COVID-19 requires in-house counsel to grapple with a host of new and messy challenges, from the employment issues of a displaced workforce to supply chain delays to court and governmental closures. Many are doing it from makeshift home offices, separated from their teammates by sudden work-from-home mandates.
Add to that the existing stressors – deadlines, ever-changing regulations, business clients, the C-suite – that had 44 percent of in-house lawyers say they feel stressed “most or all of the time” in Law360’s Satisfaction Survey.
In a new reality, it may be time for a new way to work.
Our business counterparts have long embraced methodologies to bolster their organization and productivity, and it’s time legal departments do the same.
You might have heard the jargon (and you might have rolled your eyes). Agile. Kanban. Lean. Flex. Activity-based working. What are they, and what can they do for you?
Over the coming few months, here on Evolve the Law we will explore a number of work styles and discuss their potential for corporate legal departments. For each, we will examine what sort of department is an ideal candidate (and what sort is not); what benefits and challenges to expect; and what kind of tools and time will be required.
Many of these will provide options for additional sanity and stability during the coronavirus crisis, and the challenges of working remotely and as a dispersed team.
Consider, for example, British Telecom, which shifted to a flexible Agile work style. The company mapped the work activity of employees across 8,000 locations in 66 countries. It developed a mix of hard key performance indicators (KPIs) and softer criteria. Once it started measuring work and performance against them, it freed up the workforce to work remotely.
BT’s return on investment ranged from retention to production to sustainability:
- Stress-related illness decreased by 35 percent.
- Almost 99 percent of staff return from maternity leave, compared with the average UK rate of 40 percent.
- Some workers showed a 30 percent increase in productivity.
- The company decreased its carbon footprint by 60 percent.
“It’s not a panacea,” as Caroline Waters, the director of people, said, “but what we have found is that people are happier and healthier.”
In the midst of one of the most stressful experiences of our lifetimes, it’s worth considering changes that can make our teams happier and healthier – and that can yield positive results long after COVID-19 has passed.
Over the next few weeks, here on Evolve the Law we will explore New Ways of Working for Legal Departments. Every other week, join us to learn:
- What are the options for Legal Departments? How should you choose between them?
- What tools or technology do you need?
- What does it take to get started – and how can these systems ease your coronavirus operations?
If you’d like some advance reading in the meantime, check out Xakia’s Agile 101: A Guide for Lawyers.
We also will look to profile teams who have embraced new ways of working to keep their Legal Departments running during the COVID-19 lockdown. Do you have a story to share? Email me at jodie.baker@xakiatech.com.
We will see you in two weeks; until then, be safe and be well.
Jodie Baker is the founder and CEO of Xakia Technologies. An innovator, entrepreneur and LegalTech advocate, Jodie has a background as an in-house lawyer and financial analyst; was the architect, founder and managing director of Hive Legal; and is President of the Australian Legal Technology Association.
