1. Embedding Information Management
into your Firm’s Culture
Robyna May
Director – IT & Knowledge
Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers

2. Who am I?
• Robyna May,
Director – IT & Knowledge,
Cooper Grace Ward
Lawyers
• 12 years experience in IT
(developer background)
• 5 years in IT management
• Contact Details:
robyna.may@cgw.com.au

3. What I will cover….
• Cultural challenges with Information
Management (IM)
• Establishing IM touch points
• Illustrating the value of IM
• Getting the best return on existing
applications
• How to get staff to “own” their training

4. Information Management
Process
&
Training • Capture at best time
Capture • Ease of use
Information • Background capture
• Ensure information
remains relevant Maintain
• Single source of truth Information
• Data quality
• Accurate
Deliver
• Easy to access
Information
• Many view points

5. Information Management
Capturing information,
Delivering information &
Accessing information
Technology &
Process
Training
Ownership &
Adoption
Information
Management
Culture

6. The vicious cycle
Opportunity
Break
IM issue
needs to be
addressed
Opportunity
Break
Solution
Ask Lawyers
doesn’t
for input
meet needs
Put forth a
Opportunity
solution Unavailable
Break
with due to time
minimal constraints
input

7. Ways to break the cycle
• Information Management focus group
• Partner sponsor
• Demonstrate quick wins first
• Demonstrate time value
• Start small
• Listen and understand your users’ frustrations

8. Re-frame
How do I get the Lawyers to
How can I protect the
spend time on Information
billable hour of my clients?
Management?

9. Case Study:
Focus group at CGW
• Reps from each work group
• Reps from a variety of positions
• Reps report back to their workgroups and champion
projects
• We meet every four weeks and a mixture of items
covered
• Demos and trials of new technology occur regulary
• Agenda circulated prior to meeting
• Minutes and action items circulated after meeting
• Provides a forum for whole team to put forth their
challenges

10. Selection Tools
LOW
Consider
whether of Ignore
benefit
IMPACT
LOW Resources and Time HIGH
Longer Term
Quick Wins
Wins
HIGH

11. Selection Tools Cont.
overall
value
(strategic)
Information sharing across
the organisation
Improving efficiency within teams

12. When/how to capture information
• Make use of information already captured
• Avoid repeat of entry
• Capture at time most relevant – whilst “in
motion”
• Single source of truth
• Tools – Processes, accessing database
content, collaboration spaces

13. When/how to present information
• Provide information in appropriate context
• Multiple views of single source
• Cater for a variety of learning styles
• Tools – portals (SharePoint)

14. Getting the best return on existing applications
The stone age has been defined as
the clever use of crude tools, the
information age is the crude use
of clever tools

15. “Owning” training
• Have a training strategy that covers all training
(induction, project, internal etc.)
• Identify key competencies against particular
groups
• Use self assessment tools so that users
understand their limitations
• Ensure users know what they are expected to
know (and what they aren’t and what they can access
easily)
• Identify the key functionality that you want
utilised and focus training on that

16. Training Layers
Advanced • Super users, hands on training - ongoing
training
“How to” • Smaller groups, hands on training
training
Overview of • Whole firm, focus on what they
application will be expected to know
Awareness and strategy • Whole firm, seminar
style and other
training broadcast mediums

17. Reference & Support
• Not everyone needs to be an expert …
• But somebody does (and keep in mind succession and
availability of that person)
• Have easy to use reference resources
– Wikis
– Online training
– Videos

18. Training Cycle
Identify
Training
Needs
Test use of Design
knowledge Training
Evaluate Deliver
Training Training

19. Evaluation
Kilpatrick’s Reactions • Measures how participants have reacted to the
training.
Evaluation
Layers
Learning • Measures what participants have
learned from the training.
• Measures whether what was
Behaviour learned is being applied on the
job.
• Measures whether the
Results application of training
is achieving results
• ROI layer
Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation

20. Online Training Resources
• Articulate - http://www.articulate.com/products/quizmaker-demos.php
• Camtasia - http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/
• LMS – various available
• Utilise what’s available – e.g. Office 2010:
– Ribbon hero
– Search command ribbon
– Convert tools
– Productivity hub

21. Key Points
• Challenges of Information Management
– Getting buy-in
– Getting engagement
– Demonstrating value
– Getting ROI from investment in applications
– Getting users to “own” their training
• Solutions
– IM touch points
– Listen to users and start small
– Have a competency assessment program & a training
strategy
– Train in a variety of methods
– Utilise available training tools

22. Q&A