Law firms have a lot to lose from processes that involve manual data entry, both in terms of costs and business risks. Data entry decreases your firm’s agility and speed when it comes to tasks like proposal management, for example.
In addition to the time employees spend on basic typing, they also spend time correcting outdated information in spreadsheets and dealing with the typos and other errors that inevitably creep in. A simple typo in a spreadsheet field could have serious consequences down the road.
Data entry also makes it difficult to maintain confidential information. Many professional services firms have strict rules about disclosing client names, fees and details about the services provided, and it’s hard to control that sensitive information when there’s manual data entry involved.
When you discover that your personnel are keying in a lot of duplicate data, it’s a clear sign that your law firm’s systems are not correctly integrated, which suggests you’re not getting the best return on your technology investments.
A typical law firm uses a variety of different databases and tools for managing cases and business information. These may include:
SharePoint intranet to facilitate internal communication and collaboration. They may also use a client extranet to share content and communicate with clients, either through an on-premises platform or cloud-based tools like SharePoint Online.
When these complex systems aren’t integrated, you often see an increase in manual data entry. For example, your marketing or business development department may create its own database and spreadsheets, even though the same information is already entered in your matter management system.
To prevent data entry from slowing down your processes and increasing costs, you need to first consolidate and integrate your data, and then use automation to further improve efficiency.
A well-designed and implemented experience management solution is key to integrating these systems and ensuring that your marketing department has access to accurate, up-to-date content. When these systems are connected, it’s easy to access the data in your financial or matter management system and automatically load some of that information into your experience management system.
But for many law firms, collecting the relevant experience and keeping it accurate and up-to-date is only part of the challenge, as cumbersome approval processes tend to decrease agility and speed in generating proposals. An integrated experience management system also streamlines the proposal process, using rules and automation to ensure that proposal information is sent to the right people for review and updates.
When it comes to manual data entry, your firm has a lot to lose. By using experience management software to reduce data entry, it takes less time to compile proposals and pitches, find bios of attorneys and accurately convey your firm’s capabilities and experience.
Learn more about improving your firm’s proposal process with experience management by contacting Portal Solutions.
