Posted by Nick Orme, CEO of Legal Futures Associate Osprey Approach
Osprey: Firms need to track their ROI
What sets you apart from your competitors? How does your team’s core values help you deliver a service that sets you apart from the competition and help you retain – and win – business?
In the latest LPM Frontiers report, 62% of SME law firms say that firms entering their geography pose the biggest risk, and 63% believe it’s bigger firms, but ultimately, the legal sector is a highly competitive market meaning both talent and clients have several options.
This goes a long way to explaining why the report found that 57% of SMEs were investing heavily in improving the client experience and 56% have found attracting and retaining talent more challenging in the past 12 months. The pressures of the competition – no matter their size or location – are impacting the future success of firms.
With so many options for your clients and employees, firms need to have an attractive value proposition to encourage them to choose your firm to work with, and to work in.
In a recent interview with Simon McCrum for the Empower Law Firm Leaders series, he emphasised the importance of having a strong team pulling in the same direction to run a successful modern law firm.
He said: “Having loads of people, in their own boats, rowing in different directions doesn’t get anyone far. The power – when all your brilliant people are in the same boat, rowing hard in the same direction – is unstoppable. There’s a transition period you have to go through to get everyone in the same boat, that period is hard, and a lot of firms simply don’t get there.”
So, how do your values and goals align and benefit the team you want to grow and the clients you wish to win? And crucially, how are you measuring the success of your values against the long-term performance of your business?
Measuring ROI on your tech investment
The Frontiers report found than 47% of leaders believe they cannot assess the return on investment of new technology – yet worryingly, 63% of firms intend to increase their legal tech spend in 2024/25.
So, when it comes to ensuring a profitable operation, cost-benefits is paramount, especially when 37% of SMEs see cost management as their top challenge this year.
But, when assessing ROI on tech, there are other business areas software directly impacts, which can help to represent the total value the investment delivers. It’s likely these business areas align with your firm’s values.
How legal technology impacts your clients, employees and compliance
Some 81% of firms said risk management was a key driver for cloud adoption, followed by 60% as a means of focusing on employee experience.
These areas should be among the key drivers for adopting any new tech or becoming a digital-first firm (as 56% are prioritising for the next 12 months). By aligning success measures to track, monitor and review the return of tech investments, firms should also consider the impact on other areas of the business including:
- Mitigating risk and ensuring compliance;
- Improving employee satisfaction and team collaboration;
- Enhancing the client experience;
- Increasing efficiencies and team productivity;
- Identifying opportunities for growth and improvement; and
- Managing cashflow and profitability.
Legal tech can provide a future-proofed foundation and effective tools for delivering on your values and your aspirations for client services and employees’ experiences. It enables your team to perform their best and deliver a quality service that helps your firm retain a competitive edge and charge more per case.
Find out how Osprey can deliver value across all areas of your firm including mitigating risk, enhancing the client service, and improving efficiencies by booking an online consultation today.
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