Linklaters has built an Apple-inspired IT shop in its Silk Street headquarters in a move that looks set to change the way tech training is delivered to lawyers and staff at the magic circle firm.
Ask IT is permanently manned and located next door to the staff restaurant, where footfall is highest in the London office. It has been set up so that visitors can try out different hardware on display, charge their phone over lunch, or seek advice.
Speaking to Legal IT Insider, director of information systems and strategy, Matt Peers said: “What we’re trying to do is to put IT in full view, to make it accessible rather than hidden away.” He adds: “The reception within the firm of Ask IT as a concept has been really positive. If the people staffing the shop don’t know the answer, they will find it out. Our service desk does that but this is the personal face of IT.”
The store was set up over the summer and Peers and his team are pushing for more space to develop Ask IT further.
Fee-earners who need a new phone now collect it from the shop, which is integrated with Linklaters internal service desk software.
Peers now has plans to use Ask IT as a focal point for drop-in training, commenting: “People want to learn in a way that suits them. They don’t want to be invited to a two-hour class but they are happy to do a 10-minute session. It’s a shift in the way we are being encouraged to provide training and we are planning to hold drop-in training in the shop. You’ll be able to get all kinds of hints and tips and best practice, in the same way as you can in an Apple shop.”
Linklaters’ support function heads from around the globe are now looking at how the model could be replicated in their own region.
This story first appeared in the Legal IT Insider December newsletter – sign up for your free copy to be delivered into your inbox by clicking the following link http://legaltechnology.com//latest-newsletter/
See also: Linklaters sets up global innovation committee to act as focal point for new tech