Central Manchester Law Firm

Challenges

As with many businesses trying to adapt to modern ways of working, the Firm faced a number of key challenges, including the drive to create a paper-less office and an increasing pressure to improve employee and customer experience. The Firm needed to adapt their traditional working models in order to support an agile workforce strategy, which involves providing secure access to documents from anywhere, whether that be from a home or office environment. In order to attract the best talent, businesses are being forced to meet an increasing demand for flexible working, which needs to be supported by an effective Document Management Solution.

Print
The Firm needed a secure, user friendly and reliable print solution. They manage a huge volume of personal information and needed a print solution that would protect this information, improve audit trails and maximise security. They also wanted to implement a solution that would create a common user experience regardless of location and would allow users to print from anywhere.

Archive Scanning
The Firm had lots of physical document storage that was taking up valuable floor space. They were looking to digitise their physical records, to reduce their reliance on paper and improve access and availability of information. The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting national lockdown compounded the need to provide remote access to records and documentation.

Digital Mail
Due to the nature of their business, responding quickly to customer correspondence was key. A traditional paper based mail service is heavily reliant on time consuming manual processes and restricts agile working initiatives. The Firm was looking to improve their reactivity to customer correspondence and support flexible working initiatives for current staff and to recruit new talent.

Solutions

SCC DS implemented the following solutions, to enhance the document services and drive digitisation with the Firm:

Print
SCC DS reviewed the on-site print infrastructure and identified the need to upgrade the on-site print technology in order to improve security. As a result, we upgraded the equipment and implemented a Secure Print Solution that improved print security and visibility. Using card authentication, the software creates an audit trail of all print, copy and scan activity for all devices on the network. This solution has also allowed user to print from anywhere, improving user experience and reducing wasted prints.

SCC DS also introduced a centralised print output solution for outbound mail correspondence. All outbound communications are pushed to the mailroom for production and fulfilment, rather than being printed off locally in each department. This has made significant savings to staff time and has greatly improved data security.

Archive Scanning
SCC provided an Archive Scanning Solution, which digitised the high volume of paper records on-site and made them available/searchable within with the Firms existing Case Management System (CMS). SCC DS provided a technology and software solution, that involved the scan, OCR, categorise and index of files into the CMS. This solution was quickly mobilised during the Covid-19 pandemic and allowed the Firm to continue operating through an agile workforce.

Digital Inbound Mail
SCC DS introduced a digital mail solution that allowed the Firm to reduce their reliance on paper, improve response times and continue work remotely. The Digital Mail solution involved the provision of hardware and software to digitally capture and route mail to recipients within the Firm by 11am every morning. In order to maximise the benefits of this solution and implement a level of automation, the SCC DS team worked with the facilities team and key department stake holders to customise workflows to meet their requirements. Inbound Mail is scanned with a QR code attachment, his automatically categorises the document and routes directly into the practice’s CMS.

Benefits

The Firm now benefits from a number of operational and financial benefits including:

• Cost savings – 25% reduction in monthly print output spend within 6 months of implementation
• Improved Support for Agile Working Initiatives – Case Handlers can now access documentation and work from anywhere.
• Space Savings – 100m² of office space created, which has helped to support the Firm in their return to the office post Covid-19 lockdown and the implementation of social distancing measures.
• Improved Productivity and Time Saving – Estimated 55 hours per week saved through the implementation of automation in the capture and routing of information through inbound mail process.
• Refocus on Core Business Activities – The burden of document-related activities has been significantly reduced and staff are able to refocus on their core tasks.
• Increased Automation – The centralised print output solution has eliminated manual document processing by fee-earning staff and has increased document security by reducing the risk of cross-contamination.
• Enhanced Document Security – Through both the Secure Print Solution and through the reduction in manual handling across all document services.