Guide to Client care: Communication and service. Practice support

Transcription

1 Guide to Client care: Communication and service Practice support

2 Enquiries/comments to: Giles Watson QLS Practice Support Manager Tel: Client care communication and service page 2

3 Table of Contents 1. What is client care? and why is it important? Customer dissatisfaction and risk management Service, value and value for money What do clients want? Delivering client service Client care as a marketing tool Managing expectations First interview with client Effective Communication Confirmation & retainer letter Fees and costs information 1: Regulator requirements and client requirements Fees & Costs Information 2: Client Care And Profitability Ending the Retainer Cultural issues The role of support staff Handling Complaints Researching client satisfaction Making it happen: the key steps in transforming your practice Complaints, discipline and the role of the LSC...72 Appendix 1: Do s and Don ts of client care...78 Appendix 2: QLS Client Service Charter...80 Client care communication and service page 3

4 1. What is client care? and why is it important? What is client care? What is good service? Solicitors often struggle with the concept of client care. Although many educators now have a more practical focus, legal education and training has often been primarily based on black letter law and principles of justice, rather than service and communication, and solicitors have traditionally believed that their worth to either employer or client will primarily be assessed according to their legal, technical expertise rather than how that expertise is delivered. This can often cause a great divide between client and solicitor. Times are changing, however - with developments in client service in other markets, the wider use of information technology, and the increasing availability of legal information. In future the success of both practices and individual solicitors will depend increasingly less on legal expertise, and increasingly more on service delivery. In attempting to define client care and client service (and for the purposes of this guide, these terms are used interchangeably), it might be best to start with an examination of some of the misconceptions or partial understandings concerning client care: Not quite client care: Client care is about doing the best job I can in looking after my clients interests. It is a common error of solicitors to think that because the matter is progressing well, and the clients interests are being protected or enhanced, that a good service is being provided. Whatever the progress of the matter, if you cause the client stress or frustration by poor communication or administration, you are not providing a good service. Protecting your clients interests is of course important, but it is not the same thing as good service. Client care requires a greater focus on how you do things, and how you interact with your clients. The majority of client dissatisfaction concerns not legal expertise, but weaknesses in service, administration and communication. Excellent service means providing a service that is excellent in the client s terms rather than service that you consider excellent. Client care is about regulatory compliance and obligations such as costs disclosure. Client care is about retaining and upholding high ethical standards in all my dealings with clients. Client care is about avoiding complaints and providing the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect of a reasonably competent Australian legal practitioner. Client care is about much more than costs disclosure and fulfilling regulatory obligations. Rules and regulations only cover some service issues, and then only provide a minimum benchmark. If you focus solely on a limited number of minimum benchmarks, your chances of client dissatisfaction will remain high. Client care is about more than ethics. Honesty and integrity are important but are taken as read and assumed by clients at least by the time they have instructed you. Ethics provides a set of rules and principles to guide your actions in a generalist sense, but they do not equip you for responding to the specific needs of different clients. To provide good service, solicitors need guidance not only from ethical rules or principles, but also directly from their own clients. As with specific regulatory obligations, it is important to think of client care not as some defined minimum benchmark, but as a constant journey towards best practice and ever-higher levels of client satisfaction. Levels of client care are primarily measured by individual clients, not the LSC, and just because your service meets the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect of a reasonably competent Australian Legal Practitioner, it does not mean that your service will satisfy specific clients in specific circumstances. Client care is about having a good desk side manner and being sympathetic to client concerns. A good desk-side manner or developing a good personal relationship with a client is not the same thing as good service. Clients might enjoy your company but still feel frustrated by delay or other issues. Personal communication skills are valuable and important, but they need to be backed up by good administration systems to guarantee client care. Client care communication and service page 4

5 Professionalism, ethics, commercialism and client care Solicitors often over-emphasise the importance of their professional status, believing that this status guarantees clients a superior service protected from commercial instincts, guided by worthy ethical principals and protected by high admission and ongoing regulatory standards. Although ethical standards are important, they are different from service standards, and for many clients, the term professional has negative rather than positive service connotations. Professional status is dependent on the recognition of technical skills, the maintenance of expertise and the acceptance of professional standards. Solicitors should rightly recognise the importance of their training and ethical framework, but should also realise that client concerns are different. Clients do not buy your expertise or your time; they buy service and a solution to their problems. Similarly they do not (usually) judge solicitors by their technical skills, expertise or compliance to ethical standards (these are assumed), they judge them by their service delivery, efficiency and communication skills. Whilst ethics and standards certainly have their place, it would be wrong of professionals to assume that these guarantee a superior level of either protection or service to clients. Regulation is necessary for the professions because of their unique market position, the relative inability of consumers to protect themselves, and the necessity of trust. But does the commercial world suffer because of its lack of regulation? In other industries, the market is better equipped to regulate, often in tandem with a varying degrees of government intervention. Such client led regulation is often highly effective: improving service much more efficiently than any code of conduct. In terms of a driver for practice standards and behaviour, the legal profession has a tendency to over-rely on tradition and their ethical framework at the expense of listening directly to the needs of their own clients and markets, specifically in the key areas of costs information and communication. As clients become more confident, vocal and demanding, however, they are becoming increasingly useful guides as to what good service is and how it should be delivered. An over-reliance on regulatory codes of conduct, as opposed to the seeking of client feedback, is likely to lead to poorer rather than higher standards of service because codes of conduct can only set minimum standards or benchmarks: by consistently aiming low, some people will inevitably miss their target. Clients, on the other hand, demand the highest standards and this is what professionals should be aiming for. Similarly, the professional trait of over-reliance on ethics and technical skills as the most important drivers of standards is again misplaced. Most complaints or poor service can be attributed to administration, management and communication failings rather than either ethical or technical failings. In not recognizing this, and in continuing to focus on ethics and technical skills, professionals again risk failing in relation to client service. Given the above, it seems that some professionals might be able to learn something from more commercial industries. Commercial industries are often seen as leading the way on service because, unlike some solicitors, they understand that to be successful and profitable they need to provide a good service and to provide a good service, they need to listen to their clients. It is a criticism of the legal profession that by sometimes sneering at commercialism, they fail to learn from its strengths, not least in service delivery and responsiveness to customer needs. In reality of course, the conflict between professionalism and commercialism is exaggerated: solicitors need to acknowledge both their ethical framework and the needs of their clients. The danger lies in thinking that an ethical framework is sufficient in itself to guarantee good service. Clients live in the commercial world and have commercial needs, and solicitors need to respond to these commercial needs with a commercial service. Client care communication and service page 5

6 Client Care objectives & strategy Effective client care is based around a number of overlapping objectives: Focus on the client s service requirements, not just the legal product. What does the client need? Speed? Reassurance? Value? Communication? Candid advice? Sensitivity? Respect? Efficiency? Regular updates? Involvement? Contrary to popular belief, clients do not buy your time and expertise, they buy a service. As a result, they do not just need technical skills, they also need the good feelings, positive experiences and confidence that go with it. Manage expectations Keep the client involved and in control Make every client feel they are your most important client Develop good team and individual communication skills and habits Identify and address any assumptions both the client s and your own that could lead to later misunderstandings or tensions. See section on managing expectations One of the main concerns when clients retain lawyers is they feel they have lost control and have handed over all responsibility to the lawyer. Fee-earners should, therefore, ensure they keep the client regularly informed on the progress of the matter, any changes to cost estimates, and any changes to timescales. Even if the matter hasn t progressed, or if there are no changes to initial estimates, it is good practice to stay in touch with the client just to reassure them that everything is on track. Many clients will leave a firm, not because of any problems with the quality of legal work, but because a perception has arisen that they are not a particularly valued client. Often this is a misperception, and the lawyer can be working very hard on their case with considerable success. If the client is not advised of progress, or is not included, a perception of neglect can occur. Not everyone is a natural communicator, but skills and techniques can be learned to improve your communications with your clients. A large number of law firms would claim to do some or all of the above, but many would struggle to tell you how. It is not enough for a law firm to claim to subscribe to these as principles; a strategy is needed to ensure these principles are embedded in all of the firm s activities. A complete client care strategy should involve a mixture of the following: Policies, processes, procedures & checklists to facilitate effective client care The right practice culture A philosophy of continuous improvement, using client feedback Client needs should form the basis of all systems and procedures, and must also be perceived as credible by those operating them. Does your practice culture support or hinder people in their efforts to provide a good service? See section on cultural issues Client feedback and complaints information, as well as your own observations, should give you the information to identify strengths and weaknesses in your service, and to continuously improve. Client care communication and service page 6

7 Why is client care important? The importance of client service cannot be overestimated. Many lawyers find it surprising that, according to research, around 75% per cent of the incentive for choosing one lawyer over another is linked to service delivery, and only 25% to technical/legal expertise. In most situations, clients will already expect a lawyer to know his or her law, so in choosing a lawyer, the level of service will nearly always be more important. Client care is important to your practice for a number of reasons; and can bring the following benefits: Fewer claims and complaints Increased client retention Client development and cross-selling services from different departments or practice areas Increased referrals Differentiation and positive brand appeal Higher recovery rates (percentage of recorded time or work in progress actually recovered in fees) Potential for higher rates/fees Improved practice morale and staff/partner retention Client care is all very well, but you can t charge for it can you Although many of the above benefits are acknowledged, many solicitors are still cynical about the link between client care and profitability seeing client care as a bureaucratic drain on both time and money, and making comments like, Client care is all very well but you can t charge for it can you?. You can of course charge for client care both in terms of increasing your rates and, if the client agrees, though time costs for additional service-related tasks. As professionals, solicitors often believe they are paid primarily or even solely for their professional expertise. This, however, is not the case and in reality clients not only pay for a service but are willing to pay more for a better service from their solicitor in the same way that they would pay more for a better service from their builder, insurer, hairdresser or broadband provider. Just as many of the most profitable companies in commercial industries are successful because of their service quality, so client service can be a key driver of profitability for solicitors. Small but significant improvements in clients perceptions of service quality can produce significant improvements in some key practice measures, and even bigger differences in profitability. The cumulative effect of the changes below which are by no means ambitious or unrealistic can have the effect of doubling profitability. 10% increase in fee rates? -- 25% increase in profits 15% increase in volume of work from improved retention and referral rates? % increase in profits (assuming costs controlled) Increase in WIP recovery rate from 85% to 90%? % increase in profits As the above benefits are some of the most important strategic objectives for just about any legal practice, you would expect client care and service issues to have a higher profile both within individual practices and in the legal industry generally. This, however, is demonstrably not the case, with practices rarely investing in or prioritising service issues as a strategic objective, and with client care and service usually falling behind issues such as marketing, finance, risk management, compliance, IT, HR and knowledge management as a practice concern. How many firms, for instance, have a specialist client care manager or partner? Client care communication and service page 7

8 An unfair emphasis on the negative? One of the challenges with client care and service is that client perceptions place an emphasis on the negative. Here are some statistics, regularly repeated with only slight changes to the figures in numerous reports or surveys. it takes ten positive impressions to make up for one negative 80% of dissatisfied clients will tell someone else about poor service over 80% of customers don t complain when they have a problem - they just don t come back Satisfied clients might tell one or two other people of their experience. Dissatisfied clients are likely to tell between 5 and 10 others. Statistics such as these demonstrate the client care challenge: providing reasonably good service most of the time might not be good enough. Because the importance of service failings are exaggerated above good service in client perceptions, practices have to eliminate virtually all service failings before any positive aspects of service are recognised. With client expectations constantly rising, this is probably a more demanding challenge than most practices realise: There is a big gap between good service and an official complaint, and your service doesn t have to be that bad, by your own standards, to risk client dissatisfaction. The challenge of keeping the customer satisfied applies to all industries, but evidence suggests that solicitors have more problems than most. Here are some results from a survey by Which (a consumer organisation) in England, in 2006: a third of people think they receive poor service from their solicitor; a quarter of those surveyed think their solicitor doesn t listen to their opinion; a third don t feel they are told enough about how much they will be charged; and more than half the people surveyed said they received no pre-estimate of fees at all; and only about a quarter said they got one in writing. Although these figures relate to solicitors in England, are solicitors in Queensland doing any better? In 2006, QLS and the LSC received a total of 8696 enquiries. Although not all calls and enquiries will be fair indications of poor service, these figures are at least the equivalent of enquiries to the Legal Complaints Services in England. In a state of c8,000 practitioners, there is definitely room for improvement in relation to client care, service and communication, especially if, as surveys suggests, the vast majority of people prefer not to complain. There are a number of reasons for client care s relatively low profile amongst solicitors: Solicitors are instinctively less interested in service issues than harder technical, legal or intellectual matters; Service issues rarely seem as urgent as either fee-earning or other practice concerns; Both practices and individual solicitors assume they are already good at client care; or Practices do not understand the different elements of client care, and do not know how to effectively address client care concerns. These reasons are all barriers to effective client care and service, whether they are true for the practice as a whole or just for a minority of solicitors. The route to overcoming these barriers is usually a greater focus on listening to clients. Once solicitors truly listen to their clients, both the importance of client care, and the required actions become much clearer. Client care communication and service page 8

9 To get your colleagues to accept the need for the practice to focus more on client care, you might need to first directly challenge complacency. Here are a few questions to consider: Are you happy with your client retention rates? Are you confident about introducing clients to all of your colleagues? and that all your colleagues will provide a good service to your clients? Are you happy with the number of referrals you get? Are you confident that all your clients would be happy to unreservedly refer friends or colleagues to you? Does the culture of the practice help or hinder excellent client service? How many complaints formal and informal - have you had in the last 3 years? Multiply the figure by 4: Most people are not comfortable making official complaints to solicitors. What do your clients really want by way of service? Are you confident your clients answers would match yours? An unfair emphasis on the negative? One of the challenges with client care and service is that client perceptions place an emphasis on the negative. Here are some statistics, regularly repeated with only slight changes to the figures in numerous reports or surveys. it takes ten positive impressions to make up for one negative 80% of dissatisfied clients will tell someone else about poor service over 80% of customers don t complain when they have a problem - they just don t come back Satisfied clients might tell one or two other people of their experience. Dissatisfied clients are likely to tell between 5 and 10 others. Statistics such as these demonstrate the client care challenge: providing reasonably good service most of the time might not be good enough. Because the importance of service failings are exaggerated above good service in client perceptions, practices have to eliminate virtually all service failings before any positive aspects of service are recognised. With client expectations constantly rising, this is probably a more demanding challenge than most practices realise: There is a big gap between good service and an official complaint, and your service doesn t have to be that bad, by your own standards, to risk client dissatisfaction. The challenge of keeping the customer satisfied applies to all industries, but evidence suggests that solicitors have more problems than most. Here are some results from a survey by Which (a consumer organisation) in England, in 2006: a third of people think they receive poor service from their solicitor; a quarter of those surveyed think their solicitor doesn t listen to their opinion; a third don t feel they are told enough about how much they will be charged; and more than half the people surveyed said they received no pre-estimate of fees at all; and only about a quarter said they got one in writing. Although these figures relate to solicitors in England, are solicitors in Queensland doing any better? In 2006, QLS and the LSC received a total of 8696 enquiries. Although not all calls and enquiries will be fair indications of poor service, these figures are at least the equivalent of enquiries to the Legal Complaints Services in England. In a state of c8,000 practitioners, there is definitely room for improvement in relation to client care, service and communication, especially if, as surveys suggests, the vast majority of people prefer not to complain. There are a number of reasons for client care s relatively low profile amongst solicitors: Client care communication and service page 9

10 Solicitors are instinctively less interested in service issues than harder technical, legal or intellectual matters; Service issues rarely seem as urgent as either fee-earning or other practice concerns; Both practices and individual solicitors assume they are already good at client care; or Practices do not understand the different elements of client care, and do not know how to effectively address client care concerns. These reasons are all barriers to effective client care and service, whether they are true for the practice as a whole or just for a minority of solicitors. The route to overcoming these barriers is usually a greater focus on listening to clients. Once solicitors truly listen to their clients, both the importance of client care, and the required actions become much clearer. To get your colleagues to accept the need for the practice to focus more on client care, you might need to first directly challenge complacency. Here are a few questions to consider: Are you happy with your client retention rates? Are you confident about introducing clients to all of your colleagues? and that all your colleagues will provide a good service to your clients? Are you happy with the number of referrals you get? Are you confident that all your clients would be happy to unreservedly refer friends or colleagues to you? Does the culture of the practice help or hinder excellent client service? How many complaints formal and informal - have you had in the last 3 years? Multiply the figure by 4: Most people are not comfortable making official complaints to solicitors. What do your clients really want by way of service? Are you confident your clients answers would match yours? Client care communication and service page 10

11 2. Customer dissatisfaction and risk management Talk of risk management for solicitors is most often associated with claims and insurance, but not only are poor service and client dissatisfaction risks in their own right, they can also be addressed using many of the common risk management techniques and processes that are more commonly used to minimise claims. As with other risks, poor service risks can be managed by implementing systems/arrangements/ processes/plans to address specific concerns and limit either the likelihood or impact of different categories of poor service. The importance of minimising both the likelihood and impact of service risks cannot be overstated. As discussed in the first chapter, clients not only judge legal practices primarily on their service delivery, but also place a disproportional emphasis on any service failings compared to examples of good service. The Risk Management process A simple risk management model involves a continuous four stage process: The Risk Management Process 1 Risk Identification Analysis of complaints handling records, client satisfaction research, supervision meetings & file audits internal discussions involving fee-earners and support staff. 2 Risk Assessment How did it happen? What are the underlying causes? Which risks are the most likely to occur What is the likely impact Not all risks to good service can be addressed easily or immediately, so you might need to prioritise 3 Risk Management Once you have assessed and prioritised the different risks, you then need to implement arrangements to manage them Arrangements could include training, guidelines, changing the culture, new IT systems, new processes, procedures, plans, policies etc. 4 Monitor Evaluate Improve Neither risk management nor client care are one-off exercises Constantly monitor, evaluate and improve Measure results, seek feedback, and continually improve. Many of the activities used to avoid negligence claims are equally useful in the context of client care. Mistakes rarely lead to claims but the common causes of claims (delay, poor communication, poor administration, poor supervision) can cause just as much harm in terms of regular client dissatisfaction as a single claim. Poor client service is a risk that can be managed like any other, and is probably the biggest risk that practices face. Client care communication and service page 11

12 Here are some common risk management techniques and issues which are equally useful in relation to client care and service. Initial risk assessment Risk template Delay & missing deadlines Identify the problems that might arise during the matter, and implement arrangements to eliminate or manage them. Document the common service risks that could potentially occur in each type of matter, and compare new clients/matters to this template Diary, reminder & bring-up systems processes & procedures for key date management inactivity checks. Supervision & file audits Effective first interviews Oversight of how fee-earners within your team communicate with clients. File audits to check on client communications. Understand and manage the client s expectations. Agree who will do what, and what the fee-earner won t do. Discuss the client s service requirements. Informative retainer letters Checklists Provide the client with all relevant information and make sure they understand it. Encourage the client to come back to you if they have any questions or concerns. Have you missed anything? Are you making any assumptions? Updates Manage complaints Seek Feedback Keep the client informed and involved. Give yourself the chance to address any client dissatisfaction quickly and efficiently in-house before the client makes a formal complaint, leaves or sues. Always listen and seek feedback both informally, and through formal arrangements like client satisfaction surveys. Client care communication and service page 12

13 3. Service, value and value for money Value Lawyers instinctively think that value relates to the level of fees and the quality of advice. In the vast majority of cases, however, a solicitor s technical skills are assumed, and clients will find it difficult to distinguish between one lawyer s technical skills and another s. Similarly, even in areas of practice where fee rates vary considerably, practices prefer not to compete directly on price because this affects profitability. Clients can and do, however, judge solicitors on their service levels, and it is how you deliver the service that creates the perception of value. Service is therefore the factor which most influences perceptions of value, and the area where law firms seeking to improve customer perceptions of value should invest. According to research by Heather Stewart, a leading consultant on legal client service in Europe, the key elements in gaining (most) clients trust and creating value are as follows: Your technical skills, even though these have to be assumed; Your honesty and integrity, which are also taken as read; Your communication skills, including your listening skills, how you communicate and how often you communicate, Your responsiveness, promptness of action and timeliness of advice; Your accessibility, and how easily clients can contact you for advice; Your reliability, efficiency, attention to detail, how often you do what you say you will and actually ensure that work accords with your clients instructions; The way in which you demonstrate to a client that you value both the client s work and the client; The approach of everyone in the firm. It should be stressed that whilst the above qualities are appreciated by the majority of clients, YOUR clients might value some of the above more than others, or might value something new. You will need to undertake research with your own client to identify their priorities. In other words, understand what your client values and then give it to them. Although many of the above (which are discussed in more detail in chapters 6 and 11) might seem obvious, lawyers consistently fail to meet related client expectations. This has an effect on client confidence which in turn affects client perceptions of value. Value for money Value can be defined as: The importance or worth of something for someone. To speak about the value of legal services to clients, you have to first understand the views of clients. Clients want to feel that the fee they pay is reasonable for the value they have gained for your services. Clients will regard your bill as fair and representing good value for money only if Client care communication and service page 13

14 you have provided a service that matches or exceeds - their expectations Matching these expectations is difficult for two reasons: Clients often find it difficult to understand either the complexity of legal work, or the numerous practice overheads associated with it. -- Providing information to explain that the fee charged is not your take home pay will help to limit sensitivity over costs. Legal costs are high: the charge-out rate for many lawyers will be the same as many private clients earn in a day. -- As the costs are high, expectations will also be high before clients feel they have received value for money. Perceptions of value for money are subjective and will vary between clients, but the difficulties of matching client expectation of value will often lead to a large proportion of clients perceiving a gap between the cost and the value of legal work. To ensure your clients consider your service good value for money, you not only have to build and demonstrate your value by focussing on the areas identified above, you also have to ensure that this perceived value meets or exceeds the monetary value of your bill. According to the same research mentioned above, the issues which most affect perceptions of value for money are as follows: Managing the matter to your client s satisfaction Managing financial arrangements and billing Perceptions of your technical ability The commerciality of your advice (if appropriate). Of these, the first two are the most important, as whilst clients appreciate and value technical ability, they are rarely in a position to judge or assess it. Similarly, the commerciality of your advice will only be relevant for some clients or in some situations. In most situations, therefore, clients perceptions of value for money will primarily be driven by how practices manage both the matter and the associated financial arrangements and billing. Communicating value To reap the benefits that enhanced client service can bring, practices not only have to invest in the areas mentioned above, they have to ensure that this value is perceived by clients. This is not meant to suggest that you need to do a hard-sell and simply tell them how wonderful you are, but simply that solicitors should attempt to bridge the gap between what you think your services should be worth, and what the client thinks they are worth. Client care communication and service page 14

15 What you think you should charge Perceived value gap Your current fee What your client considers to be the value received As mentioned above, the majority of clients do not understand either the complexities or economics of legal work, so it is understandably difficult for them to recognise the value in your service. Solicitors can address this by improving and increasing client communication. Clients appreciate and value communication from their solicitors, so the act of communication helps to build value in itself. It also, however, helps to justify your fees by giving the client more information about your activity. Building the clients perception of value can primarily be achieved through the following communication activities: First interview; Client agreement / retainer letter; Cost & matter updates; and Final bill It involves explaining Not just what work is being done, but why it is being done, and how this benefits the client Not just who is doing the work, and their experience/expertise, but why it is necessary to have someone with such expertise handle the matter, and how this will benefit the client. In a first interview for example, the more you discuss the work you will be doing, the more the client will understand the work and complexities involved. If, however, you simply extract information from the client, but give nothing back, it is not surprising if the client undervalues the work you are doing for them. Similarly, if you send a cost update, revised estimate or final bill which provides only dollar figures rather than emphasising the work related to these costs, it is not surprising if the client focuses on the cost rather than the value. Always try to tell the client what you are doing to justify the fees you charge. Client care communication and service page 15

16 Lawyers and Builders The challenge of communicating value can be illustrated by comparing solicitors to builders and imagining yourself as the client of a builder. You would like the builder to build an extension to your house, and you see this as a fairly simple task which should not cost more than $15,000. The builder however quotes $25,000 but doesn t indicate that the work is any more complicated than you had assumed. You reluctantly accept the estimate and retain the builder but are disappointed when the builder keeps revising his estimate and at the end of the job (1 month later) the final bill comes in at $32,500. The additional cost is justified only by harder than I thought and complications in conversation and by additional time and materials in the bill. In the above situation, you are unlikely to be a satisfied client, but this is the situation that many solicitors clients find themselves in. Compare this to the situation below. You would like the builder to build an extension to your house, and you see this as a fairly simple task which should not cost more than $15,000. The builder inspects your property and explains that, whilst normally this would cost c$15,000, the current drainage arrangements mean that it would be risky to go ahead without additional work on your guttering, drainage and plumbing. Although this will increase the cost to $25,000, he explains the risks involved of not doing the extra work, and you end up being impressed not only by the builders skill in recognising the initial problem, but in how he has explained the issues to you. After 5 days, the builder contacts you and says he has some more news. He apologises for not noticing the issue immediately, but says he has discovered a serious termite problem in the existing wall, and that this will mean more work and money. He explains the problem in more detail and increases his estimate to $32,500 making sure you are happy with this before proceeding with the extra work. His final bill comes in as estimated, and includes a detailed breakdown of where his time and your money were spent. The two examples include the same initial estimates and costs, and both include prompt cost updates. The difference lies in explaining the work, and specifically in explaining the value attached to the extra work in this case the value of addressing the drainage and termite risks. Although much legal work is complicated, solicitors are often too quick to assume that the client would not understand or would not be interested in more details of the work they are doing on the clients behalf. By working on their communication skills, complicated legal work can be explained in a way that not only makes sense to clients, but which helps them to recognise the value of the work. Client care communication and service page 16

17 4. What do clients want? The best way to find out what clients want is simply to ask them. This can be done in a number of ways: First interview ask and listen Key client reviews Client satisfaction surveys Complaints information Gaining feedback from lost clients Whilst this guide attempts to suggest some key issues in client needs and preferences, it must be emphasized that it contains only generalisations. Different clients will want different things and it would be dangerous to assume that any preferences apply equally to all clients. Age, location, education, occupation, sophistication and other variables mean that all clients are different. The biggest difference will probably be in the degree of involvement that clients want. Whilst the trend is for growing client involvement, many clients still prefer to entrust their solicitor with most responsibilities, and to eave it all to the professional. Levels of client service In terms of the quality of service, client needs can be split into the following three levels: Basic requirements Basic technical competence Honesty and integrity Efficiency and value for money Effective communication Reliability and efficiency Flexibility Key service measures Superior legal work Low cost Speed A commercial approach Flexibility Added value measures Help the client develop themselves personally Help the client better control their work and life Help the client look good within their organization Remove surprises and risks for the client Help the client grow their business and become more profitable Help the client pay less tax Introductions, free training, resources, advice, Client care communication and service page 17

18 What clients want 1: basic requirements These are the areas that address many clients minimum expectations. In this sense, they can be seen as hygiene needs: you should not expect to be congratulated for meeting client expectations in these areas, but should expect some client dissatisfaction if your standards drop and you fail to meet expectations. Even though these can be described as basic, some clients can be very demanding in these areas. Expectations are constantly rising, and you will have to constantly monitor and improve performance to ensure satisfaction. Basic technical competence (assumed) Honesty and integrity (assumed) Efficiency and value for money Effective communication Reliability and efficiency Flexibility Technical competence By the time they retain you, clients already believe that you are competent in the legal technical aspects of your work. This applies to all clients. Commercial clients, for example, usually value the reassurance provided by the range and depth of expertise offered by larger firms. This technical competence is assumed, however, and is very rarely a major concern of clients once the working relationship has started. Sophisticated clients can usually tell quite quickly if a solicitor is out of his/her depth, and this can quickly lead to a loss of confidence and lack of trust. For this reason, solicitors should never try to inflate their experience/expertise and should not accept instructions that go outside their areas of competence. If, however, a solicitor admits quickly that they do not have specific knowledge in any area, and advises the client that additional or alternative advice has to be sought, client confidence is often enhanced with the client reassured that the solicitor is looking after the client s best interests. Solicitors should also try to avoid any actions or situations which might, rightly or wrongly, cause doubts as to technical skills such as having to amend your advice, or amend documents which have already been released. Honesty and integrity As with technical competence, honesty and integrity are vitally important, but are taken as read by the time you accept an instruction and start acting for clients. You should not have to prove your honesty and integrity, but should be cautious of acting in any way that might, rightly or wrongly, cause the client to doubt your ethics. Common activities that can raise doubts as to your honesty and integrity include: Any suggestion of overcharging; Misleading the client, or failing to manage their expectations, re costs, timescales, partner involvement or the outcome of the matter; Failing to advise appropriately on the necessity or desirability of additional work; Inefficient trust account management; Undertaking work outside your area of competence; and Poor management of any personal or professional conflicts of interest It is important to note that you do not have to act dishonestly to raise client concerns: it is the perception of dishonesty that matters. Often a failure to manage expectations can be viewed as deliberate misdirection and can be as harmful to the client-solicitor relationship as any real ethical failing. Client care communication and service page 18

19 Efficiency and value for money In marketing materials, or in pitches and tender documents, solicitors are usually keen to emphasise their expertise, or better still, their experience. As with technical competence, however, these are in most instances assumed or expected. What clients do appreciate is when such expertise or experience can be used to increase efficiency so that work is done quicker, and the client saves money. The fact that you have done a conveyancing transaction 400 times means nothing to the client unless you can do the job quicker, cheaper, and in a small number of instances better, than the person who has only done three similar transactions. Similar efficiency is also the ultimate benefit of a number of other features that legal practices like to promote such as breadth of expertise, extensive knowledge management resources, good IT systems etc. As with experience, these only improve service to the client once they are demonstrably used to increase efficiency and save the client either time or money. Effective communication Try to establish how your client would like to communicate at any early stage such as the first interview: How: meeting? ? Phone? Letter? Fax? When: Weekly? Monthly? At specific points in the progression of the case? Don t over-communicate! Clients appreciate worthwhile communication, but do not like paying for unnecessary communication, such as lengthy update letters if these are not required. A balance therefore needs to be found, and agreed with the client. To be included and in control Because of the importance of the business, financial or personal issues at stake when clients retain solicitors, clients normally want to retain some sort of involvement. This basic human need, however, is often overlooked by solicitors, possibly because: they consider themselves too busy at any given time to keep in touch with the client; they mistakenly believe the client doesn t want or need to be involved in legal complexities; they prefer the technical side of legal work to client communication; or they assume a greater level of responsibility for the matter than the client has actually entrusted to them. The last point has grown as an issue in recent times as solicitors adapt to the end of professional deference, rising service expectations, and a growing client assertiveness. Many clients do trust their lawyers and surrender control willingly, but lawyers have to remember that this trust has to be earned, and until then, they need to work together with the client. No worries leave it all to me does not necessarily provide the level of confidence that some fee-earners anticipate. Solicitors need to approach the client-solicitor relationship as a partnership, and agree in advance how much control, responsibility and communication the client would like to retain. Client care communication and service page 19

20 To keep the client included and in control, all fee-earners should aim to update the client, at agreed intervals, on issues including the following: If there is a delay, and the reason for any delay; The implications of any developments; Any changes to the fee-earner or team handling the matter; Any changes in cost estimates; and Any changes in timescale estimates. Involving the client often means going beyond updates and communication. Just as clients don t like paying for unnecessary communication, they also don t like paying for things they can just as easily do themselves. If there might be areas where the client could save either money or time by doing things themselves, this should be discussed at the outset. Clients increasingly want control over costs. This will often mean going beyond simple costs information to involving clients in decisions which have cost implications such as which feeearners to use (expensive partner time, or cheaper, less experienced fee-earners), the necessity of different work, and whether the client can actually do some work themselves instead of paying the solicitors to do it. To be listened to and understood. Communication is a two-way process. Solicitors are trained at giving advice, but are not necessarily as good at listening. All too often fee earners assume what a client wants from a situation without discussion. Solicitors need to ensure they understand what the clients want in terms of both legal work and service, but this isn t as easy or straightforward as many lawyers believe. The following actions can help lawyers improve their listening: Set aside enough time for a client interviews, and do not take calls during this time Set aside any preconceptions you might have about the client or the topic, so you can listen openly Put the client at ease, so they feel confident in raising issues Avoid interrupting the client Ask the appropriate open questions -- Clients often don t know how their case differs from normal, and aren t aware of what the lawyer needs to know. It is the lawyer s responsibility to ensure they get all the information required, by asking the right questions. Prepare and follow checklists to ensure you discuss all relevant issues with the client this will help to ensure you avoid making false assumptions Help the client clearly articulate issues Confirm understanding with the client through feedback or summarising. The last point about confirming understanding is vital because it is not enough to listen to and understand the client: they have to feel that you are listening to them. Client care communication and service page 20

21 To know and understand what is going on In addition to listening skills, lawyers need to develop good speaking skills and written communications. To facilitate client understanding, a fee-earner needs to: Imagine they are not a lawyer Put themselves in the client s situation Tailor what they say to the understanding of the client Avoid legal or technical jargon where possible, and explain it where used. Both written and verbal communications are discussed in more detail in chapter 11. Pro-active communication from the solicitor Managing communication and updates in a proactive way is good for both the client and the solicitor. For clients, proactive communication is a sign of good service, and is likely to increase the trust and confidence they have in their lawyer. For solicitors, proactive communication is more efficient than reactive communication and also reduces the communication burden by limiting any update requests caused by client restlessness or anxiety. Proactive communication is discussed further in chapter 11 Responsiveness from the solicitor Both commercial and private clients highly value responsiveness: Commercial clients because of their own internal and external obligations; and Private clients because any delay can lead to a perception that something is wrong and anxiety. Responsiveness is discussed further in chapter 11. Reliability and efficiency Reliability means doing what you said you would do, how you said you would do it, by the agreed time. Reliability matters to clients because it is one of the few ways that they can judge your competence. If you do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, then there is a good chance of you handling the matter well. If, however, you fail to successfully action simple administrative tasks, the client is entitled to question whether you can be trusted with their important legal concerns. Things which can lead to clients doubting your reliability and efficiency include the following: Delay, specifically missing deadlines Not returning communications Slow or inaccurate billing Changing advice or sending through revised documentation Getting details such as names or addresses wrong Asking for information that has already been provided Lack of co-ordination & poor internal communication -- if a client tells one person a piece of information, they will resent having to tell two additional people in the practice the same information Lack of awareness -- Not knowing where the partner is -- Not knowing if something has been actioned Client care communication and service page 21