We often get asked about the ROI of process improvement projects. Everyone’s focused on the money. Today we talk about the qualitative benefits you and your team will experience when you become more efficient.

A few years ago, I wrote a post called “It’s Labor Day Weekend, Do You Know Where Your Associates Are.” It looked at how to keep associates satisfied and engaged. The short answer: it takes more than money.

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We frequently get asked about the financial benefits of Lean—or process improvement—for lawyers.

• How much will this save us?
• How will our margins improve?
• How can we reduce our overhead?
• How will this make us more profitable and productive?

The money is a huge benefit, and we can talk about it until the cows come home…but we need to talk more about the benefits to people. Given that it is Labour Day again this weekend, I thought we would revisit our old post.

What does it take to keep your team happy and engaged?

Here are the four suggestions we talked about in our original post:

1. Give people more of a say in how they do their jobs;
2. Offer them more opportunities to learn and grow;
3. Encourage them to suggest improvements to the work process; and
4. Listen to what they say.

These four things are the core of the Lean-based approach we take in process improvement. They really are the heart of the Practice Accelerator Framework we have been telling you about for the past few weeks. And it is something we talk about all the time with people inside our Practice Accelerator Membership.

The law firms and legal departments we work with consistently report improved engagement, even after a single workshop with us. Employees (lawyers and others) start talking openly about what they can do to improve the work they’re doing.

• People get excited about change.
• They take initiative.
• They work better in teams.
• They become even more invested in the outcomes, whether it’s designing a better draft invoice or a more efficient process for discovery, setting up a matter management board to staff their M&A deals more effectively, or creating a judgment-proof settlement agreement.

A Happy Team Leads to Happy Clients

And if all of that is good for you and your team, but it is even better for your clients. If you want to create this culture in your law firm or legal department, you need to start with your people. It is important, so I’m going to repeat it:

1. Give your people more of a say in how they do their jobs;
2. Offer them opportunities to learn and grow;
3. Encourage them to suggest improvements to the way they work; and most importantly
4. When they do give you suggestions, listen to what they say.

If you do these things, you will have a happier, more engaged team. Come back next week for more on building a profitable and productive law practice.

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Thanks a lot everybody!