A Fortune 50 Company accelerates performance improvement and creates momentum for change through IMPACT, a structured approach to process change and decision making that is modeled after GE’s Work-Out.

When a new General Counsel took the helm at a Fortune 50 company, he saw a need to more closely align the Legal Division with the business, streamline its processes, and achieve greater efficiencies. Having recently come through a series of major acquisitions, the Legal Division remained highly fragmented. Each operating unit had its own way of managing legal transactions and there was redundant expertise throughout the company. Internal customers found the Legal Division overly bureaucratic. And attorneys and support staff were weighed down by a heavy administrative workload.

KCG has played an active role with the General Counsel and his team over a three year timeframe to help transform the Legal Division. A cornerstone of this change is a continuous improvement approach named IMPACT that was modeled after the Work-Out process at GE. IMPACT compresses identification of new opportunities and solutions, prioritization, and executive review of process improvement and program recommendations into a dedicated 1-2 day working session. While IMPACT can bring into focus the need for longer term investments, the emphasis is on recommendations that can be realized in 90 days.

The key components of IMPACT are:

• Scoping and Chartering: With the support of an executive sponsor, a design team defines an IMPACT charter that clarifies a problem to be solved (or an opportunity to be realized) and spells out the desired results and outcome.
• Brainstorming and Prioritization: The actual IMPACT session involves intense, structured brainstorming and prioritization where employees at all levels work together to identify low value work that can be eliminated and identify ways to improve ongoing processes.
• Town Meeting: The IMPACT session culminates in a Town Meeting where the sponsoring executive listens to the recommendations developed in the session and then provides either a “yes”, “no” or “further study” decision. This on-the-spot decision making sends a strong message about the need for rapid change and provides immediate recognition to the entire team for their work and good ideas.
• 30-60-90 Day Implementation Plans: A champion for each recommendation is responsible for leading change in a short timeframe.

In the Legal Division, many initiatives were already underway to streamline processes and build stronger a partnering relationships. IMPACT gave the team a tool for accelerating existing initiatives and provided a forum for bringing together cross-functional teams and people from different levels of the organization to help generate ideas and make decisions.

Creating Self-Sufficiency to lead the IMPACT Process:

While the process initially benefited from experienced resources guiding the way, the goal was to quickly create the skills and leadership within the organization to build the capability and momentum internally. More than 30 colleagues have been trained in designing and leading IMPACT sessions and have not only focused their efforts within the Legal Division, but have also extended their support and leadership across the company as well. A Core Team of senior attorneys from across the division are now the stewards for IMPACT.

With their cadre of trained facilitators and many more attorneys, paralegals and administrative staff having participated in IMPACT, many elements of the approach have found their way into staff meetings, department planning sessions, and strategy off-sites.

IMPACT continues to drive the elimination of low value work activities, ongoing improvement in business processes, and focused investments in the Legal Division’s capabilities. Some of the specific changes that have emerged from IMPACT are:

• Harmonization of Patent Processes. IMPACT helped the Legal Division move from locally determined processes for filing patents to one common standard for the US. As a result, the company was able to streamline the application process and enable easier transfer of cases.
• Streamlined Administration of Retirement Plans. IMPACT uncovered a way to free up more than 50 hours of work each month by eliminating the retention of paper copies of proxy statements filed for stocks held in the retirement plan.
• More Strategic Use of Outside Counsel. An IMPACT team established guidelines and standards for use of Outside Counsel. This action helped the Legal Division to not only better manage its costs, but also focus on where stronger capabilities were needed internally.
• Better Management of Internal Investigations. IMPACT brought to the table a number of ideas for giving paralegals a more active role in assigning matters and in completing the actual investigations. It also identified ways in which the Legal Division could provide more timely responses to urgent requests for legal advice.
• Reengineered Process for Dissolution of Dormant Subsidies. IMPACT brought multiple stakeholders together to outline the steps associated with this type activity and to clearly define the process in the event we needed that for the future.

Through IMPACT the Legal Division has documented significant cost savings. Attorneys and support staff are less burdened by an administrative workload. Most important, however, is the shift in thinking within the organization and the constant focus on meeting the needs of the business and doing things better on a day-to-day basis.