BigHand Workflow Management Drives Firm Transformation
For over three years, BigHand has been monitoring the evolution of technology to support legal resources globally. Pressures from rising attrition and retirement, recruitment challenges, and hybrid working pose issues for effective workflow management. Today the number of drivers is greater and more complex. Increased market competition, client demand for cost-effectiveness and agility along with government requirements on legal service providers, are elevating the need for firms to optimise their internal workflows by aligning their people, processes, and technology. BigHand spoke with Neil Blum, Head of Information Technology at Barry Nilsson, to learn more.
Background
Barry Nilsson is an Australian mid-sized law firm, specialising in the Insurance and Health sector and Family and Wills and Estates. Over the last ten years, the firm has seen significant growth, more than doubling its staff numbers and expanding operationally. Today, Barry Nilsson is an award-winning business with almost 500 staff and six offices throughout Australia.
Naturally, the byproducts of such rapid growth include a potential loss of visibility as to how and where work is being allocated, as well as greater difficulty in managing traditional operational processes. If these were not challenging enough, for Barry Nilsson, operating in the highly competitive insurance sector brings additional complexity.
As Neil explains, “Our rate of growth meant that we had a number of different, piecemeal solutions that different teams were using: MS Web Forms, basic documents, emails, even Post-it Notes. In addition, with more than 80% of our business coming from the insurance sector, we needed to be able to respond to client requests quickly and cost-effectively - a scenario that was compounded in 2023 by the establishment of a new Victorian Government Legal Services Panel, which places several eligibility requirements – including demonstrable, ongoing investment in technology innovation - on law firms servicing the sector.”
Seamlessly Upgrading to the Cloud
Barry Nilsson had already established a strategic plan to migrate its on-premise tech infrastructure to a cloud-based, software-as-a-service system and opted to start this process by upgrading its BigHand dictation platform to BigHand Workflow Management, to take advantage of BigHand’s dictation suite, customisable task forms, and reporting.
“The client experience and client service levels are the ultimate driver,” says Neil. “But you can’t ensure you’re delivering those optimally without full visibility and transparency into the work distribution. For us, the obvious starting point in our cloud migration strategy was therefore the BigHand upgrade.
“From a technology perspective, migrating to software meant we would always be on the latest version of the software, and it has freed up my team’s time from IT management and maintenance to allow us to focus on strategy. Similarly, from an operational perspective, standardising dictation and our task forms has allowed us to redistribute work in line with the needs of the business: irrespective of where the work is coming from, it can be allocated nationally.”
The insight that comes from real-time access to data and reporting in BigHand Workflow Management supports the firm’s goals in achieving more productive workflows. “We are able to snapshot the entire business and see where, at any given time, capacity might sit and dynamically reallocate jobs, improving turnaround times, which ultimately is best for both clients and staff alike. In addition, having a broader picture of demand across teams means we can look at efficiencies around where work is going and where there might be opportunities to improve workflows.”
Balancing Change
With support from BigHand’s experienced team, Barry Nilsson was able to take a pragmatic and strategic view to both the software roll-out and workflow process enhancements.
“We were happy that the look and feel of the new platform was the same as the dictation platform,” Neil comments. “We felt it was key that the first impression of the technology was one of familiarity, which would allow us to focus on the bigger picture and communicate the benefits we – both as a business and as individuals - would gain by making the changes to workflow management.”
Barry Nilsson worked on identifying champions within the business to support the roll-out of the new working practices. “We approached this by identifying the areas within workflow that were most critical, that needed to be done efficiently to respond to work demands. We reorganised these functions into pods with members of the team who enjoyed these types of jobs, so moving away from the traditional structure of a fixed ‘lawyer-to-support staff’ ratio.”
By taking this pragmatic and deliberate approach, combined with a heavy focus on training, Neil and his team were able to ensure the project’s success by allowing the business and mindsets to change gradually.
Empowering Innovation
Of course, business never stands still, and for Barry Nilsson, the upgrade to BigHand Workflow Management remains part of ongoing investment in workflow process improvement and client-focused innovation. As Neil says, “Over time, the plan is to leverage technologies that enable better distribution of work.”
The alignment of people, process, and technology is also a key component of the approach being advocated by the Victorian Legal Services Panel. “For law firms to remain on the panel, we have to report every three months on technology and innovation,” Neil explains. “Not only is this important to stay competitive within the market, but it’s also a fundamental part of how we service the work while retaining profitability.
“At the end of the day, it’s simple,” Neil concludes. “If you don’t give your clients and staff members access to technologies that are going to make their working lives easier, fairer, and more transparent, you’re doing them a disservice.”
