How many of us are making the best use of the computer systems we already have? Partners, senior managers and fee earners in all sizes of firms often are frustrated that the systems just will not deliver what they need or are concerned that they do not have the best computer systems for their firm and thus significant opportunities are being missed.
Sometimes the system is no longer up to the job, is too old or will not strategically support where the firm needs to go and then it has to be replaced. However, often the issue is simply about making effective and innovative use of the systems you already have.
Most modern systems are pretty sophisticated with all sorts of facilities built into them which the average user does not use. Talk to any package supplier and they will tell you that lots of functionality in their package is not being used by many users.
Fairly small changes to existing systems can also bring major benefits – I have seen:
- A Debt Recovery team reduce it’s headcount by 30% with an increased volume of work by making effective use of MS Office to generate documents.
- A credit control clerk was becoming overloaded – simplifying the process and reading unpaid bills direct out of the main system reduced the workload and eliminated the need to purchase a £20k+ package.
- A major frustration with a Practice Management System was easily eliminated – removing the need to replace the system at very significant cost.
- Highly complicated interlinked Excel spreadsheets providing management information were massively simplified by making better use of Office.
- Excel was used to analyse information direct from the main systems, producing client profiles and trends which changed the marketing strategy of the firm.
- Automating Word and email production made it easy to generate standard documents with a consistent image being presented to clients and others.
Most of the above came from partners / managers who had a strong suspicion that they had a problem / opportunity but they really did not know how they could find out if the computer could help and whether it was worthwhile.
Initially a phone conversation identified whether the situation was worth following up. Then for those situations that looked promising a quick investigation, talking to the staff involved and looking at the existing computer systems rapidly confirmed what could be done.
In today’s economic climate, everyone is focused on ensuring their firms are running effectively – staff levels are being kept to the minimum and thus it is essential that we all make the most effective use of our computers.
Many solutions do not require changing the computer systems. By staying focused on the business requirements – asking why things are being done and thinking about different / better ways of achieving the same objective then big benefits are delivered with little or sometimes no changes to the computer systems.
If you think there are some areas where your computer system could be more effectively used, even if you are not sure how, why not contact Andrew Simmans to discuss the situation. Andrew will be able to help you over the phone identify if this is an area worth investigating further and whether it is likely that a small change could bring big benefits.