Much of a firm's work now happens by email and through software. Letters and phone calls have not gone away, and they are the items most likely to stay outside the system.
A call that lives in a sticky note or a letter that sits on a desk is information the case record does not have.
The common problem
Information arrives in many ways and ends up in many places. When a call or a letter is not recorded, the next person who opens the case does not know it happened.
Mail: receive, scan, route and record
- Incoming letters are received and scanned
- Each item is matched to a case or sent for review
- The person responsible is notified
- Outgoing letters and notices are sent through a provider
- Each item has a record with its date and status
Calls: answer, capture, route and follow up
- Calls are answered following rules the firm has set
- The caller's details and the message are captured
- The message goes to the right person
- Follow-up tasks are created when a call needs action
- The caller's details are recorded in the case management system
Why use providers
Handling paper and answering phones is work in its own right. Many firms are better served by providers who do that work, connected to the firm's own systems.
The firm still decides how items are routed, who is told and what is recorded. The providers do the physical handling.
Questions to ask a provider
- How is each item logged, and can the firm see the log?
- How does the provider connect to the case management system?
- Where is the information stored, and who can see it?
- What happens when something goes wrong?
- Who answers when the firm has a question?