As law firms continue to focus on improving client experience and managing growing workloads, the two are increasingly viewed as connected challenges. From enquiry through to client onboarding, the friction experienced by clients can often create additional administration for the teams managing the journey behind the scenes.
For firms, improving client experience is not simply about making the process feel better for the client. When information is clearer, communication is more connected, and next steps are easier to follow, there can also be a positive impact on how efficiently teams manage the process.
One journey, two experiences.
Client experience and internal efficiency are often considered separate. But looking at the journey from both perspectives highlights how closely they are linked.
When a client is unsure about what is happening with their onboarding, they may send an email or call the firm for an update. For the team, that becomes another interruption to manage alongside existing workloads.
The same applies when information needs to be requested more than once, or when different systems don’t connect. What feels like unnecessary friction for the client can become additional administration, follow-up, and manual work for teams.
These issues are not necessarily the result of poor processes. They are simply the result of systems and workflows developing over time without the overall journey being considered from both sides.
Where small changes can make a difference.
Improving the experience does not necessarily require firms to completely redesign how they work.
Instead, it can start with identifying where unnecessary effort is being introduced across the journey.
Can information captured during enquiry move through into client onboarding rather than being requested again? Can clients clearly see what they need to complete and what remains outstanding? Can teams quickly understand where a client is in the process without having to check multiple systems?
When these elements work together, the small changes can make the journey easier for clients while reducing the manual effort required from teams.
This is particularly important as firms continue to introduce technology across different stages of the client journey. Adding digital tools can improve specific tasks, but if those systems remain disconnected, the wider experience can still feel fragmented.
Looking at the journey from both sides.
One of the simplest ways for firms to identify these points of friction is to experience the journey themselves.
Visiting the website as a prospective client, making an enquiry, requesting a quote, following the next steps, and then experiencing instruction and client onboarding can reveal parts of the process that may otherwise be easy to overlook.
The important question is not simply whether the process works, but how it feels to move through it.
Where does the journey become unclear? What information might a prospective client need to ask for? And at which points would a member of the team need to step in to keep things moving?
These questions can highlight opportunities to improve both sides of the experience.
This thinking has also shaped Perfect Portal’s law firm health check: from enquiry to onboarding, which gives firms an opportunity to assess their journey from a prospective client’s perspective.
The health check looks at five key areas, including first impressions and enquiry, quoting, response and follow-up, instruction, and the transition into client onboarding. It is designed to help firms identify where small moments of friction may be affecting both clients and the teams managing the process.
Better client experiences can support better internal experiences.
As firms continue to look for ways to improve efficiency without compromising client service, the connection between the two experiences is becoming increasingly important.
A smoother client journey doesn’t necessarily mean more work for the team. When clients have clearer information, greater visibility, and more straightforward next steps, there can be fewer questions to answer, less admin to manage, and fewer follow-ups to chase.
Ultimately, the same journey is being experienced by two different audiences. Improving how that journey works for one can have a direct impact on the other.
Take the law firm health check.
Firms can experience their journey through the prospective client’s shoes with the law firm health check: from enquiry to onboarding.
This article was submitted by Perfect Portal as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
