expectations set in your operating model, employees' compensation and reward system must be tied to client satisfaction. Establishing simple feedback systems whereby the firm surveys or asks clients to comment on their experience and overall satisfaction can enable this. Some firms will establish variable pay bonus pools for staff that are funded by revenue growth within existing clients. There are also more elaborate feedback systems available. Tools such as multi-rater, 360-degree surveys can access client input about specific individuals. A critical success factor in all client service initiatives is to ensure consistency across your firm. The operating model, hiring, training, and reward systems must be standard across offices and practices to ensure that customers encounter a consistent experience every time they interact with your firm. Look back at some of your firm's recent client interaction failures. How much short -term momentum did you lose? How much of a distraction were these failures to the leadership? Why make client service a priority? Leaders of client service-minded organizations usually have more time to spend on strategy, thought leadership, and relationship building. With a competent and caring staff, the leadership team rarely has to deal with client satisfaction issues. Just think of the peace of mind (and benefits) you could have has if your entire staff was client service-minded, oriented and trained. Consider the possibilities for new revenue for this model and the choice is simple. Author: Mike Stankus About the Author: Back to : Building a Client Service - Minded Staff Other Whitepapers:
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