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Here, we’ll break down tech adoption into small bite-sized pieces to help you and your firm make the most out of the new system!
Step One
Before investing in any tech upgrades, it’s important to understand why you’re making the move. Take a moment to understand your reasons for investing in new software—to boost growth, streamline ops, or wow your customers.
To get your game plan started, think about these questions:
➡ What specific challenges or inefficiencies do you aim to address with this technology?
➡ How will this new software help your business level up and expand?
➡ What is your vision for the future of your business in the next 3-5 years, including its size, scope, and client base?
➡ In what ways do you expect this new technology to support your long-term objectives?
➡ What measures can be taken to ensure clients have a positive and engaging experience with your business?
➡ What features and functionalities are essential for achieving your goals?
Step Two
Now, we’re breaking down the key milestones you’ll reach as you begin shortlisting case management systems.
Assessing Needs and Goals
➡ Reflect on Goals: Ensure the technology aligns with your firm’s vision and growth plans. Identify essential features and nice-to-haves.
➡ Client and Staff Satisfaction: Select user-friendly, cloud-based tools that meet client expectations and attract top talent.
Ask Key Questions:
➡ Can it scale with growth?
➡ Can it evolve with changes?
➡ Is it designed for our practice areas?
➡ Can it integrate with existing tools?
➡ How is data managed?
➡ Is it accessible on-the-go?
➡ What training and support are provided?
➡ Does it have a future-oriented product vision?
Buying Process and Timeline
➡ Understand the Process: Engage in initial calls, demos, and pricing discussions. Align decision-making with executive meetings.
➡ Implementation Partner: Choose a partner skilled in integrating software seamlessly, compatible with your culture, and within budget.
Implementation and Support
➡ Set Expectations: Establish a realistic implementation timeline and adhere to communication plans.
➡ Customer Success: Utilise onboarding resources, help centres, and support contacts provided by the technology company.
Step Three
Tackling the data migration
1️⃣ Understanding Data Considerations
The first step in this phase is identifying and locating all your firm’s data. Determine where it is currently stored and which systems or silos are in use. At this point, you may experience friction in retrieving your data from your current supplier in a reasonable and readable format. If you’re experiencing difficulties accessing your data, check to see if your supplier is part of the Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA) as they may be in breach of their membership agreement
➡ https://lnkd.in/e9KXGd9T
2️⃣ Data Cleansing Before Migration
Next, focus on data cleansing before the migration process. Avoid migrating duplicate, inconsistent, and incomplete data. Putting time and effort into data cleansing before migration will greatly enhance your new technology’s overall implementation experience and performance. Collaborate closely with your implementation partner to decide who will handle the data cleansing and develop a timeline dedicated to cleansing and migrating data from your old platform to the new one.
3️⃣ Start Data Migration
With your data cleansed, you’re ready to migrate it from your old system to the new one. We recommend conducting at least one trial migration to verify the data migration. After the trial migration and testing, the final data migration can take anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the complexity of the data and documents. You’ll know the migration was successful when you’ve thoroughly tested all the data in your User Acceptance Testing (UAT) system and are satisfied with the results.
Step Four
It’s time to understanding your workflows
➡ Making Workflows Efficient and Effective
A well-designed workflow system will increase efficiency and effectiveness. Many tasks and communications at your law firm require daily attention. Automation can identify unnecessary steps, leading to improved client satisfaction and reduced team stress. Hoowla allows you to customise workflows to automate tasks, minimise errors, and increase productivity.
➡ Understanding Different Types of Processes
It’s important to categorise workflows to comprehend their purposes better. Common categories include client intake, case management, document creation, billing, and administrative tasks. Define steps, tasks, communications, and milestones for each category to spot opportunities for improvement and automation.
➡ Assessing Your Current Processes
Evaluate your current processes to identify pain points and bottlenecks. Collaborate with your team to understand existing workflows, error-prone areas, and overlooked tasks. Determine where automation can be helpful and identify activities needing human expertise to lay the foundation for more efficient workflows.
➡ Setting Priorities for Crucial Workflows
When introducing new technology, prioritise workflows critical to your firm’s core functions, such as client inquiries and billing. Consult with different teams to capture essential processes and functionalities, ensuring the new system supports all operational requirements and promotes successful adoption.
➡ Transiting to Ideal Workflows
Envision your ideal workflows by identifying tasks that can be automated and those requiring human oversight. Map out these workflows considering your new technology’s capabilities. If needed, this guidance will help create effective workflows, with support from Customer Success and Implementation teams.
➡ Creating Integrated Workflows
Design workflows to function cohesively within a system. Your law firm management platform should support workflows that align with your firm’s needs across all functions. Create an intuitive set of automated steps that activate at the right time by the right people, ensuring seamless operation.
➡ Defining User Types and Access Levels
Define user roles and permissions based on team members’ responsibilities. Not everyone needs the same access level or workflow capabilities, ensuring a secure and efficient workflow environment.
➡ Planning for User Acceptance Testing
Test the new system and workflows with a small data set for 30 days to identify necessary adjustments before going live. Define a test group to ensure critical processes, such as billing, work as expected.
Step Five
Readying Your Team For The Software Switch
Now that your data has been tried and tested in your new software, it’s time for the real deal! Here are some tips to help you and your team switch as smoothly, and stress-free as possible:
➡ Plan Training
Design a program for launch week and ongoing needs, with best practices for communication, training, user adoption, and addressing challenges.
➡ Set 30-90 Day Goals
Establish clear milestones for the first 30 – 90 days to guide progress and success.
➡ Tailor Best Practices
Customise training for different user groups to maximise productivity and effective software use.
➡ Communicate Change Value
Address concerns with a change management plan, emphasising the benefits and improvements of the new system.
➡ Role-Specific Training
Conduct training sessions by role, focusing on specific workflows. Identify super users for ongoing support and consider using implementation partners as resources.
➡ Use Support Resources
Encourage team familiarity with support resources and customer support to access training materials and updates.
➡ Plan Go-Live
Communicate a detailed timeline for the go-live process and coordinate data migration to minimise disruption.
➡ Switch Systems
Set a cut-off time for the old system, ensuring all users transition to the new software for a smooth go-live.
Step Six
We’re finally at our 6 stages of finding, adopting and using a new case management system. In our penultimate post, we show you how to encourage continued success and ongoing usage 💪
➡ Gather Feedback and Iterate
Collect team and customer feedback to refine workflows and templates, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
➡ Set Post-Launch Partner Expectations
Define the ongoing role of your implementation partner, including support, guidance, communication channels, and response times.
➡ Understand Customer Success and Support
Familiarise yourself with Customer Success and Support resources to optimise software use.
➡ Utilise Ongoing Support Tools
Take advantage of support resources for updates and best practices, including newsletters, guides, webinars, and the customer community.
➡ Revisit Original Goals
After a few weeks, reassess initial goals, evaluate alignment with desired outcomes, reflect on progress, and identify areas for improvement.
Did this series give you the confidence to review your software options and processes?
If it did, and you’d like to learn more about software migrations and what Hoowla has to offer, book a free, no-obligation call with
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