Shine Lawyers transforms client onboarding with intelligent process automation

Challenge: Time-consuming new client intake processes

Shine Lawyers works tirelessly to help its clients get the best possible outcome. But not every grievance that comes through its call centers is a viable case. Originally, when prospective new clients reached a call center, representatives launched a Q&A to gauge whether they had a viable lawsuit. These Q&As would last upwards of 30 minutes—a substantial time commitment since this was not necessarily time the firm could bill for.

Furthermore, when cases did pass the initial Q&A stage, additional information had to be gathered manually. Call recordings were passed on to personnel for manual transcription and appointment setting with the relevant legal professional, increasing the manual workload and costs associated with client onboarding.

Shine decided to move to a digital solution to improve internal processes around client onboarding. They knew their solution would need to offer integrations with multiple different systems—without the need for too much custom coding—so they decided to leverage an existing investment in Nintex K2 Five.

Solution: Intelligent automation for a stronger pipeline

Shine Lawyers enlisted the help of technology partner rapidMATION to develop an intelligent process automation solution that integrated Nintex K2 Five with RPA capabilities to streamline client onboarding without compromising the customer experience. rapidMATION first created SmartForms that replicated Shine’s existing client onboarding forms but were both interactive and intelligent, automatically sending clients down the proper path depending on whether their case was deemed viable.

SmartObjects allow for easy integrations into Shine’s existing line-of-business systems. The SmartForm integrates into Shine’s content management systems as well as the Google API, so the solution can access calendars at the relevant Shine branch and find times when relevant lawyers are available.

By automating these question flows and associated process steps, Shine has been able to dramatically reduce the amount of manual work involved in client onboarding. Call center representatives are able to focus on more value-added work. Additionally, there is no need for legal professionals to get involved until an appointment is booked. At this stage, the lawyer receives comprehensive and up-to-date information on the case (with an optimized data verification step in-between).

Luiz de Almeida, CIO at Shine Lawyers, says the initial soft launch astounded the business. “We’ve taken the pain and mundane from the call center and we’ve shifted it to a technology platform, which allows them to then do more customer-centric, value-added activities as opposed to just Q&A.”

Challenge: Limited access to Shine’s call centers

While Shine was concerned with simplifying its internal processes around client onboarding, its primary focus was on customer experience. Shine Lawyers runs advertisements for its services throughout the day and night. That means prospective clients may decide to get in touch with the firm well after 5:00PM, when offices have already closed their doors.

Prospects could send an email or fill out a form to request to be contacted, but representatives could not necessarily return their calls until the next business day. Without any immediate action, the customer may have already researched and contacted additional firms by the following morning.

Shine knew it needed to shift its customer service model to allow clients to receive services when it was convenient for them—not just when it was convenient for the firm. With its new client onboarding solution, the organization aimed to create custom digital forms that offered a user-friendly experience at any time of day.

Solution: A user-friendly onboarding approach

With SmartForms acting as the foundation of Shine’s new client onboarding solution, prospective customers are able to begin the intake and registration process right away. Depending on their responses, clients may be directed down specific branches of questioning to speed up the process and enhance the customer experience.

The new solution takes potential clients through a number of rule-based steps to ascertain whether Shine can assist them. If a case is deemed viable, the solution automatically presents the client with a form that is related to the type of claim they should make, so they can proceed with self-registration.

The solution also uses the locations collected from the form (i.e. where the client lives and where the accident took place) to direct the client to the appropriate Shine branch. This is a critical step because clients can only legally claim in the state where the accident occurred.

With these improvements in customer experience, Shine is building a healthy pipeline of appointments that may otherwise have been lost. “We are potentially tapping into a market that we may not have reached before. We’re giving people who may not have contacted our call center, due to the time of day and other factors, an opportunity to book an appointment in a convenient, digital way,” Luiz adds.