7 Hacks for a PI Law Firm To Achieve Excellent Customer Service During COVID-19

Do you focus on your customer service as much as you focus on the law? Probably not? Customer service is quickly becoming a vital factor, especially for personal injury lawyers, because their clients need them by their side more than ever. It is an uncertain time for everyone right now and for personal injury clients, this baseline of heightened emotions makes a personal injury case even more worrying under the current pandemic conditions. So, now is the time to make sure your customer service is top-notch, so you can get ahead, and stay ahead, of your competition. We’ve put together seven best practices to help your firm to maximize and excel at customer service, whether you are working from the office, home, or shifting between the two.

Include care into your daily routine

You all know the rules in case of a plane disaster; put your own mask on before helping others. The same goes for wellbeing. Ensuring you and your team are taken care of is the first step in making sure your clients are well looked after. Your team can’t look after anyone if they are running on empty themselves. As everyone is adapting to this new normal in their own way and each has their own unique situation to navigate outside work ensure your firm is providing the team with enough support. Mindfulness can go a long way.

Here are some pointers for you to foster care into your work routine, whether you are working from home or office.

1. Maintain the same office discipline i.e. just like the office environment, everyone gets in and out (i.e. logs in and logs off) at their regular time.
2. Team Sync –Start your day with a ‘quick’ group meeting where everyone updates about their activities of the day and any other important points to be discussed.
3. Promote Self-care- Encourage the staff to take time to check-in with themselves. Ensure they are taking breaks during their workday.
4. Collaborate more- Be proactive about creating an environment of collaboration that encourages staff to connect. Collaborative applications and online tools can be useful.
5. Provide supportive tools – Support and enable work from home for staff with technology that allows team members to work anytime, anywhere, and on any device. A case management system can help boost collaboration and make staff feel connected to their teams daily; it also strengthens cross-functional collaboration.
6. Leverage productivity tools – There are productivity applications that can provide your team means of tracking their tasks, and support frequent client communication enabling frequent updates to clients on the case progress with the need for constant email writing.

Thinking from a client’s perspective – Client- Centricity

To have a successful solo or small-firm practice you have to embrace the attitude that your firm exists to serve your clients. It must be client-centric. Every choice you make—from who your clients are, how they find your services, how you communicate and collaborate with them, how you serve them from the time they walk in the door to the closure of their case, and beyond—must be from the perspective of your client.

This client-centric approach will contain numerous areas. Consider everything: first client contact, intake, medical treatment, e-discovery, how the case information is shared, and more.

Remember, the principles of representing your clients may never change. But the methods of engaging with your clients will be continually evolving, especially during this new normal.

For instance;

1. Offer an easy way for clients to reach out- make it easy for your clients to reach out to you during this time, especially when your office locations are closed or still under limited hours. Meet them virtually. Include ways your clients can reach out to your on your website, chat, phone support, video conferencing, etc.
2. Be transparent – clear communication is essential in times like these. That applies to your internal communication as well as customer-facing support teams. Post on social media and your website important information for your clients so they can access it easily. Include frequently asked questions and updates, for example, the new ways of taking medical care, rehabilitation, and the impact of Covid-19 on the entire medical treatment. Update clients if “non-essential” medical therapies have been canceled leading to potential delays in recovery times. These updates will help make clear what you are and are not offering, and you will save time and frustration for everyone.

Like any other skill, the art of running a successful business under pandemic conditions will take some time to develop. Set your firm and your team up for success with the right tools, techniques, and mindset, and you will achieve excellent customer service in time.