Maintaining communication both internally and externally will lead to more engagement and satisfaction amongst both your clients and employees which, in turn, will make your firm much more productive and profitable.
Communication is imperative to the success of any law firm, especially when most businesses are operating on hybrid or fully remote work schedules. According to a recent survey, about 16% of firms invested in communication software at the onset of the pandemic in addition to other cloud-based practice management systems. And with the way things are trending, having open communication is going to be integral to building out your practice and making your business a success. However, it isn’t just communication between clients about the status of the cases that’s important, but also communication within the firm and keeping employees on the same page about tasks and matters.
Maintaining communication both internally and externally will lead to more engagement and satisfaction amongst both your clients and employees which, in turn, will make your firm much more productive and profitable.
Internal Communications
For remote/hybrid offices, it has become commonplace to utilize Zoom or other types of videoconferencing tools to communicate virtually with members of the firm. These programs and tools should be used not just for professional meetings, but for regular check-ins with your employees. Many law firms utilize mentorship programs for new members of the practice in order to increase engagement and professional development. Even if you don’t have a mentorship program put into place, scheduling regular check-ins are a great way to make up for the lack of “water cooler talk” that you might have in a fully in-person office environment.
Another way you can keep up an open flow of communication in your firm is by asking your employees to fill out surveys and/or polls on a regular basis. Many businesses choose to do this on an annual basis, but it’s not as simple as sending out a survey and collecting the results. It’s important to show your employees that you care about their thoughts and ideas to better your firm by implementing changes and suggestions based on the feedback received. In addition to that, make sure that as the leader of your firm, you express the goals of your practice and how you and your employees can collaborate to reach, and maybe even exceed, the goals you’ve put in place. Regularly updating your employees and making them feel like they are a part of the evolution and growth of the firm will enhance motivation amongst employees and can lead to greater satisfaction in the workplace.
There have been some things lost when businesses decided to move to remote working options, like holiday gatherings, office birthdays, and work anniversaries. However, it is important to adapt these celebrations to the virtual world. Set up a firm-wide email chain to wish a colleague happy birthday. Utilize chat services to share updates on employee milestones and achievements. Share pictures showing what you did over the weekend. All of these examples have one main goal: make your employees feel valued and part of a team. These small changes in your firm can help reduce churn and burnout among your employees, drive productivity, increase efficiency and retention rates, and increase overall employee satisfaction.
External Communications
Naturally, many lawyers want to make their clients happy by handling their cases successfully. Communicating openly with your clients can make a world of a difference when it comes to keeping your clients satisfied. Attorney contact management software helps to organize your matter-related contacts to allow for faster and easier communication.
Now that the world has so many different variations of work environments, it is more important than ever to keep both clients and employees satisfied.
As mentioned before, legal practice management software is the way of the future when it comes to law firm processes; however, choosing a practice management system with a secure client portal is a must-have. You want to make sure you have the best client portal for lawyers in order to keep up communications with your clients. A client portal will allow you and your employees to share invoices and other critical documents in a secure manner, making overall communication much easier and more convenient.
Having regular phone and/or email cadences with your clients helps keep you up to date with any news from your clients and makes them feel like their cases are a priority. This, in turn, can help boost your referral rates, recommendations, and business overall. By showing a responsiveness to your clients and having a legal case management software to help you keep up with communication, it will also hold you accountable to stay productive and communicate with your colleagues on whatever ongoing projects you have going on.
Conclusion
Overall, both internal and external communications are integral parts of building out your law firm’s reach and maintaining the business you currently have. Now that the world has so many different variations of work environments, it is more important than ever to keep both clients and employees satisfied. Maintaining both internal and external communication and improving your employee and client satisfaction rates will contribute to the ongoing success of your firm. Find out more about how to improve client and employee satisfaction in our latest whitepaper.
