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How to maximise value from your PMS investment

Category: Case Management, Guide, Practice Management 8th December 2022

Have you recently questioned the value of your practice management software (PMS)? Or do you consider your PMS to be a costly overhead?  

The growing pressures on SME law firms to operate in a cost-conscious way is increasing the expectations they have on their software investments; you’re not alone in revaluating the return on investment from your PMS. In fact, LPM’s 2022 Legal Landscapes report showed choosing or optimising back-office technology is the top organisational challenge for firms this year.

So, why is it that software investments – and in particular, PMS – aren’t driving the value that’s expected of them or that is necessary for firms to stay competitive?

Align your law firm’s goals and legal tech priorities

There are two key reasons why a PMS project doesn’t succeed. Firstly, the project – or the software – isn’t considered a priority. The second reason is failure to share the operational strategy and goals across the firm.

Humans are naturally averse to change, and you may be asking people within your firm to change decade-old habits. But, with clear communication of the firm’s goals and plans, it helps to alleviate the fear and employees are more motivated to experiment. Having a clear digital operational strategy – that defines goals, aims, benefits for investing, timescales, and metrics for success – will outline what’s expected of the team to ensure the investment will provide a return.

Without a clear strategy, technology investments aren’t prioritised across the firm and other goals will always be prioritised. Pushing to increase billable hours for example, will then reduce any time for software training. Without training, employees work off the system and continue with ineffective habits. But, when no one is incentivised to utilise the software, they’ll never prioritise its use – and the cycle continues.

Increase measurable value

To make your PMS work harder, you need to…

Read the full article in LPM’s Practice Management Software supplement.

Download LPM’s Practice Management Software Supplement

The LPM supplement delves deep into the questions and trends surrounding practice management systems – a fundamental part of any practice. Discover what part a PMS plays in the planning and long-term success of law firms and what is expected from a system going forward.

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