Legal Practice - London

Dictation has been an integral part of life in legal practices across the UK for decades. However having heard of the digital 'revolution' and the cost savings that outsourcing of secretarial work can provide one legal practice was instructed by the Managing Director to investigate further.

The Financial Director was happy to quote as follows:
"I must admit that we approached the pilot scheme with scepticism and it was very much on OutSec to prove that the service provided by their network of legal girls would be as good as our in-house staff. It transpired however that the quality of the OutSec girls was superior. With capacity to recruit worldwide OutSec has without doubt taken on the very best of the secretarial world. Their ability to provide work for PA girls who have for whatever reason left the big cities has ensured that their service is first-class. In our case we were tired of the constant employment battles. With the new EU employment laws our current staff costs were spiralling upwards. To compensate for this increased expenditure we wished to take on additional fee earners but did not have the space. A move to larger premises was out of the question. With the Government legislation tightening the rein on billing to clients, costs were escalating with no solution in sight. We had to reduce our costs, and quickly".

The solution was in the form of OutSec. By going 'digital' the facility to send the work out was now an option. This meant that with the natural employment turnover, support staff left and were not replaced.

The Financial Director went on to say: “When one secretary left, we were able to cope without replacing her – a substantial saving year-on-year. With OutSec and its unique one-to-one client/fee earner strategy the quality of work has been maintained, efficiencies improved and most of all large cost-savings have been made. The solution has dramatically changed our working practices. We no longer need to employ temps or part-timers. It has also help cut down the occasions we have to ask our secretaries to work outside normal hours. Similarly if a secretary is away sick, OutSec are there to do her work. The flexibility of the service is marvellous; improved document management and workflow and increased efficiency. We would recommend OutSec to all companies considering changing their current working methods”