Don’t Let The Downturn Distract From Operational Metrics
Are Legal Ops pros continuing to track this crucial data?
According to the 2019 Law Department Operations Survey, LDO professionals are increasingly starting to appreciate more quantitative approaches to their work, providing additional value to their organizations. For example, more have instituted formal metrics programs, which allow for more quantitative decision-making. In 2019, slightly more than half of respondents, 52%, reported having formal metrics programs, up from 46% the prior year.
These programs are also growing in terms of sophistication. When asked to rank the maturity of their use of reporting and metrics, about a third considered themselves a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale, and almost another third ranked themselves a 3. This compares favorably to 2018, when only 18% ranked themselves as a 4 or 5, and 20% listed themselves as a 3.
When we published our results last year, LDO Survey Advisory Board member Kiran Mallavarapu, senior vice president and manager of legal strategic services at Liberty Mutual Insurance, pointed out that there is a wide range of elements within metrics/reporting programs. “Metrics tracked by departments range from financial expenses to department productivity. It is easy to track financial metrics due to their ready availability. However, financial metrics … do not always provide help to departments with operational needs,” he said.
While the economic downturn may tempt legal operations professionals to focus exclusively on financial metrics, it is still critical to track operational ones, which are the engine that drives good financial performance.
Are legal operations professionals continuing to track productivity, turnaround, client demand, complexity of requests, and client satisfaction? This question and many more will be answered in the 13th Annual Law Department Operations Survey. If you’re an in-house legal ops professional, all you have to do is take the survey, and we will deliver the answers, along with 300+ additional data points, back to you at no charge.
Please follow this link and take the survey today.
