Keys to Success: Training Your Team to Use New Practice Management Technology

Implementing new practice management technology might seem a bit intimidating yet it is worth the effort.  Even if your team doesn’t have elite technical acumen and is more skilled with words than computers, they will prove receptive to new practice management technology.  In particular, how you train your team to use this new technology has the potential to make the difference between receptivity and abrasiveness.

Ease Your Team Into the new Practice Management Technology

New legal technology is certainly frustrating and even slightly annoying yet attorneys and law firm managers who take their time in explaining the benefits of new technology succeed in flattening the learning curve.  Scheduling software training that carves out specific times of the day to teach the practice management software to your team ultimately ameliorates this challenge.  

So don’t try to train your team on the new technology in one fell swoop.  Space out the new software rollout across several days or an entire week, provide training incentives and your law firm personnel will gradually warm to the use of the program.

Encourage Employees to Tap Into Customer Support

There is a common misconception that new practice management technology hurdles can only be addressed by the law firm manager or an attorney who has a head start using the software.  However, the best legal software is accompanied by customer support service.  Encourage your team to reach out to customer support for guidance when problems arise and they will have direct access to someone in the know.  This way, the law firm manager who trains staff members on the use of the new software won’t be bombarded with questions and concerns that inevitably arise in the days and weeks ahead.

Everyone Learns at Their own Pace

The mastery of new legal software will not occur in a single day.  Though some employees learn quickly, others require an extended period of time to master the subtle nuances of legal software simply because the program is new and foreign.  Provide your team with ample time to learn the ins and outs of the new legal practice management software, offer ongoing support, and prioritize clear and cogent communication.

Above all, it is in your interest to explain how updates to the system enhance or alter how work is conducted.  Detail how the use of the new software will advance the collective interest of the firm.  Delve into how each contributor to your law firm is to use the different features of the software and your team will better understand their roles.  In particular, it is in your interest to delve into the advanced features of the practice management software to detail exactly how those features will provide meaningful utility to your firm.  

Give your team enough time to master the nuanced challenges presented by such advanced features, provide support throughout their progression with the software and they will make the most of the opportunity.  Remain open to employee feedback, incorporate suggestions to improve training, alter the training processes accordingly and communicate if protocols or the software itself are updated.

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