IT Solution in Human Resource Management
PERSONNEL RECORD KEEPING IN A LAW FIRM
BY:
March 20, 2006
Table of Contents
Page
Title Page 1
Table of Contents 2
Importance of Personnel Record Keeping 3
Effectiveness of Personnel Record Keeping in the Law Firm 4
Recommendations on IT Solutions to Personnel Record Keeping 6
Importance of Personnel Record Keeping
Personnel record keeping is the process of organizing the paper work corresponding to the information on the different personnel of the business organization and the trend in their contribution to the organization according to a system of filing. Personnel record keeping through the utilization of available skills and technology helps in the organization and accessibility of information to the managers of the business organization. A law firm accumulates a lot a paper work and information on the partners and other support staff due to the nature and amount of business activities involved. Keeping records on personnel is important in a law firm for three reasons.
First importance of personnel record keeping is the documentation and organization of the clients and cases handled by the lawyers and the progress of these cases to know which lawyer is handling what cases and facilitates work assignment. The personnel record shows the area of law that a lawyer specializes in, the track- record based on the cases handled, and the amount of past and current workload. The information helps in the assessment of the aggregate ability of the law firm and the individual contribution of the different members.
Second importance of personnel record keeping is the documentation of the decisions and actions made by the business organization regarding personnel performance. This information covers the personal and work history of individual employees to help the organization determine expectations about the work performance of individuals and the work dynamics among individuals in a group and the decisions and actions made by the individual employees to anticipate their behaviour in a given situation. In law firms, the information are important in matching lawyers with clients, lawyers with other lawyers and lawyers with a particular case.
Third importance of personnel record keeping is assessment and accountability. Personnel records covering the personal and work history of individual workers helps the organization in understanding the trend of work performance and contribution of a personnel during the regular assessment implemented by the company to determine the candidates for promotion and other management decisions. Information on the organization’s personnel also provides a background in evaluating accountability. The personal and work history of a person provides an insight into the propensity of the employee to commit infractions of internal rules and regulation or law violations especially in cases where there are complaints from clients, third persons or fellow employees.
Effectiveness of Personnel Record Keeping in the Law Firm
Personnel record keeping of the law firm complies with the basic requirements for a business organization. Record keeping system of the law firm involves the manual filing of the application documents of current personnel including the resume and recommendations, the cases assigned to the lawyers and their respective billing statement. Generally, the record keeping process is effective because it is utilized in the assessment of the performance and contribution of the lawyers to the firm, determination the specialization of the lawyers, and identification of the cases to be assigned to each lawyer.
However, there is no computerized database for the information and the law firm does not have a network program that collates information and making it accessible to authorized personnel. In the law firm, the application records are filed manually, the billing statements are compiled and summed on a monthly basis and the cases assigned to every lawyer is determined through the log book of the lawyer’s support staff. The managers of the law firm have to request information from the different lawyers before doing the periodic assessment. It takes days before all the records are received and additional days are needed in compiling the different reports. The process is time-consuming and costly.
The law firm needs a computer-based database that enables the different lawyers to update their current clients, case rosters and billing statements by accessing the firm’s database. The information are then made accessible to the managers or the people in charge of output assessment and task delegation without need of requesting the lawyers to write a report. Assessment can also be made by utilizing applicable computer software.
Recommendations on IT Solutions to Personnel Record Keeping
Developing a database of personnel records is expected to improve the performance of the law firm. The database works as a repository of all personnel information in a uniform filing process. The application information is stored in a single file in the computer, the billing statement of the individual lawyers is updated by logging into the mainframe and the caseload of the individual lawyers is accessible through the computer database. Access to the personnel information in the database is through security codes to provide a safe access to the database. Every lawyer is assigned with an access code and the manager in charge of delegation and assessment has access to the entire mainframe so that all information can be pulled out from the mainframe and organized using computer software to sum up the total amount billed by every lawyer and map out the schedule of caseloads.
Creating a personnel database is cost-effective because it lessens the time needed in requesting the reports from the different lawyers and tallying these reports as well as requesting the personnel files of employees as needed. It also lessens cost by minimizing the working time needed in compiling personnel files that gives employees time to finish other office work. Managers of the law firm have ready access to information about their personnel that enhances their knowledge and managerial hold over the affairs of law firm. In this way, personnel problems are anticipated and duly addressed.
IT Solution Implementation Plan
Law firm
Action
Development of a database system of personnel application documents, client lists, case rosters and billing statements
Who
Database system covers all personnel of the law firm including lawyers, paralegals and other support staff
By
Development of the database system is through hiring a technical support team to install the necessary software to the computers used by the firm and arrange database networking
Initial inclusion of past personnel information on the database is done by an assigned personnel but the subsequent database updates are done by the lawyers and/or their support staff
When
Development of database system should be done immediately by the law firm subject to the availability of funds to maximize the benefits of database and networking
Cost
IT solution expenses includes the purchase of additional computers, the hiring of technical experts and database and network maintenance
The table above shows the IT solution implementation plan. Developing a database and networking system for the law firm is viable and effective because it simplifies the personnel record keeping process of the law firm and enhances the organization of information on the business operations of the firm. Updating personnel records through the database not only helps the managers of the firm but also the lawyers in keeping track with their case schedules, clients and the billing statements. It is a practical solution because it allows the managers of the firm to collate information into a single report by having a network access of the different information and analyzing the information through available computer software. It is also cost-effective because it requires less cost relative to the cost of time and personnel manual personnel record keeping.
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