P2P

11 I L T A N E T . O R G Can We Do Better Than Microsoft Outlook? It's time to be successful with hybrid—and it's going to take more than Microsoft Outlook to do it. But in the most recent ILTA Tech Survey, that's exactly what firms are doing: mainly using Microsoft Outlook to manage their hybrid operation. That's actually the best case scenario. In a majority of firms (60%), the technology in use is nothing: 60% of firms have no booking technology but are simply using Microsoft Outlook. Most firms do have conference room booking technology, but 48% of those firms are also using Microsoft Outlook. So in a word, yes. We can do better. In fact, we must. When we talk about "better", however, what exactly are we talking about? Here it would be beneficial to talk about what hybrid success looks like and then consider what kind of technology tools might support that success. One of the key metrics for hybrid success must surely be optimizing attorney time in the office. Today, according to a survey of the Am Law 100 from Savills, the battleground is around increasing the number of days in the office – not around whether or not the firm will go hybrid or not—and how to get there: mandates versus strong encouragement. According to this data, 67% of firms are encouraging or mandating 3 days a week in the office with some variance around 'anchor days.' Even here, whether strongly encouraged or mandated, compliance is an issue of which other studies show that across the board, about 94% of attorneys are not complying with RTO policies. Another key metric for hybrid success must also be the experience of an efficient and productive hybrid environment. Attorneys and staff need to know that their in-office time is going to be optimized with no productivity loss due to information gaps, say, around AV or tech needs for hot desks that have been booked; no services interruption for catering or hospitality needs when conference rooms are booked with clients or prospects; that visiting attorneys can seamlessly be accommodated, and more. But it's the last metric for hybrid success that may be the most important, and that's ensuring that attorneys can intentionally connect and collaborate when they are in the office—and this means, facilitating simple and effective ways for attorneys to "see" who is in the office (or going to be in the office) on what day so that individuals or groups can select the same days and locations to intentionally create the opportunity to connect. In fact, the business professionals in the office also need quick, effective access to this information to significantly improve the performance of their jobs as well. This type of visibility is called presence: just a simple indicator as to whether an attorney is present or not, and can even indicate with great precision as to where: what seat on what floor in what city. Presence is the secret sauce to hybrid success. Here's more to why. "60% of firms have no booking technology but are simply using Microsoft Outlook."

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