Pinch point

The stark comparison between new legal service providers and traditional firms’ approach to clients’ contact shows a way forward for all firms. In many solicitors offices there is a pinch point that restricts the ability of a firm to grow, the traditional solicitors’ receptionist and switchboard operator.

In the past their job was to direct phone calls, greet visitors or send faxes. Essentially they turned people away, protected the fee earners and acted as ‘gatekeepers’ to the firm. That’s alongside some secretarial work that needed doing. Direct dial systems may have relieved them of some call handling, but in essence they have always been over stretched people with no time for anything else because the phone is ringing. Seen as a cost, occasionally difficult to manage or retain the right person, this front of house operation will become a significant problem as we move into a more competitive business environment.

From the client’s point of view, how easy is it for them to contact ‘their solicitor’ about the current or potential matter? It usually goes something like this: a person calls a firm, the call is answered but the receptionist has no time to talk to the client and mostly cannot put the client through to the fee earner because they are busy. Potential client rings off dissatisfied and has to try again later or calls another firm.

Reception has mostly been run on a ‘minimise costs’ approach because it doesn’t generate fees. Now there needs to be an alternative because clients won’t bother to call back or wait. Clients will pick the firm that engages them with a service that deals with them on their terms.

Depending on the size of the firm there needs to be three, four or five people, trained and ready to answer the phone, emails or greet visitors. Each person must have the ability to confidently present the benefits of all the services the firm has to offer and have time to discuss these with the potential client.

Whether you are a single branch firm or spread across a region your firm should have a separate client reception department that is responsible for delivering a satisfactory contact service with the firm. They need to be measured on and have targets for increasing the new matter instructions to the firm.

All that will be seen as increasing costs. However, there are two reasons why this is an imperative change needed for firms. First, many of the new services being offered focus on customer service and immediate engagement with the client. That is, providing the client with substantive assistance so they have no need to go anywhere else. Your firm needs to compete with this offering whatever the cost. The second point is that a new reception for clients relieves the fee earners of dealing with non-profitable communications. Fee earners can then spend more time concentrating on current clients and leave the qualification of enquiries to a well trained client receptionist.

And there is more. Once in place the client reception team provides a resource to take more non-fee earning task away from fee earners. They can follow-up costs quotes, make call backs for fee earners, make out-bound past client follow-ups and deal with promotional campaigns or advertising responses. All this adds up to capturing profitable enquiries, dealing effectively with no-matter enquiries, allowing fee earners to concentrate on current matters and a whole host of improved management measurement information.

It need not be a radical change. Firms already have most of this in their current set-up. What makes the difference is re-defining client engagement in a way that suits the client. While the details in each firm may be complicated, a new client reception can be achieved if the partners concentrate on the main issue; capture profitable matter enquiries before your competitors do.

Alastair Moyes is a director at Marketlaw and co-author of Marketing Legal Services, the current marketing handbook from Law Society Publishing.