Law firms have just moved through the second most challenging year in the industry’s history. Between the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lingering effects of the “Great Resignation,” there have been many elements that have factored into making law firms much more fragile than usual.
A shift to more remote or hybrid workspaces, a reliance upon legacy IT infrastructure and office equipment, difficulty with supply inventories, and an overworked — or nonexistent — in-house IT can all contribute to work slowdowns, non-optimal business processes, and overall staff frustration. Fortunately, one simple software-based solution can help minimize the impact of all these annoyances and help law practices get back to business — managed print solutions (MPS).
The Power of Print Management to Minimize Law Office Frustrations
The demand for legal work is outpacing the number of lawyers and that, among other things, is leading to a spate of lawyer burnout. In response, many younger lawyers are looking to work fewer hours and concentrate more on billable hours, both of which are more possible in a hybrid or remote work environment. However, even in a traditional in-office workspace, minimizing non-billable activities is possible, if you have the right tech tools on hand. Here are several ways a smart managed print program can help minimize frustrations in your law practice:
- Managing the Hybrid Model
Law firms continue to struggle with implementing or maintaining a hybrid work model, partially because of its effect on interpersonal relationships among lawyers and partially due to an increasing wariness of remote data handling. Because firms handle so much sensitive data, it is especially important for them to have a strong data security strategy in place. A managed print environment can provide compliance assurance as well as protection from data theft and loss. Access control features and authentication processes inherent in an MPS are critical ways to secure data better, even when printers are being used at remote locations.
- Dealing with Printer Supplies
Running out of supplies when you need a critical document for a case you are working on is frustrating. However, many law offices have a mishmash of printer brands and models or are even working with a legacy system, making it difficult to track supplies and ensure the right supplies are available for each printer exactly when they are needed. Using an MPS program provides automated supply replenishment, which not only ensures greater printer uptimes, but also takes the burden off administrative staff to keep supplies on hand and manage inventories.
- Reduced Reliance on In-house IT Staff
Many law offices work with bare-bones — or even no — in-house IT support. Dealing with printer maintenance and troubleshooting issues can bog down a small IT staff and frustrate employees who have no internal support. An MPS program provides routine maintenance, troubleshooting, and even repairs to maximize uptime and reduce the burden on in-house staff.
- Optimizing Print Infrastructure
For firms working with outdated or mismatched printers, an MPS can optimize the print environment, update technology within budget guidelines, and ensure each department has proper print support. MPS providers typically perform an initial assessment of your print environment and suggest ways to update, streamline, and optimize to achieve internal and external business goals.
Trust Doing Better Business for Next Level Managed Print Services
If your law firm needs to get control and visibility into your print environment to better manage your IT resources, your hybrid or remote workplace, or even your staff’s level of productivity and frustration, then managed print services are a smart tool for you to consider.
At Doing Better Business, we have a team of print management professionals that can provide an in-depth assessment of your current infrastructure and develop ways to streamline and optimize your print environment for cost savings, security, and increased productivity. Besides improving efficiency and document security, our services can help reduce the overall size of your printer fleet, decrease print-related expenses, and even become more sustainable.
Make this year the year you control your print environment instead of it controlling you. Contact a representative from Doing Better Business and discover how our Managed Print services can help your law office thrive.