Previously in Tech Tips, we covered three Microsoft 365 Apps that can transform your law practice. Here’s how you can use Microsoft Loop to transform the way you document your firm’s processes and easily keep them up to date.
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Think Back to the Last Time You Hired Someone
How painful was it to get them up to speed? Effectively documenting how work gets done at your law firm is critical to onboarding new hires and ensuring that the work gets done correctly.
Documentation takes time to put together. Often, multiple processes use the same steps. Do you point someone to another process for the shared steps? Do you copy and paste it? What happens when the court changes its website and you now have 15 processes that are out of date?
Here’s How Microsoft Loop Keeps All Your Processes Up to Date
Keeping your processes updated is where Microsoft Loop really shines. While the new co-creation app is designed to streamline collaboration, its ability to save pieces as “loop components” makes updating processes a snap.
Loop can help in four key ways.
1. Consistency Across Documents
Single source of truth: Loop components allow you to create a single, consistent source of information that can be reused across documentation. For example, a standard client intake process can be created as a component and then inserted into all relevant documentation.
Automatic updates: When a Loop component is updated, every document containing that component is automatically updated as well. This eliminates the need to manually revise each document, ensuring that all team members always have access to the latest information.
2. Streamlined Updates
Centralized editing: Instead of updating multiple documents separately, you can make changes to the component once. This centralized editing process is particularly beneficial for procedures that frequently change or require periodic reviews.
Efficiency in revisions: Whether it’s a change in a legal regulation, an update in internal procedures, or an improvement in a workflow, updating a single component ensures that all related documents reflect the change immediately. This can save hours of work that would otherwise be spent searching for and modifying each instance of the process.
3. Quick Deployment of New Processes
Rapid integration: When introducing new processes, Loop components allow for quick integration into existing documentation. You can create a new component for the process and then insert it wherever necessary without having to rewrite or manually insert it into each document.
Ease of adoption: New processes or updates can be communicated more effectively within the firm. Since the updates are instant and consistent across all documents, team members can quickly adapt to changes without confusion or delay.
4. Enhanced Collaboration
Real-time updates: Loop enables real-time collaboration on documents, meaning that any updates to components can be seen and reviewed by team members instantaneously. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and can provide feedback or suggestions immediately.
Shared components: Teams can share components, ensuring that best practices and standardized procedures are easily accessible to everyone in the firm. This fosters a collaborative environment where improvements and updates are continuously incorporated.
Microsoft Word for Legal Professionals
Want to work faster? For in-depth information and instructions on getting the most from Word, order Affinity Consulting Group’s hands-on digital manual “Microsoft Word for Legal Professionals.” Individual and site licenses are available for download in the Attorney at Work bookstore.
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