October 21, 2005
Law Firm Client Service Quality Standard
On Wednesday of this week I traveled to East Tennessee to speak to the Knoxville chapter of the ALA. I shared with the group the concerns of their managing partners. See the October 10, 2005, post, Law Firm Managing Partner Concerns.
One of those concerns is client service quality. We know from surveys that when clients consider service, it isn’t the quality of the lawyer’s work they talk about. They talk about poor billing practices, unreturned phone calls and their experience when visiting or calling the firm.
The firm administrator can have a big impact in these areas of client contact. If they do, it will put more income in the pockets of the owner/partners. It will improve client retention and development. Referrals will increase. The emphasis on quality will give the firm a competitive edge with prospective clients. Improved billing procedures will mean attorneys have to spend less time resolving billing issues and that means fewer adjustments and less rework. In short, quality service pays!
An increasing number of firms have a published Client Bill of Rights or an internal Client Service Quality Standard. Preparing either and communicating it to everyone in the firm will make a difference. But for the best immediate impact, have the team prepare it. Depending on the size of your firm, bring together the entire staff or a quality committee. Their mission is to spell out standards for delivering quality service to the firm’s clients and that includes addressing the little things that make a big difference. However, don’t get lost in the details. The standard itself should communicate the firm’s philosophy. Individual areas of the firm can develop tactics or detail protocols for implementing the philosophy where doing so is necessary in order to accomplish the quality goal. The standard, for example, should address the philosophy for such areas as:
o Handling of incoming calls
o How visitors to the office should be addressed and treated
o How quickly phone calls or e-mails should be returned
o Billing-appearance, content, accuracy, etc.
o Office appearance standards
o Periodic client communications-how are we doing and what else do you need
o Etc.
If your firm has a quality standard and you are willing to share it, you can send me a copy at morepartnerincome@juris.com. I did a quick Google search and the Missouri Bar Web site has an article by Linda Oligschlaeger that includes a “getting started” sample Quality Standard. For Ms. Oligschlaeger’s article, go to http://mobar.org/lpmonline/standard.htm.
Related posts
Filed under Firm Culture, Policies/ Procedures by Tom Collins