A new General Counsel at a Fortune 50 company uses the results of an internal customer survey to drive greater customer focus in the Legal Division, streamline processes, and strengthen partnerships with internal clients.

A global Fortune 50 company that had grown through mergers and acquisitions hired a new Chief Legal Counsel from outside the organization. In contrast to the previous Chief Legal Counsel who adhered to a traditional “command and control” style, the new leader’s style was participative and relationship-oriented. His vision for the legal function was different as well, with less emphasis on “policing” the businesses and more on advising and supporting them.

Soon after joining, he hosted a strategic planning meeting with the 20 executives who made up the Legal Leadership Team. A key strategic initiative that emerged from this offsite was to improve relationships with the businesses. According to the Senior Assistant General Counsel who was asked to lead this initiative, an important new strategic objective of the Legal Division was to “strengthen working relationships and develop full partnerships with clients in the business units.”

KCG worked with the Legal Division to develop, administer, and interpret the findings of a confidential survey of a sample of internal customers. A key design objective was to gather feedback on the entire Legal Division as well as key departments—not individual attorneys. The project had three phases:

Phase 1: Survey Design

KCG worked with the design team to develop a custom survey. We gathered input from multiple stakeholders and built on our own expertise in customer satisfaction research.

We then worked with each department within the Legal Division to identify internal customers to complete the survey; more than 900 customers were identified, representing multiple business units, functions, and levels of the organization.

Phase 2: Survey Administration and Analysis

KCG administered the survey over the Internet. We then analyzed the survey ratings and the qualitative comments. Some of the key findings were:

• One third of respondents were unclear on the role of the Legal Division
• One quarter of respondents were not sure whom to contact for legal advice
• Many internal clients perceived Legal to be a roadblock rather than a partner and were frustrated by complex business processes

Phase 3: Communication and Action Planning

KCG presented the results to the design team and provided them with training on interpreting findings and communicating results. We also gave them a confidential database for ongoing analysis.

The Chief Legal Counsel communicated the key findings and his top priorities for the division in a candid memo to his 300+ staff. This broad-based sharing of results was an indicator of many of the changes that were to come.

The Legal Division customer survey was the catalyst for a number of steps to strengthen the function. The General Counsel set a focused improvement strategy that addressed customer feedback. This included:

• Inviting senior business leaders to a legal policy planning meeting so that that the “voice of the customer” directly influenced the Legal Division’s strategy
• Empowering internal clients to do more on their own, while maintaining a focus on managing risk
• Enhancing the talent development strategy for attorneys, and increasing the number of Legal Division staff with development plans
• Expanding use of the intranet/Internet to be more pro-active in communicating legislative and regulatory news

As important as the specific actions coming out of the survey was the shift in mindset in the Legal Division. The findings provided a foundation for a customer-focused business strategy and for rapid improvements in business processes. The Legal Division was able to eliminate many low-value added business practices and accelerate its efforts to strengthen relationships with the business.