Hugh James Achieves CRM Data Hygiene Goals by Partnering with InterAction’s Data Quality Services
Hugh James is a Top 100 UK law firm, employing more than 750 staff from its headquarters in Cardiff and in offices located in London, Manchester, Plymouth and Southampton. The firm provides a full range of legal services across a variety of industries, including banking and finance, property and construction, technology, media and telecommunications, energy and sustainability, creative industries, leisure and hospitality, agriculture, insurance and health care. Hugh James was established 65 years ago and “has built its success on offering expert advice through a personal and friendly service to its clients,” according to Chambers.
This focus on excellence in client service and personal client relationships led the firm to be an early adopter of Client Relationship Management (CRM) software as an engine to drive firm revenues and business performance. CRM systems can significantly improve a law firm’s efficiency and drive its growth by centralizing client information, automating tasks and offering valuable insights.
Situation
With the launch of the firm’s Bigger, Bolder, Better five-year strategic plan (2022-2027), which drives digital transformation to enhance colleague and client communications, the firm identified an opportunity to improve the quality and consistency of its CRM. This discovery illustrated the axiom that the data that comes out of a CRM is only as good as the data that goes into it.
Data quality was highlighted as one of law firms’ biggest challenges in a study by Hinge Research Institute. When data quality suffers, legal professionals are hindered in their ability to engage with clients, communicate accurately, maintain trust and conduct successful business development campaigns.
“We recognised the need for a dedicated resource to oversee a variety of internal data stewardship tasks, including the responsibility of handling all of the CRM data hygiene and maintenance work that needed to be done – something that I now lead with the support of InterAction’s Data Quality Services (DQS),” said Nicola Evered, Specialist Digital Transformation Manager at Hugh James.
Solution
Hugh James’ LexisNexis® InterAction® Client Advisor introduced the firm to InterAction’s Data Quality Services (DQS). DQS offers tailored solutions to help law firms meet the challenge of data quality in their CRM system by deploying a team of expertly trained data stewards who are LexisNexis employees, managed by U.S.-based data quality specialists.
The Client Advisor worked closely with Ms. Evered to understand what the firm wanted to achieve from a business viewpoint and then help build a business case that would break down any internal barriers to adoption. There were two principal concerns from firm leadership that needed to be addressed:
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Who employs DQS Data Analysts?
The professionals who provide the day-to-day data maintenance work through DQS are RELX employees, which raised some questions about who would be accessing the firm’s records and who employs those individuals. “RELX is the parent company of LexisNexis so that concern was quickly erased when we were able to assure firm leadership that all DQS Data Analysts are employed by LexisNexis, not a third-party company, and they are 100% InterAction-certified and 100% trained on data security protocols,” said Nicola. -
How much access do DQS Data Analysts have to firm records?
The other concern expressed was whether DQS employees would have access to internal firm systems and be capable of extracting any client data. “This issue was resolved right away because the DQS team put in place very strict licensing standards to lock down our internal systems and manage those tight data controls,” explained Nicola.
With these concerns put to rest, the firm conducted a thorough cost benefit analysis in which they carefully studied how the investment in DQS compared to the investment in the recruiting, hiring, training and compensation (with benefits) of a full-time employee. They decided to engage DQS to serve as their partner for providing data hygiene management, initially running a three-month trial to evaluate the service and assess the expense.
Benefits
“InterAction’s DQS has proven to be a consistent service, delivered by expertly trained people, which ensures that our data is clean and current,” said Nicola. “In addition, DQS has the flexibility needed to scale up for special projects if the need arises.”
Nicola highlighted three specific benefits that her firm has realized by engaging DQS:
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Dependability
DQS has deployed a dependable team of Data Stewards who maintain the firm’s data quality, assuring continuity of work and avoiding the risk of a single point of failure that comes along with hiring a full-time employee. -
Quality Assurance
“Quality control of the team’s work is assured because every single Data Analyst is a LexisNexis employee who is InterAction-certified and is trained in all data security protocols,” said Nicola. “Most of all, their work is supervised by an experienced and terrific Data Quality Project Manager in the U.S. who is highly skilled in the field.” -
Reporting
DQS provides weekly reporting that includes detailed analysis within five key areas of data quality management: Bouncebacks; Duplicates; New Contacts; ERM Contacts; and Data Change Management. The DQS Project Manager also holds monthly meetings with the firm to review reports and address any questions or concerns. “With InterAction’s DQS, I have a clear knowledge on a weekly basis of what data has been processed, highlighting any areas of concern that we need to discuss together,” said Nicola.
Data quality is truly the foundation of a successful CRM system deployment and ongoing operation. By investing in data hygiene, prioritizing data accuracy and fostering a data-driven culture, Hugh James has ensured their InterAction platform delivers the insights and automation needed to drive business growth and achieve marketing goals.
About Hugh James
Profile:
Hugh James is a Top 100 UK law firm, employing more than 750 staff from its headquarters in Cardiff and in offices located in London, Manchester, Plymouth and Southampton. The firm provides a full range of legal services across a variety of industries, including banking and finance, property and construction, technology, media and telecommunications, energy and sustainability, creative industries, leisure and hospitality, agriculture, insurance and health care.
Situation:
Hugh James is a longtime LexisNexis InterAction client, leveraging advanced CRM software tools to enhance operational efficiency and foster improved client relationships. After completing a rebuild of their CRM database, the firm hired a key employee tasked with overseeing data hygiene for InterAction, but they were faced with a dilemma when that person subsequently left the firm: Should they recruit, hire and train a new full-time data steward or should they seek out a more flexible solution to provide ongoing data quality management?
Solution:
Hugh James’ InterAction Client Advisor introduced the firm to InterAction’s Data Quality Services (DQS). DQS offers tailored solutions to help law firms meet the challenge of data quality in their CRM system by deploying a team of expertly trained data stewards who are LexisNexis employees, managed by U.S.-based data quality specialists. The firm conducted a thorough cost benefit analysis and decided to engage DQS to serve as their partner for providing data hygiene management.
Benefits / Solutions:
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A dependable team of data stewards maintain data quality, assuring continuity of work and avoiding the risk of a single point of failure that comes with hiring a full-time employee.
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Quality control is assured by LexisNexis employees who are all InterAction-certified and trained in all data security protocols, supervised by Senior Data Quality Specialists in the U.S.
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Weekly reporting that includes detailed analysis within five key areas of data quality management, as well as monthly meetings to review reports and address any questions or concerns.
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Consistent service that has the flexibility to scale up or down depending on the firm’s changing needs.
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InterAction
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Data Quality Service
