The technological age has changed the way we all work. We can now do wonderful things with software and for the most part, the improvements have been incredibly positive. However, what many businesses forget is to involve their people in the development of processes. This quite often results in over-engineered processes which are cumbersome for fee earners to adapt to or alternatively, end up taking up more fee earner time whereas previously, at least part of the task would have been carried out by administrative staff. This results in de-motivated staff, who are then less productive, or users finding their own ‘short-cuts’, all of which has a negative effect on compliance and service delivery resulting in breaches and complaints.
Investing time up-front to analyse what is required from the software and project and involving the users, will result in successful processes which deliver exactly what they are designed to – which will inevitably be excellent client satisfaction delivered at a lower cost by motivated teams.
What does it involve?
Whether you are working on a new process or are concerned about a process which may not be working effectively, we will work with you and your team to facilitate the changes needed. We apply the following project outline:
- A detailed analysis of the existing work flow
- Developing the project definition and success criteria
- Use of objective questioning and listening skills to facilitate ideas and options for development
- Supporting the development of the new process
- Auditing and measuring the success
Cost
Given that these services are bespoke, it’s not possible to set out an initial cost but once the parameters of the project are agreed, a fixed fee will be set. And we guarantee that it will be more cost effective than your hourly rate if you were to do it yourself! The objectivity we bring to the project is invaluable.
Case Study
The client carried out regular repeat work for an insurance company which was at that stage still being carried out an hourly rate basis. However, the client partner saw the writing on the wall and wanted to be pro-active in the approach to this rather than have a fixed fee and requirements forced upon them. The client partner wanted to analyse the work carried out by a number of fee earners across different locations and develop a clear process which could be duplicated and determine the fixed fee which could be charged whilst still allowing a profit to be made. The intention was to take pro-active approach and offer this to the insurance clients.
The Result
Following analysis, it was determined that the work was being carried out differently both by fee earner and location with a wide differential on cost. A suitable work-flow was developed and the fee earners trained as the first stage. The second stage involved audit to ensure client satisfaction and compliance and the third stage involved establishing the fixed fee parameters. The client partner offered this fixed fee proposal to the insurance client which was accepted and later imposed on other panel firms!