Many legal organizations worldwide are making a huge success of the new hybrid working model, transforming their workplaces to enhance employee experience and engagement, talent retention and client management.
NFS Technology, who provide workplace management software to many top-tier global law firms including 30% of the AM Law 100 list, have been sharing tips and best practice gleaned from some of their leading clients.
The company are Silver Sponsors of the premier legal technology event, ILTACON 2024 from August 11th – 15th, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN, where their team will be meeting visitors at Booth 829.
Analysis and surveys from around the world show how hybrid working is evolving across the legal profession:
The pattern is clear.
Law firms see the benefits of remote working for activities demanding deep, individual concentration, but require the collaboration, ideas-sharing, mentoring and visitor meetings that in-office working provides.
Staff like being in the office but also value the ability to work from home some of the time.
The 2022 Practice Forward Report: Where Does the Legal Profession Go from Here? (American Bar Association (ABA), surveyed 2,000 legal staff including 71% Partners, 16% Counsel, 11% Associates and 1% Staff/Contract Attorneys.
It found that: “90% reporting that there was either no impact or an increase in work quality from remote or hybrid working.” Regarding productivity, 78% believed it either remained unchanged or improved.
Natalie Appleton, Chief Revenue Officer for NFS, says the research shows that designing a successful hybrid working strategy for law firms requires deep understanding of the particular needs of the industry.
“As many of our clients are demonstrating, a tailored technology solution is the ideal response to catering to these needs and creating a great operational environment,” she adds.
Workplace management technology has rapidly evolved since the pandemic-induced shift to remote working to address the opportunities and challenges of the new work model.
Hybrid working has led law firms to streamline collaboration by simplifying the scheduling of day desks and meeting rooms, and enabling the ability to check when and where colleagues are in the office.
“For visitors, who may be living through a stressful legal challenge, visits to your premises must be comfortable and convenient. That means offering easy check-in and out, along with effective wayfinding through digital signage integrated with the visitor management system to guide them to the right place.”
Client matter integration is also a highly valuable function of a meeting scheduling system like Rendezvous.
“The booking system associates client or matter for all your meetings, creating codes during the booking process – users can search by client, matter or other options, “she says
“This simplifies billing and chargeback because organizations can track costs and charges against meetings and meeting hosts, and link them to external client and matter codes if required, to ensure accurate and precise billing.”
Natalie says: “Few professions are more reliant on the talents of their workers than the legal profession, and it’s costly to replace them if they leave.
“That means most law firms need to work hard to retain talent: one recent survey of Big Law associates showed nearly 80% leave within five years – so law firms need to provide an engaging and healthy work environment if they are going to be persuaded to stay.
“Because of the pressurised, sensitive and confidential nature of their work, these valuable staff have very specific demands that need to be fulfilled if they are to find their hybrid working environment supportive and satisfying.
“They must be enabled to tackle their substantial workloads while maintaining a good work-life balance. Many want to carry out concentrated individual work at home while making the most of every minute in the office for collaboration, client meetings and mentoring.
“As our recent NFS ebook noted, employees these days are acting like consumers of the workplace – and much like consumers in other sectors such as hospitality, if they are dissatisfied, they will vote with their feet.
“With talent retention and recruitment being a major concern for the legal industry, it’s crucial to create a seamless and satisfying office experience where skilled staff can enjoy a productive working day.”
With real estate costs at a record high, it makes sense for workplace leaders in law firms to make the most of their space.
“Integration with technology such as sensors and desk and room panels provides real-time data that shows exactly how space is being used,” says Natalie.
“That supports solid decisions, such as repurposing or even downsizing space, and ensures available workspace perfectly matches the requirements of employees and the business while maximizing utilization.
One leading NFS client – Kennedys, a renowned international firm in The Legal 500 UK 2024 – has been describing how its workplace management system has transformed the space it provides for its hardworking team, and achieved an impressive desk-to-staff ratio.
Kennedys recognized the opportunities and challenges being presented by hybrid working and decided to deploy the latest workplace technology at its new London HQ . Its aims were:
The company chose to deploy a customized version of Rendezvous Workspace that allows their staff to find and reserve the space they need easily using an app or browser, a kiosk or other self-service options.
Andrew Alderson, Chief Facilities Management Officer of Kennedys, praises the end-to-end experience for staff, from booking space before arrival to space/colleague location via a graphical floorplan.
“Digital signage at desk and room level with check in helps us to better understand our space utilization,” he says. The benefits have been so significant that the company is now rolling out the Rendezvous platform globally.
While law firms worldwide have many hybrid working requirements in common, each company is unique and should be treated as such.
“Every firm has particular requirements relating to elements including the make-up of its workforce, its clientele, its locations and number of offices, and – of course – the model of hybrid working it has chosen to implement,” Natalie says.
She advises law firms to work with technology suppliers who take a consultative approach to their business and uncovers exactly what the company wants to achieve from its transformation.
“Because of those very specific needs, it’s important to select a workplace management platform like Rendezvous that’s fully customizable.
“Your system also needs the ability to integrate with Outlook and Teams, and with the law firm’s choice of hardware such as digital signage, occupancy sensors and visitor management technology.”
The way legal professionals work has changed radically over the past few years, with far more remote work enabled, although more traditional meetings are still the norm. AI is likely to further impact on law firms by automating more mundane tasks.
As a result, workplace leaders in the industry face a dual task: first, to keep current staff healthy, happy and in place, and second, while planning for an uncertain future.
In this shifting landscape, it’s imperative to build upon firm foundations – and workplace management technology to provide that solid ground. The shape of hybrid working in law firms may still be uncertain – but the benefits of technology will remain something leaders can reply upon.
Read the full Kennedy’s success story
Discover more about the benefits of Rendezvous for law firms:
