Even if you can’t hire a Chief Value Officer, appoint yourself to the position and start thinking seriously about providing value to clients.

This week we asked: Do you need a Chief Value Officer?

1) Yes, I bet it would be helpful – 29%

2) No, we provide great value already – 28%

3) Possibly, I need to know more about it – 43%

My Thoughts: Usually my questions have no correct answer. This week it does. Yes. Yes. Yes. Everyone needs a Chief Value Officer (only about a third of you got this right!). Should you run out and hire one? No. But someone in every firm needs to take responsibility for making sure clients are getting the value they want and need.

That doesn’t mean lowering rates or adding more services to the menu. It means looking at client service in a new way. For example: in-house training for associates, alternative billing structures, client feedback interviews. The best way to envision the difference between a CMO and a CVO comes directly from Tuesday’s article:

The firm wanted to divide its client relations department into one group that "gets the trains in on time" by handling the day-to-day management of filling out RFPs or updating the website, for example, and a second group that focuses on how the firm needs to change to better provide value. That second function, he said, has implications for how the firm hires and trains attorneys and how it staffs matters. Though Sudholz won’t be taking the lead on project management training at the firm, it is something she will be involved with as part of the CVO role.

See the difference?

Black Pearl: Want a few more tips on adding value? Click here and download the Association of Corporate Counsel’s “51 Practical Ways for Law Firms to Add Value.”