Using IT effectively

Managing partners know that every facility that falls under umbrella of information technology is an essential feature of modern life and business and that investment in IT is a major part of the annual budget. But is this money being spent wisely and does it produce maximum benefit for the business?

Undoubtedly every firm is fully aware of the technical benefits of the myriad of software packages that are available to speed up the processing of work, but do they all analyse the real benefits in terms of contribution to profitability, and are they using IT effectively as both an internal and external communications tool? In my experience many firms are expending considerable resources on IT without taking full advantage of the contribution it can make to every aspect of the practice.

In terms of profitability and the general management of the business, the key element that IT provides is knowledge: it is how firms use that knowledge that determines the benefits they derive. Management systems can be programmed to produce a raft of information on many levels, but if no-one is collating or monitoring this information on an on-going basis then it simply falls into a black hole.

The purpose of this information should be to provide comprehensive information to the partners indicating what actions need to be taken to maximise financial efficiency and performance. They need to have a clear idea of exactly why they need the information, what it is telling them about the state of their business. The system must be flexible enough to ensure that each partner receives information pertaining to his or her department or clients, whilst the managing partner will require additional information relating to the performance of the entire firm. All too often only one report is produced and individuals have neither the time nor the inclination to pick out the relevant bits.

Of course simply producing financial and management reports will not, of itself, result in improvement. Only analysis followed by action can do that. Partners need to invest more time in reviewing the information that their IT systems can provide and dealing with the problems – and indeed taking advantage of the opportunities – that arise.

In the last few years IT has completely revolutionised the way in which we communicate at every level with colleagues, staff and clients and offers a fantastic variety of means to disseminate information. However, if expressions such as podcast, blogging, wiki, skype and voip mean nothing to you then you are probably not making the most of them.

Quite apart from improvements in speed and efficiency, taking full advantage of the benefits of IT will also improve the quality of your communications. Proactive firms are providing a wide range of information for clients which, being perceived to add value without cost, helps to engender loyalty as well as improving the service. They are also increasingly offering on-line services in addition to filing company accounts.
Those firms that are not in regular electronic communication with their clients will quickly find themselves at a severe competitive disadvantage over more IT literate rivals.

Internal communications can also be greatly enhanced; and not simply through improving speed and efficiency. Certainly partners now have much more scope to develop relationships and share clients, but they can also have much closer contact with all their staff. Increased communication between partners and staff has a positive effect on morale and productivity: this is not speculation, it is a fact.

As the speed of development in IT continues apace, those firms that do not make the effort to keep up will not only be doing their clients a disservice, they will be risking their future.