The 2 Critical Questions that Lead to Continuous Improvement

If you want to improve your law practice, your business, your customer service posture, then you need to ask two simple questions, and ask them regularly: What are we doing well and what can we improve?

I believe in reducing complex ideas into bite-sized morsels that can be more easily consumed, particularly when it comes to something so fraught with peril and emotion as gathering candid client feedback to improve your business.

I recently engaged in a vigorous discussion with a consultant whose academic credentials in statistics and market research far exceed my own. She produces exhaustive reports on brand familiarity, relative market position, and statistically precise indexes of client satisfaction. But, she laments, her clients generally ignore her studies, filing them away in the proverbial circular file rather than formulating an action plan. My diagnosis was simple, and it reflects my own approach to assessing client satisfaction and continuous improvement: reduce the complexity and focus on gathering actionable information.

There's a time and a place for complexity and nuance, but it always follows the acceptance of core concepts. If you don't know explicitly what your clients value about your service and if you don't know explicitly what they wish you would do better, then all the charts and graphs and analysis are just so much statistical noise. Sustainable profitability comes from client satisfaction. Client satisfaction comes from continuous improvement. Continuous improvement happens when we regularly ask our clients what we do well and what we can improve.  It's that simple.

When I present these two simple questions, there is always someone who will suggest alternative wording or suggest two or three or ten additional questions to add color or depth to the findings. Sometimes this works. Often it just complicates things. It seems as if we create complexity where simplicity is needed, because complexity pays better, or provides job security. But there is no better job security than channeling the voice of the customer, and this isn't hard to do.

What are we doing well?  Let's not assume that everything -- heck, anything -- we're doing is worth continuing. It's critical to know explicitly and specifically what clients value, why they value it, and that they want us to continue doing it. Here are actual excerpts from client feedback sessions I've conducted, or feedback my clients have compiled. The consistent theme of each is that no one knew the high value the clients placed on the specific action or service, and in some cases we had been debating whether to stop the practice.

"We appreciate the monthly one-page project summary reflecting progress against the original budget and timetable. We may have never mentioned it, but we distribute that report to key executives and they love how we demonstrate that the law department operates like other business functions."  (Deputy GC responsible for Litigation to outside counsel retained for a single high stakes matter)

"I like the detailed time entries on the invoice. I have to carve out time every month to make phone calls to my outside counsel to ask for clarification on the invoices, but with your firm I rarely need to."  (Chief Legal Officer for a small manufacturing company)

"No other vendor salesperson stays involved during the configuration and implementation phase, but [our salesperson] stayed in touch all the way through rollout to ensure we got everything we needed."  (Law firm CIO to a legal technology vendor)

What can we improve?  This is specifically worded to acknowledge that there is always something we can do better. Many of the law firm partners I work with are hesitant to hold annual client satisfaction reviews, let alone end-of-matter reviews, because they cringe at the thought of inviting criticism, or worse the thought of that criticism being shared with a colleague such as a Managing Partner instead of them. Or perhaps worst of all, they loathe even the idea of sharing a client's criticism with their implicated colleagues. The question worded in this way reduces that emotional baggage, because it's clear our intent isn't placing blame or avoiding responsibility. Our goal is simply to identify specific actions that we can improve. More examples:

"I don't enjoy having to wait an indefinite period for a call back. Sometimes I get the sense that you won't call until you have an answer. It's okay if you need time, if it's urgent I'll say so in my voice mail or email. But it would be better for me if you acknowledged receipt of my call or email and let me know when you can get back to me. I'd much rather know that you're in court and can get back to me next Monday than wonder all weekend if you even got my call. In fairness, if it's urgent and you can't get to it right away, I may need to call in someone else. But I will always find another opportunity for those who are good at managing my expectations.  (Associate GC for a clothing manufacturer to a law firm that has received very little work even after a lengthy process to reach the preferred panel list)

"I enjoy attending your dinners at [a major conference] because you invite others that I want to see. But I am uncomfortable with the invitations to ball games and other events. It's not that I dislike one on one time, I'm happy to meet over lunch, but we have a policy against accepting gifts and attending a sporting event in your suite doesn't feel right to me."  (Executive Director for a mid-size law firm to major legal services vendor)

It may come as a surprise to learn that many clients, possibly most clients, don't relish the thought of giving criticism any more than those on the receiving end like hearing it. The questions posed above help avoid the emotional baggage and put the focus where it belongs.  Let's discuss those things we do right and that you believe we should continue, and let's discuss those things that from your perspective we can do better.  Once you master this approach, there's a lot more to help you home in on specific industries or market segments or to help synthesize and prioritize a high volume of disparate feedback.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Start simply and grow from there.

Timothy B. Corcoran is principal of Corcoran Consulting Group, with offices in New York, Charlottesville, and Sydney, and a global client base. He’s a Trustee and Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, an American Lawyer Research Fellow, a Teaching Fellow at the Australia College of Law, and past president and a member of the Hall of Fame of the Legal Marketing Association. A former CEO, Tim guides law firm and law department leaders through the profitable disruption of outdated business models. Tim can be reached at Tim@BringInTim.com and +1.609.557.7311.