Published on Oct 27, 2023 
Client services today represent a profound evolution in the legal support world. It goes beyond mere customer interactions, embracing the role of a trusted advisor guiding clients toward their goals.
Ken Baldesi, SVP of Client Services, recently sat down with the team to discuss the multifaceted nature of client services, its unique identity, building long-term relationships, and fostering trust. He highlights the importance of diverse backgrounds, a curiosity-driven mindset, and a commitment to innovation.
This article is a shortened transcript of that discussion.
Listen to the audio version:
Client services is being a trusted advisor to our clients—somebody who understands the end game and helps our clients get there. We don’t expect our clients to be experts, but they expect us to be. My favorite part is when we earn the unsolicited admiration of the clients. In the hustle and bustle of what we do, sometimes it’s hard to find time to show that appreciation. Knowing someone took time out of their day to say they appreciate the hard work we’ve put in makes our day.
I hate to use the term, but they’re almost like unicorns. We have our hands in a lot of different pots. I like to look at client services like the hub of a wheel. And each of those little spokes that pop off of that hub are different service lines and clients. There’s never a dull day. We may get hit with forensic challenges on the collection side, technology challenges, AI, or data not going through the processing engine properly. It’s not a monotonous job, and that’s what makes it more enjoyable.
Client services is an approach where a client may have a task and asks if this is the right way to do it. If not, what do you suggest? Please help me get there and tell me how you would do it. Let’s build a relationship, let’s gain some trust, and let’s work together. I enjoy working with clients to teach them rather than do it for them. Many clients would prefer we just get it done for them, and I don’t blame them. That’s what they pay us for. Others want to be part of the process and understand why we’re doing something. An educated client is a better client. It makes their jobs easier and makes them more educated in their positions, which will also help their careers.
The flip side is that things can get demanding, and folks get a little agitated as things get heated. And I always remind people that we’re all human beings working together. In the end, we’re people too. We all want to put our best foot forward and care for our clients. Everything done is always with the largest of hearts. Client services team members are all here for a reason. They were all brought on board to this team because they are phenomenal at their work. None of them were hired to hit buttons. They’re not task-takers. They were all hired for their brains, the different perspectives they bring, and their ideas. We’re here for clients to lean on. Our opinions come from years of experience, and I hope folks are listening to the recommendations.
When we’re recruiting, I like to have diverse backgrounds. And, it’s not so much about the technical aspect you’ve had in this position—folks from different walks of life have different experiences. I’ve hired people who were coming off of a one-year sabbatical, someone coming straight out of the Peace Corps, another who builds robots, and some who are attorneys. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all. I drill into asking, “What do you do in your spare time? What interests you? What are your hobbies?” For example, you can glean a lot from a person whose hobby is reading. I like people who want to gain knowledge. I like having folks on the team who get satisfaction from doing something that isn’t their everyday job. It’s that “I want to go and build something better instead of just doing the job I’m told to do” mindset. We look for that basic curiosity. Curious folks do well on this team.
Because of the experience in the team and how we hire, they look at solving an issue differently than others could or would. It’s not just the client services team. It’s Innovative Driven as an organization. We have many of these “IDs” that we talk about. The IDs that we’ve created – AnalyzID, ConvertID, and AccessID. The client services team developed many of them. Several project managers in this team are also programmers, so they look at things differently than someone who’s not as technically minded. All these attributes speak to having diverse backgrounds.
From my perspective, we’re about process improvement and operational excellence. Specifically, we focus on people development. We constantly have educational pushes to get certified. We pay for it and are happy to do it. We’ll let you dedicate hours out of your day because if you constantly improve, you’re also improving your process, and you’re doing so at the behest of our clients, so operational excellence naturally follows. You can have the greatest tools in the world, but if you don’t have people who know how to use them, they’re wasted resources. Our Project Management team comprises multiple Relativity Masters, Relativity Experts, Relativity Certified Administrators, Relativity Analytic Specialists, Relativity Review Managers, Brainspace Certified Admins and Analysts, and even Iconnect and Concordance Admins. We are very selective in our hiring, and our standard is high. As is our retention.
Yes, I am biased, but again, they’re a team of unicorns with complex technical and soft consultative skills. We have multiple PMs who have been here for over a decade, many over five years. Those who leave typically leave for one of three reasons: they leave the industry, move to the government, or secure higher-level positions at competitors, which, frankly, I’m happy with. It means we did our jobs to raise employees to succeed. PMs at Innovative Driven follow the Innovative Way inherently. What I mean by this is we don’t punch the clock. We aren’t ticket pushers. We don’t go through a checklist or SOP manual and call it a day. It’s not some brow-beating structure where all decisions come from the top. The Innovative Way is thinking outside the box for solutions; it’s wanting continued education, exposure to new things, to mentor and be mentored, and being a part of a real team. It’s never wanting to let anyone down. It’s wanting and expecting to be held accountable, taking ownership in the process. and having a hand in shaping the company.
One of the things you’ll notice when you work with our PMs is general excitement when discussing workflows or the usage of tools. The reason is that they’re often the ones who help develop them. The PMs are on the front lines with the clients and understand client needs. We look to the PM team to isolate areas that need innovation and improvement; in recent history, the team has done things such as developing our mobile data and collaboration app workflows (we know what clients want to see and how they’d like it presented), the establishment of an Analytics TIGER team to become our departmental SMEs, shaping our ticketing system, ServiceNow, to be able to provide push-button reporting for evidence items, processing, load, and production volumes, and custodial level reporting, rolling out products to the organization, creating a company wiki, creating team level dashboards to help manage and distribute work….I could go on and on.
There is an intrinsic reward in accomplishments outside your standard job description, but finding people with this mentality requires selective hiring. And each new hire should raise the bottom of the team. Empowering our staff and letting them help shape the company makes for a more fulfilled, happy, and engaged employee. And that comes through in the work product and the client experience.
My first job in the industry was back in 2003 as a customer service van driver. You learn a lot coming from those roots. My idea in bringing teams together is that I don’t want to be the smartest person. I see my job as finding people better than myself and surrounding myself with talent. That’s all part of the interview process, which is much more complicated than people think. Resumes don’t tell the story. It took me years to figure that out.
Also, I was a psychology major in college. That influences my management style because I understand things like routes of persuasion and how to interact with human beings to get the most out of them. A lot of that centers on positive reinforcement and setting expectations. Positive reinforcements, like the compliment sandwich, work every time. Even when you see it coming, it does work. It’s so good. Ensure you’re reinforcing good behavior as it shows up; don’t be stingy with it, but also ensure you’re correcting behavior as you see it. It has to work both ways.
It’s because we are genuinely forming relationships with our clients. It’s one of the things that we pride ourselves on here. Everyone says it, right? It’s all about the people. We’re all here to take care of our clients. As an organization we’re not margin and EBITDA focused, where we’re trying to shift as low of a cost resource on you as possible and, by doing so, have a higher margin to be more successful. We look at it from a different approach. I will give you the best service possible, which means it won’t be the cheapest person I can find. By virtue of that, although I might not make the highest margin on this project, our relationship strengthens, and this project will lead to the next one and the next one and continue for the future. It’s about gaining a long-term relationship with the client. That only happens through genuine, legitimate client services where you can build trust. You can build relationships where people want to come back time and time again.
