Posted by Ryan Sparrow, marketing executive at Legal Futures Associate DPS Software
Sparrow: Share the results of these tools with your team
Embracing innovation in the legal field is not new – in fact, it’s now a necessity to keep up with the competition and meet client demands. But how do you get your team to embrace change?
Here are a few ways in which you can help your firm adopt new legal technology.
Understand the user experience
One of the first aspects to consider is how your lawyers will use the technology you acquire, and what may be needed to optimise their user experience.
Don’t wait for the software to be rolled out to your team to discover issues with the user experience. If there are too many problems, your team may be put off from using the technology altogether – worse, they may spend most of their time trying to sort out operational issues. Be aware of what hurdles may arise and work to resolve these before the technology hits your law firm.
Schedule a proper orientation
So many law firms skip this step and it leads to a lot of pain. Simply procuring new technology is not enough. To reap the benefits, your lawyers need to know how to use these new tools to their full capacity.
Schedule an in-depth orientation and make sure the team takes time off to attend. Ideally, the orientation will include a trial aspect, where lawyers can try the new technology and get their questions answered.
Establish a help desk
When rolling out new software, ensure there is a dedicated team that your lawyers can contact if they have any issues. This will help smooth out any bumps in the road quickly. It will also help your team feel supported, which will make it easier for them to embrace the new technology.
Create a culture of innovation and learning
A large part of getting your team to embrace technology is creating a culture of innovation and learning. If your team sees change as part of the everyday, then they will be less resistant to technological adjustments.
Creating this culture requires a range of measures. Some of these are hiring a diverse team, promoting communication between all levels of your firm, and hiring in line with your firm mission.
Both Harvard Business Review and Forbes have great articles on how you can create a culture of innovation in your law firm to ensure your team is prepared for the future.
Use newsletters and reviews
It is important to disseminate this culture of innovation. In essence, you need to create a story – a narrative about your firm that places innovation front and centre of your brand identity and the way you do things.
Use newsletters, reviews and reports to convey this story to your team. The more you emphasise the technological innovations the firm is embracing on a monthly and yearly basis, the more attuned your team will be to recognising that change is part of everyday life.
Share the results
Technology changes so quickly that it can be difficult for teams to fully recognise the benefits of new tools. Often, innovation just feels like a chore – another new software to learn before it gets replaced.
One way to combat people becoming jaded is to share the results of these tools with your team. Show them how technology is positively impacting the firm, as well as how it is making their jobs easier. If your team can see the benefits in concrete terms, they will be happier supporting you.
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