Change Management for Law Firms: Executing a Legal Technology Software Change

Thanks for joining us again for the third and final post in our series about changing legal software. Last week, we covered why change is hard and how to prepare for a software change. The week before, we covered why change is ethically necessary. Today, we cover how to actually execute a change. Once you’ve finished this post, check out our full eBook “Guide to Changing or Implementing Legal Software” for a full recap and concrete action plan documents.

Once you’ve prepped your law firm staff for the transition to a new software system, you must now survive the actual process of changing over. There are some core strategies that will help you survive any technology change even if it includes software and hardware.

• Flexibility. Entering the implementation phase of your technology change with a flexible attitude and policy is critical to keeping staff frustration levels low. You must be willing to adjust your expectations around workload and office hours. Consider giving your staff more time to complete tasks and letting people go home early after a hard day of dealing with technology-related issues.
• Time management. Schedule your time and the time of your employees wisely. Don’t overbook meetings and work on technology transition dates.
• Raise awareness. If your technology change will impact customers let them know how they will be impacted and in what timeframe.
• Check-in with your tech contact person. Check-in with your contact at the technology firm. If your contact person has changed, ensure the new person is on the same page with your team regarding how the technology change will be handled.

Follow best practices for hardware disposal. If you’re disposing of hardware, be sure to follow practices that protect client data and the environment. Consider recycling retired hardware.

• Purge unnecessary documents. Triage your digital files and determine which you will keep and which you will archive.
• Schedule a training. Once you’ve set up your new system, arrange training for your staff.
• Collect questions and concerns. Once your employees are using the new system, get their feedback. What’s working? What’s confusing? What are the unexpected problems that have come up? Take all of your questions and concerns to your point person. Go through this process 30/90/180 days after you’ve implemented a new software system or other technological change.
• Schedule a follow-up training. Once you’ve had your initial training and you’ve received feedback from your staff, schedule a second training where questions and concerns will be addressed.
• Adjust your expectations. You shouldn’t expect that business will go on as usual during a technology transition. Staff won’t be able to perform to their normal standards until well after they’ve adjusted to the change. Accept and support this as much as possible.
• Integrate new technology. You should integrate your new technology into your existing processes. And check in with staff to find out what their new pain points are. What is working or not working with the new system integrations?
• Schedule ongoing training. Learning new technology tools isn’t just a one-shot deal, it’s an ongoing process. Even with familiar systems, you should have ongoing training opportunities for new and veteran employees. Don’t allow anyone to skip this training. Remember, software gets new updates all the time that can significantly improve your productivity. Your employees should understand how to utilize these software updates. Working in non-updated agile software is just as bad as holding on to outdated systems!

When it comes to effectively implementing new technology changes, the time to act is now. While making software and hardware changes isn’t easy, it’s not optional either. Law firms that fail to use legal technology software will expose themselves to ethical risks of being negligent in their duties. Plus, once the switch is made many law firms grow and thrive like never before – the pain of the process is well worth it!

Download the free E-Book: Guide to Implementing or Changing Software >>