Firms often invest substantially in strategic reviews coupled with retreats for key stakeholders. How often do these exercises result in effective and sustainable strategy?

Developing good strategy depends upon a frank assessment of where the organisation stands and what its aims are. Strategy is the bridge between the two.

A strategy is based on a plan but to be sustainable it must be frequently reviewed. Good strategy does not stand still. It adapts as conditions change. Any effective strategy must therefore have a review mechanism as part of it.

PTM offers law firms long experience in developing business strategies both for the entire organisation and individual teams.

Even the most adept of corporate boards or partners responsible for management of a professional firm recognise the value that an external facilitator can provide.

An effective facilitator is one who is not aligned to any group nor should the facilitator be one who has an interest in any particular direction being adopted. The facilitator is there to assist the decision-makers to develop a strategy or to resolve an issue which is divisive or which may have the potential for division.

PTM has the skills and experience to provide law firms with effective facilitation to enable business owners and their management teams to reach decisions that result in outcomes that are optimally commercial.

Every organisation has its own business systems. And the problem with systems is just that: because they are – by definition – settled, they tend not to be reviewed. They should be.

By way of example, consider a firm’s billing processes:

• Is the decision to render an invoice taken at the appropriate time?
• Who makes the decision and what guidelines inform the decision?
• Does the process of invoice generation involve any unnecessary steps, thus leading to time delays?
• What is done to ensure that invoicing is consistent with client expectations?
• What is the frequency of disputed or queried invoices?
• Are there clearly documented steps – defined as to time and responsible person – for the following up of payment of invoices?
• Is the follow up system effective and if not, why not?
• Who reviews the debtors ledger and how often? Does the reviewer have sufficient support?
• What role should individual lawyers and partners have in the follow up process?
• Is there need for a client review as to invoicing and payment practices? How is that review to be set up?

Of course, this list relates to just one business process. PTM helps law firms to analyse all their business processes and offers guidance for their improvement.

Does every member of every team know precisely what clients expect of them? For example, what critical issues should be addressed in letters of advice? How are budgets for individual engagements to be calculated? How frequently are reports to be issued during the life of an engagement? In short, what processes are in place to ensure the consistently high quality of output?

Unless there are readily available documented directions to team members explaining clearly what is expected of them in delivering services to individual clients, it can hardly be surprising if the law firm receives on occasion complaints about quality.

A vital part of a quality improvement strategy is having clearly defined processes which, if followed, will reduce the risk of an individual falling short of a client’s expectations.

PTM assists law firms to develop effective quality improvement plans.