In two preceding articles [1], set out how hybrid and dispersed working have eroded the capacity of managers to manage and explained why firms need better remedies than continually checking-in or traditional project management software. In this concluding piece, I explain how a new Work Management application from Belt, can give firms back the visibility and control that are the keys to effective people management and simultaneously allow lawyers to keep the flexibility of WFH.

They say you can’t manage what you can’t measure. In a hybrid world, we can add: “You can’t manage what you can’t see.” Hybrid, remote, and dispersed working have become established and yet we’ve also established that they create a core business problem. Managers are detached from their teams, they can no longer see what’s going on. The result is that managers are driven to overmanage with too many meetings, too much communication and too much reliance on work management systems that were never designed to fill this particular role.

In the preceding article [2], I introduced an alternative way forward, which harnesses the power of AI-native software to give managers clear, real-time insights into the activities of remote workers. The idea is that by restoring visibility and control, those who want to work remotely still can, while at the same time their bosses can see and understand the work they’re doing and manage people and teams appropriately and effectively once more.   

Introducing Belt Work Management

We call this new application Belt Work Management. The “Work Management” part is self-explanatory. But the difference is that the tool works naturally within the flow of a person’s working day, so there are no interruptions and distractions.

The system uses AI to register the activities that knowledge workers undertake in the course of their work. Activities are divided into Tasks (done alone) and Meetings (done with other people) and further subdivided into Everyday Work (standing tasks) and Requests (ad hoc activity).

This last category is the trickiest to capture, but using powerful AI-native software, each ad hoc activity becomes a trackable component because the AI “reads” all written communications intelligently. It takes advantage of the fact that there’s only so much language you can use to ask someone to do something. This makes it relatively straightforward to identify when something is being asked for and of whom. The AI can then capture this activity as a Request.

It's then necessary for the AI to assess each Request and decide if it’s a task worth logging. Tasks that can be completed in a very short space of time don’t get logged. For example, someone asking: “Have we paid the bill?”  and someone replying: “Yes, we have.”

However, if a more substantive task arises, such as: “Can you send me the invoice history for this client, please?” – our AI can identify this as a material piece of work for the system to process. The recipient is then given the option to accept the task into their overall workload, or defer it, or delegate or assign it.

What’s truly new

In the meantime, the AI has automatically entered the Request into the system. And that’s what’s truly new and why Belt Work Management represents a step-change up from the traditional SaaS CRUD applications that you’ll see used as project management tools, or document management systems (DMS) or for customer relationship management (CRM).

These are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) database applications that rely on the CReate, Update, Delete model (CRUD). In other words, they’re dependent on manual data input.

This is fine as far as it goes, but there are big drawbacks. For one thing, these tools become ineffective if they’re not regularly updated in a timely way with accurate information. But in addition, there’s the time it takes to update these systems, plus a productivity penalty when you interrupt people’s concentration.

But more than that, people find these systems irksome. We just don’t like inputting to databases, filling in online forms, telling systems what we – the human – already know. It’s tedious, time-consuming and not interesting in any way. Which is why it’s very typical, for instance, that an organization’s CRM is updated in a rush just before the sales manager’s status meeting. People are putting it off as long as they can.

Conversely, with AI-native applications, this pain and friction doesn’t arise because the system is working seamlessly in the background. There’s no interruption to flow. AI-native applications input the data, and create the “database”, so humans don’t have to. They shift that burden away from humans and just magically input the data for you. 

Moreover, with Belt Work Management, there isn’t even an additional system. We asked the simple question: what does every knowledge worker use? The answer is a calendar. So, it made sense to embed Belt in pre-existing Outlook calendars. The result is a new system embedded within an old one. Plus, it’s a new system that doesn’t even need to be maintained.

In the beginning

This journey started from our observation that remote work is near-impossible to manage well, and that this has negative consequences both for employers and employees. We need a way to regain the clear, real-time visibility of what people are doing, which we formerly had when they sat in front of us in an office.

Thus far, organizations have tried to recreate this visibility by asking remote workers to report what they’re doing, but with mixed success. People obfuscate, and reporting sucks up their time. There’s also more and more communication: emails, meetings, messages, updates. But less actual work gets done.

Meanwhile, traditional Work Management systems might have looked like the answer, but they still fall short. They’re time-consuming, capture only the portion of activity that relates to deliverables, and even do that retrospectively, so give a distorted picture of actual activity. Plus, people don’t like using them, meaning adoption rates are poor.

Our AI-native application offers something significantly different. It gives managers an accurate, real-time understanding of activity and busyness, plus the system doesn’t use up people’s time on reporting.

Belt’s AI monitors email and other communications to pick up and manage Tasks and Requests ensuring they’re smoothly accepted, assigned or delegated. People in even the most dispersed of teams get a Unified Calendar that puts all their meetings, tasks and deadlines in one place. They get project overviews that give visibility to tasks, phases, milestones and connected deliverables. And the AI can perform intelligent calendar management. For instance, it can suggest not just slots that are open, but also things that can likely be shuffled to create an open slot.

Managers can now have a clear view of recurring work so they can stay on top of Tasks and repeat Meetings. They also have a management dashboard that gives visibility to projects and opportunities, includes phases, KPIs and milestones, and allows them to drill down into the detail of activity as required.

It means managers gain a much better understanding of what remote workers are doing with their day and their week, and if their workload is balanced and manageable. They have a real-time view of whether a project is on track or if a deliverable is at risk of running late. They can allocate and reallocate work much more sensibly.

Overall, the system can improve firm efficiency and productivity, because with better visibility, understanding, coordination and collaboration between teams and team members, firms waste less time and can improve resource allocation and capacity optimization. Firms can also get more accurate and granular data with which to conduct predictive matter analysis and increase billing accuracy.

It follows that client service levels are improved: clients get more timely responses; details don’t fall through the cracks; and deadlines are consistently met. There’s also a positive impact on talent retention: enhanced transparency brings more accurate performance management and load balancing, resulting in a less stressed cohort of junior partners and associates, meaning less burnout and more confidence in the firm. Plus, people keep the increasingly all-important flexibility of WFH.

I began the first article saying that management is struggling because remote working has had a devastating impact of the capacity of managers to manage. Now we have a solution that tackles the issues effectively. Our AI-native software delivers the visibility that remote managers lack, but also saves time, increases understanding, and enables proactive and effective – but not intrusive – person management. It keeps workers where they want to be, while restoring management to where it needs to be.

Sources:

[1]  Has Your Firm Adjusted To How Management Has Changed?

[2] Overcoming The Problems With Hybrid Working And Getting The Best Of Both Worlds