While you have probably frequently heard about ‘digital transformation’ in the context of legal departments, the term ‘digital maturity’ will be relatively unfamiliar. These two concepts are distantly related. Digital maturity builds on digital transformation and focuses on how organisations can adapt to an increasingly digital environment. A digitally mature organisation is never done transforming but constantly looking for ways to improve.
By assessing the level of digital maturity in your legal department, you gain a better understanding of how well it can respond to changes in the digital landscape. There’s a misconception that only large legal departments can become digitally mature because they have sufficient resources and time to devote. However, it’s important for legal departments of all sizes because those that don’t, can expect to struggle in an increasingly digital business environment.
Due to years of experience helping organisations successfully integrate technology into their processes, we developed the digital maturity scale. The scale takes into account that digital maturity is continuous and divides legal departments into three phases, each with their own specific needs in terms of technology.
You can assess your organisation’s maturity level by measuring its ability to adapt to a disruptive event, technology, market change or any other external factor. While a comprehensive analysis may take months to carry out, the following questions can help indicate where your organisation currently stands:
- Are existing (and new) technologies integrated into your organisation, and are they helping you achieve desired business results?
- Do these technologies tie in with key performance indicators? Do you have a process for evaluating outcomes?
- How is your organisation prepared to keep up with changes in the market, and disruptions due to digital trends?
- Do you have a technology roadmap and are you aware of the impact of digital maturity initiatives on the roadmap?
- Do you know what tech features would help you achieve business outcomes? Do you have the resources (including budget, resources and support from leadership)?
- Do you make informed decisions based on data and analytics?
Even if you don’t have the answers to the questions above or aren’t satisfied with them, they can help you get started with the process. As the scale indicates, not all areas will become digitally mature at the same time. You can pick one or two areas that you’d like to focus on first and expand later.
Curious about how your legal department – and others across the globe – will fare in the changing technology landscape? Download a free copy of our whitepaper, "Digital maturity for small and medium-sized legal departments" and learn what digital maturity means for your department today, and in the future.
