Converting Your Case Management Data, or Nightmare on Conversion Street

Your case management program is the central nervous system of your firm. Implemented well, it automates workflow, houses critical client and case data, keeps your team organized, and generates reports used to make key business decisions. As technology grows and develops and as the needs of your firm change, you may consider making the switch from your current program to another.

Considerations Before Converting

Before you jump to another program, be sure you’ve truly outgrown the program you have. Ask yourself these questions:

Have you invested in training for your team?
Is the system set up effectively and efficiently for your firm?
Are you pulling critical reports?
Do you have a team member who acts as the administrator for the program?
Are you aware of all the features and functions available?
Are you taking advantage of key integrations with other programs used at the firm?
Have you held your team accountable for using the software as intended?

Be sure to approach the project with eyes wide open and acknowledge that a new program may or may not be the right solution for your needs. Sometimes, the fix is as simple as committing to make the program you already have work more effectively and efficiently for your law firm.

Selecting a New System

If you’ve decided that moving to another program is the right choice for you, step one is doing your due diligence in selecting a new program. There are excellent choices in the market, and each system has its bells and whistles. Determine what features and functions are critical for your firm. Involve your team in this step! Your boots on the ground workers who navigate the program daily and intimately know the workflow are a valuable resource. Consider setting up a team of key team members to vet and select a program. Involve team members from multiple departments who will have varying needs and wishlist items.

The vetting process should involve demos from multiple vendors. Your key team should develop a list of questions for each demo so a proper comparison can be made. Be sure to ask what the price per month includes and clarify additional charges for things like integrations, conversion work, build out, and reports. Ask for a timeline, as it can vary depending on the complexity of your data, the program from which you are converting, the volume of conversions on deck, and other factors. Whatever that timeline is, add 3 months or more to it!

The Conversion Process

There is a reason this is called a “process” and not an “event.” You’ve likely amassed enormous amounts of data, and depending on your firm’s processes and procedures, that data may not be “clean.” You may have duplicate providers or clients in your system. You may be housing data in fields not intended for that kind of data (putting dates in a name field for example.) You may have developed workarounds that make the data confusing. When converting to a new system, you’ll see these data issues become painfully obvious.

You’ll work with your new case management software provider to map your old data into the new system. This step is critical and involves input and involvement from your team. You’ll need to identify your workflow, consider your current data, and make critical decisions on how to build out your new system. Again, involve your team in this step. This helps you to not only build the right system for you but to gain buy-in from team members throughout the process. As with any change initiative, you may encounter skepticism, fear, and frustration from your team. Acknowledge those feelings and help them to see the ultimate vision: a system that will help the firm better serve its clients by allowing your team to work with intention, feel empowered, and be efficient and effective.

Done well, a conversion process involves a few “passes” or reviews of the converted data in the new system. These passes are non-live mini-conversions that help ensure the data is mapping over correctly. It’s critical that your team be involved in checking the data during those passes, as you’ll likely need to sign off on it. A good case management provider will allow as many passes as necessary to ensure your data lands in the right spot and your program functions as intended.

Going Live

Bear with the process, and know that your “go live” date will come. You can prepare for that date by communicating often with your team, ensuring you’ve invested in training for all team members (both users and administrators), and championing the change in your firm. Set the expectation early that case management software usage is non-negotiable. A good rule to introduce to your team is: if it’s not in the program, it didn’t happen.

Final Thoughts

No conversion is 100% perfect. You’ll encounter bumps in the road, data that does not match up as cleanly as you’d like, resistant team members, integrations that require back and forth support, and fatigue from the process. It’s all normal, and you will come out of that dip and realize the fruits of your efforts!

Vista has helped countless firms navigate this arduous process. We can help you identify needs, think through decisions on workflow, and work with your team as you implement a system. Find out what Vista can do for you.

During This Time of Uncertainty in the Legal Field, Communication is Paramount

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique obstacles and disrupted the legal industry. However, it has also created opportunities for “on the business” projects, creative thinking, smart problem solving, and team cohesion. As law firm owners navigate new and uncharted waters in the industry and economy, responsible and forward-thinking firms are searching for approaches that protect their clients, their team members, their leads, and their businesses.

During this time of uncertainty in the legal field, communication is paramount. Now is the perfect time to communicate with and reassure your clients that your firm is still there, still working incredibly hard on their behalf, and still committed to obtaining justice for them, even if all your team members are not face to face in an office. Build that bond, and show your clients they made the right choice in picking a law firm that cares.

Communication with your clients should not rely on just one channel. Every business, from credit card companies to freelancers, has emailed recently regarding their COVID-19 response. The number of emails in everyone’s inbox has grown exponentially, and therefore even well-done emails with timely content have a lower open rate. If you are relying on email only, know that it might be white noise at this point. Getting your message out to clients right now requires multiple channels. Email them. Text them. Post on social media. Get a message on your website. Hit them however and wherever they may interact with your firm. Otherwise, your firm’s message may be lost between food delivery and airline emails.

Use video communication when you can. If you have a large client social media following, great! Consider adding a video element to grab those clients as they scroll through their feeds. It does not have to be a full production, expensive video. It can be as simple as a trusted member of your firm explaining that you still have a team of people behind them, working hard on their behalf. That team member can explain your investment in technology to ensure that no aspect of their case skips a beat. Cell phones are capable of capturing high-quality videos, and human interaction is important right now.

In addition to messaging your base, you must guide individual clients through this unprecedented time. Being proactive with client contact is always a solid law firm best practice, but it is especially critical now. Your clients may experience gaps in treatment if they are unable to keep in-person doctor appointments or therapy sessions, and addressing and preparing for those gaps in treatment now will allow for a more seamless experience later in the case during settlement or litigation. The following tips will help you navigate your clients through the case experience smoothly and effectively, during both calm and chaotic times:

Encourage journaling: If your clients are not already journaling, now is the time to teach this skill to them. Encourage them to keep a record of how they are feeling daily, note any increase or change in pain medication, and record any notable information about their health. Effective journaling also includes photos. Every health detail should be captured. Keep in mind clients who are hospitalized during this time. They may have no emotional support if family members cannot visit due to social distancing guidelines. Details like that will be important to note in demand.
Take advantage of home treatments: Some treatment facilities are offering telemedicine and encouraging home treatment regimens for physical therapy. Encourage your clients to take advantage of those treatment options if they cannot see their providers in person.
Reach out to insurance providers: Proactivity is key. Provide adjusters with injury and treatment updates more often and make them aware of any and all obstacles and how your firm and your clients are working to overcome them.
Work on building and cultivating relationships: If your firm is finding a decrease in intakes and perhaps an increase in available focused time as team members work remotely, consider devoting that found time to building relationships with your current clients. Personal relationships drive increases in word of mouth referrals and positive reviews, so take advantage of this newfound capacity to reach out to clients and freely give your most precious resource – time!

Now is a tenuous time…at home, at work, and for many business owners. It is human nature for team members to worry about their jobs or think the worst as their situations change. Communication with all team members is crucial. So, too, is some patience with them as they navigate what may be a new work environment. Thank your team for their flexibility, offer help as needed, and make sure all members of your leadership team are reaching out early and often to their individual groups.

Those who function in a managerial role and are well-tenured in their careers have potentially weathered storms and developed coping mechanisms to handle stress, endure change, and simply get things done. Some are even energized by the stress! Keep in mind during this pandemic and ensuing quarantine that some team members may have less experience and may resist new workflows. They may have more trouble thriving in an uncertain environment. It is crucial for leaders to recognize that not everyone is operating from the same depth of experience or change tolerance and some team members could be struggling. This is the time to diffuse drama while allowing people to be heard. Now that most firms are a few weeks into remote work, their teams should be settling into routines, coming out of any productivity dips, and becoming accustomed to new tools and expectations. If you have team members who appear to be struggling, reach out. Assure them that change doesn’t have to mean stress. It can also mean opportunities for learning, for growth, and for seeing old problems in a new light.

As you look for those growth opportunities, look, too, to your intake team. With fewer cars on the road, non-emergency medical care being postponed, and many people home for days or weeks, there is a very real possibility of decreased intakes coming into the firm. That means every lead is even more precious than usual, and time and energy must be spent on nurturing and capturing those leads.

If your firm is not already using an E-sign method to sign up new clients, now is the time to implement it! E-sign is a preferred sign-up method because it “stops the shop” more quickly than other sign-up methods. It’s also the responsible way to handle intakes during shelter-in-place mandates. Sending out investigators or having clients come into the office may not even be feasible as we practice social distancing. E-sign allows you to take cases entirely remotely with no fear of disease transmission or being in violation of health and safety requirements.

As your team works to shore up the caseload, firm leaders should consider using this time to look inward at the business and develop strategies for recession-proofing as much as possible. Many firms and firm owners are experiencing unprecedented “spare time.” It is important to think about what you can be doing now in order to sow the seeds of success for the future. That means taking the time to invest in your operations and processes. Remember: Some of the greatest gifts come in unexpected packages. Now is the perfect opportunity for the proverbial sharpening of your saw. Take a step back, dig into your data and processes, and maximize your efficiency and productivity. Here are some ideas for projects to complete while your team has time to focus on the business:

Develop Standard Operating Procedure Manuals if you don’t already have them in place. These are critical for outlining departmental workflows, laying out step-by-step instructions for entering data, and providing clear screenshots of necessary fields to complete.
Tighten up your firm’s processes or procedures. Time often serves to erode our best-laid plans. If you know your proverbial rules of the road have become lax, work to address any issues, retrain your team, and introduce new methods.
Assess your use of case management and intake software to assure data integrity. Run and analyze reports. Shore up common data entry issues like cases missing critical dates or omitted assignments. Now is the perfect time to clean up data and identify missing case components.

It will be fascinating to see how law firms apply and adopt newfound information, methods, and systems when the crisis is over. In just about every area and phase of life, change tends to come more easily during troubled times. Law firms may resist substantive change when the sailing is smooth, but during the bumps, they are more willing to power through obstacles, develop solutions, and take the change in stride. Firms who use this time to provide better service to clients are the firms that will continue to thrive. Your clients need you now more than ever. Our industry can and will weather this storm, and the positive aftermath will be better and more frequent client communication, strong internal processes, and a team who knows how to pivot gracefully.

Experiencing Unprecedented "Spare Time"?

Did you know that great authors like Franz Kafka, Harper Lee, and Agatha Christie wrote some of their most influential and famous pieces in their spare time as they worked full-time jobs? Many of us are experiencing unprecedented “spare time.”

It’s important to think about what we can be doing now in order to sow the seeds of success for the future. What does that look like for many law firms? From Vista’s perspective, it means taking the time to invest in your operations and processes. Many firms are experiencing an odd calmness in the midst of this storm. Calls have slowed and some team members are sitting on their hands waiting for things to pick up.

Remember: Some of the greatest gifts come in unexpected packages. Don’t allow this time to wile away mired in frustration and paralysis. Embrace the opportunity! It’s the perfect time for the proverbial sharpening of your saw. At Vista Consulting, we know how to assist firms with:

Taking a step back
Digging into your data and processes
Maximizing your efficiency and productivity

We can help you make a big impact on your business so that when some sense of normalcy is returned, you’ll not only have landed on your feet, you’ll hit the ground running. Reach out to us today to learn how a firm assessment and ongoing work with Vista can help your team weather the storm.

BUSINESS IN THE FRONT: Firm Lessons from Tiger King, Series 3

Things we desperately want in quarantine: A good internet connection, measurable goals for our team, flattering lighting for Zoom videos, and probably wine. Things we don’t want during quarantine: A toilet paper shortage, that many leftovers, and a bonus Zoom-style episode of Tiger King. We don’t always get what we want, but hopefully, we get the business advice we need. Just as Joe Exotic’s political career came to a timely end, we wind down our business lessons inspired by Tiger King…

Trust the process. When things start to go sideways for Joe, he ventures down a path of (alleged) arson and a (pretty public) murder-for-hire plot. Instead of focusing on his core business, he veers off the trusted path. I think we all see how that worked out for him. We see many examples of firms that have trouble trusting the process. Whenever you implement new processes and procedures in an already busy atmosphere, there can be a dip in productivity as your team gets accustomed to the changes. The dip is your investment period before the big payoff. TRUST THE PROCESS. Firms who quit in the dip never realize the fruits of their efforts and never get the opportunity to jump to that next level. The dip can happen when you implement a new software system, when you slow down to analyze your workflow, and when you make changes to standard procedures. That slow-down doesn’t mean you aren’t on the right path. It just means the work has to be put in before you can enjoy the success.

Treat your team well. I don’t think Joe would be nominated for any HR awards. Publicly firing team members in front of others, underpaying, and providing questionable food and living conditions don’t foster loyalty or business culture. They create an atmosphere of distrust and fear. When Joe needed a kind voice and a loyal business advocate during his trial, his team didn’t show up. During this unprecedented crisis, many employers are tempted to lead by reaction. Those quick to layoff team members or micro-manage those working from home may be adversely impacted in the future. We attract and keep good talent by being good employers, and the measure of a good employer is often how they react during tough times and challenging circumstances. We all want a loyal, hardworking team. We don’t accomplish that by hammering them down. We accomplish it by being good leaders, giving our team proper tools, training, and expectations, and trusting them to perform. We accomplish it by addressing issues as they happen…timely, fairly, and objectively. Trust is a two-way street.

Address the elephant in the room. We work with plenty of law firms that employ husband and wife teams, parent and children teams, or sibling owners. We’re not saying that the business model doesn’t or can’t work…it’s just important to address it with your team upfront. Make sure they have an avenue for reporting HR issues that don’t involve uncomfortably ratting out your husband to you. Joe’s husbands worked at the zoo, pointed guns at the team members, and were clearly not management material. I doubt he provided a proper human resources avenue for his team to report issues or safely discuss concerns. Don’t be like Joe.

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BUSINESS IN THE FRONT: Firm Lessons from Tiger King, Series 2

You may not be a country music fan, but if you don’t have, “I Saw a Tiger” on repeat right now, you’re missing out. What else are you missing out on when it comes to business lessons to glean from Joe, Carole, and the gang?…

Control your drive. What exactly went wrong for Joe Exotic? Well, pretty much everything. But how does a charismatic, creative business owner skid so far off the tracks? He lacked control. He lost focus. He let feuds and that tantalizing minx that is fame distract from his core business. For those of us who lead with passion and enthusiasm, life can be a balancing act. That need to chase the next shiny thing can distract from staying focused on clients, on the process, on service, and on growing the core business. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying “stay the course” is always the answer. Not at all. Especially in chaotic times, it’s okay to take a step back, reevaluate, and shift course. In fact, for many businesses, that very three-step process has allowed them to weather the proverbial storm, stay relevant, and even thrive. For those who live with big passion and an entrepreneurial spirit, dream big. Try new things. Venture into unknowns. But do it thoughtfully and don’t ignore or starve what got you here.

Culture Matters! The bright-eyed, cheetah print legging wearing volunteers at Big Cat Rescue would have been utterly horrified meeting some of Joe’s hard-knock life employees. You either aspire to the next level volunteer shirt or you’re happy you can bring your gun to work and feast on expired Walmart meat. There’s not much in between. Every business has a culture, and the successful ones are intentional about that culture. They foster it, hire for it, and recognize when someone just doesn’t quite settle into that perfect cultural fit. It’s much easier to train someone on your workflow than it is to train them on how to fit in with your people and your firm outlook. Your firm’s culture will develop whether you are intentional about it or not, so be careful not to have a firm culture that develops simply by default.

Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. I am not, I repeat, am NOT suggesting that you allow big cats to roam your office as a marketing effort. I’m also not suggesting branded tiger cubs as a new firm swag item. I am suggesting that bold, innovative, out-of-box ideas have changed the trajectory of many a business. Notice I didn’t say the trajectory is always an “upward” one. It is, in fact, a mixed bag. But don’t let that scare you away! Step outside of your comfort zone. Look in a corner you would normally ignore. Do all of this thoughtfully and with intention. As we embrace a new normal right now, firms have been forced to pivot and think carefully about their marketing and advertising decisions. Tried and true car wreck ads may not strike the right chord when our audience is quarantined. Now is the time for different and unique.

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BUSINESS IN THE FRONT: Firm Lessons from Tiger King, Series 1

Tiger King has become a wildly popular documentary on Netflix. If you haven’t viewed this spectacle, buckle up! It’s a wild ride of exotic animal ownership, epic feuds, planned murder plots, presidential and gubernatorial races, and a lot of completely over the top personalities. Those who tuned in were greeted with sparkly animal prints, cult-like behavior, polygamy, and a whole lot of lessons for how NOT to run your business. Here are my takeaways for your firm:

Training and Onboarding are crucial. Do you know who doesn’t reach their arm into the cage of a giant tiger? Someone who has been onboarded properly and attended ongoing training. Do you know who doesn’t run into a gift shop full of unsuspecting people to tell them a team member just got their arm ripped off? Someone who has prepared for and trained for crisis management. Prepare your team and yourself. The value of training can never be overstated.

Vet your partners carefully. Before you forge a relationship with a business partner or trust someone with any of your business “secret sauce”, ensure that partner is someone you trust. Not everyone has the same passion, drive, and vision as you. And I think Jeff Lowe shows us that just because someone projects an image of success does NOT mean they are successful. Do your due diligence. Sometimes the mansion is rented, and the leather jacket is second hand. Keep in mind that this applies not only to your partners but also to your vendors. Don’t be impressed by the fancy degree on the wall or the slick website until you get to know the substance behind it.

Marketing and positioning matter. Do you cool cats and kittens want to know the difference between Big Cat Rescue and the GW Exotic Animal Park? Marketing. Both organizations involve exotic animals in cages somewhere off a highway. Big Cat Rescue has carefully positioned itself as an altruistic rescue organization. Joe touted his exotic zoo and sold branded condoms. He knew his gun-toting, mulleted self was a big part of the draw. They’ve clearly identified a very different target audience. The show also taught us the importance of digital marketing, and how easy and detrimental it can be for someone to bid on your keywords. Both Carole and Joe knew the value of SEO and digital media, and they used multiple avenues, from their website to social media to videos, to promote their offerings. The takeaway: position your firm carefully.

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Real-Time Talk Tips for Working at Home

This is Mary Ellen Murrah, Vista Ops Consultant. I know many law firm owners, managers, and team members are navigating remote work for the first time. Vista is unique in that most of our team members ALWAYS work remotely when we aren’t visiting client firms. We’ve had some time over the years to work out the kinks of isolation and daily remote work. Here are my real-world, real-talk tips for how I approach my days working from home:

Give yourself a minute! When I first started remote work, I would jump up out of bed the second my brain registered an email “ding” on my phone, no matter the time. NO MORE! If I was working in the office, I’d have a commute to listen to music or a podcast. I’d have a few moments to grab a cup of coffee and say good morning to my coworkers on arrival. Now I approach my remote work days the same way. I give myself some time to wake up, shake out the cobwebs, and ease into my day. I grab a cup of coffee first, and then I get to work.
Get “ready” for work. I’ve seen some posts recommending getting dressed and ready for work even when you’re just walking down the stairs. Psshhht. Real talk: Day pajamas and night pajamas are a thing. Getting “ready” can mean brushing your teeth, throwing your hair in a bun, and switching from PJs to a tee shirt and sweat-pants. Don’t sweat the getting ready unless you’ve got a client Zoom meeting (and in that case, just worry about waist up – you can be business on the top, PJs on the bottom!) That being said, we’re all different and succeed in different ways. If you’re the kind of worker who needs to get snazzy to do your best work, by all means, get fancy.
Have a dedicated workspace. It can be as simple as a spot at your kitchen table, or as fancy as a decked-out home office. But when you’re there, it means you’re at work. Have your headphones and necessary paperwork at arm’s length. I know I’m working when my chihuahua settles into my lap and falls asleep.
Build in breaks. Let’s face it, working in an office does not mean 8 hours of uninterrupted, focused working time. Coworkers stop in to bounce ideas, we get up for coffee and bathroom breaks, and we have meetings. If your expectation is to sit down for 8 hours of blissful, focused time, you’re setting yourself up for big disappointment. I aim for chunks of focused time for projects, emails and client phone calls.
Know thyself. My calls typically don’t start until 10:00 am. Other work projects lend themselves better to my “morning brain”. Structure your schedule so you shine during your productive hours.
Cut yourself some slack. This may be new. Most of us don’t master new things right out of the gate. Be easy on yourself as you develop your best schedule. Give yourself permission to experiment. Find what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your time accordingly.
Don’t be an island. Vista has one of the best work cultures, and I don’t see my coworkers around the water cooler and only in person at our events! We have to be intentional about being a team. We stay connected via video conferences, annual kick off meetings, and lots of texting and meme sharing. We care for and about each other, and no one hesitates to jump on a call to share ideas or troubleshoot client issues. Culture still matters, even when we are scattered, so be sure to cultivate it. At the end of the day, we are a team, even if we’re not together in the conference room sharing cupcakes (side note – the thing I miss most about working in an office is the abundance of snacks).
Trust your team. I have no idea what my coworkers are doing during their days, but I know they are working incredibly hard. I don’t need to know their schedules daily to trust them to complete their part of a project. The best way to know if you can trust someone is to trust them!
Unless it’s required for the job, 9-5 isn’t always best. I don’t work 9-5 each day. I’ve got a lot of clients on the West Coast, so some days, I’m on calls until very late in the day. On those days, I may start later. On quiet weekends or late in the evening as I have uninterrupted time, I knock out client projects. I take the time when I have it to get my work done.
This is weird. Some of us have kids home right now, and we are navigating working from home while also suddenly being in the throes of homeschooling. There’s a lot of stress baking and just getting by. Acknowledge the weird. Embrace it. We’re going to get through this. Do what you can when you can and know it won’t always be like this. Be kind to yourself, your kids, and your team.