Customizing the way SOP is delivered into client workflows.
Corporate law departments are feeling the strain of developing strategies that allow them to focus on high-value specialized work while also embracing new technology to cover the necessary, but not very specialized, routine tasks that keep critical workflows in motion—like service of process (SOP).
When an entity is using separate systems—perhaps a combination of their own spreadsheets and vendor applications—it limits the benefit of technology improvements like artificial intelligence (AI) to fully handle this kind of tedious work in the most efficient way possible. And for entities that don’t have all their paperwork in the same system, it minimizes the ability of the organization to set standards, create process, implement checks and balances, and follow up. This creates unnecessary challenges that can severely interfere with compliance.
Here are four SOP workflow challenges entities face.
Multiple contacts
- Managing vendors becomes a full-time job
- When entities have to deal with multiple vendors, including lawyers and service providers, it takes significant time away from more pressing matters that keep business moving forward.
- Vendors lack full visibility into client needs
- It becomes difficult to remember each process and what’s needed, each set of rules, and makes it impossible to keep a single source of truth repository. One process and one set of rules to follow in a purpose-built application created for streamlining the management of SOP gives entities relief from a jumble of messy spreadsheets that likely don’t have complete information.
- Attrition risk is magnified
- Typically, entities have one designated company person handling this process with vendors, and if that person leaves the organization, the tremendous knowledge base leaves with them, making transitions and getting someone else up to speed difficult and possibly incomplete.
Fragmented tech stack
- No single source of truth
- An entity-managed document repository may not have the same controls or workflows in place that an experienced vendor does. Information that should be together gets put in disparate places, leading to something being missed, and possible default judgments. It’s very high risk and a costly mistake to lose lawsuits without cause.
- Systems don’t talk to each other
- Entities working in separate systems between departments can end up with a duplication of efforts. Information on the same case can come in from different sources, and multiple people could be working on the same thing—including outside counsel that has to be paid separately from the same work inside counsel is doing.
- Lack of controls and reconciliation across the tech stack
- An entity with any significant amount of SOP needs the documentation to land on the desk of the person responsible on time, every time, without fail. That can be time consuming and stressful for a person to do well. Implementing a time-tested system that grows with client needs can save time and errors.
Inconsistent service
- Varying service level agreements
- Contracting with a single vendor that routinely assesses the needs of the market and incorporates new technology to improve the user experience means there’s a chance to align with an organization’s ever-changing needs. A good vendor will know how to deal with high-volume SOP and understand the critical nature of ensuring documents get where they need to go timely. A busy entity needs a vendor with the systems, controls, and knowledge to understand what’s needed—and multiple vendors with varying service level agreements can quickly turn into a legal mess.
Cost
- No efficiencies across tech, service, and jurisdiction
- When an entity can negotiate terms and conditions with a single vendor, they can get competitive rates, dedicated client service, and regular technology updates that will make the SOP workflow seamless
Nearly every technology product on the market leads with AI and machine learning, however, not all AI-based technology is created equally—and not every consumer benefits equally from how a given AI product performs.
Entities need to be able to decide where each piece of the process is delivered—whether that be to a person, within a product, or to a specific vendor. To help streamline, entities need to find a partner attuned to the needs of managing high-volume SOP.
How CSC can help
Central to an effective strategy is careful and strategic vendor and technology selection. CSC delivers client SOP anywhere in the workflow the client needs it.
CSC’s SOP orchestration engine uses data-driven automation to achieve high-level efficiency. We combine the flexibility and function of our SOP Pro® solution with the interoperability of the integration services provided via our SOP application programming interface (API) to deliver documents into a company’s workflow—anywhere the information is needed. CSC has established successful integrations with dozens of commercial enterprise legal management (ELM) providers, payroll vendors, and in-house proprietary systems built and maintained by our clients.
“What this means for the client is that we can use their systems, our solutions, or integrate with vendors to deliver substantial volumes of SOP to anywhere in the workflow funnel,” says Paul Mathews, director of Product Management for CSC.
“Our capabilities allow us to reach deeper into a client’s workflows and put each SOP document in the hands of the person or team that needs to take action. We allow our clients to keep their teams focused on high-value work rather than having to play traffic cop. And as we help each client do that, we also ensure they have a complete line of sight to the whole process, so they have confidence that everything is landing where it should.”
For more information about the importance of CSC’s SOP service, watch our on-demand webinar here.
