Bloomfire Helps MLA Global Enhance Their Knowledge Management

“You’re probably not very serious about knowledge management if you’re not utilizing a knowledge management platform like Bloomfire.”

MLA Global, a leading legal executive search company, specializes in recruiting and providing organizations with top legal talent. With over 40 years of experience in the industry, MLA Global places significant value on the information it has aggregated over the years. This information is crucial for their consultative approach, creating competitive value for clients and candidates. The role of organizational development, which includes supporting strategy and business drivers operationally, is key to the company’s success.

Challenges Faced

Prior to implementing Bloomfire, MLA Global faced significant challenges with knowledge management. Information was shared through email, Word documents, PDFs, SharePoint, and the company intranet. This decentralized approach made it difficult to manage and find documents efficiently. Employees often found it challenging to locate necessary information, causing disruptions in their workflow. The lack of a structured system meant people spent considerable time searching for documents or data. Additionally, the organization had issues with information hoarding and lacked proper restraints or guardrails for managing data, leading to inconsistencies in document updates and difficulties in accessing accurate information.

Solutions

Several factors drove the decision to seek a knowledge management solution like Bloomfire. Enhancing competitive value was crucial, as the need to share and utilize aggregated information in a consultative manner, particularly in real-time, was critical for maintaining the company’s competitive edge. Supporting knowledge managers was another key objective; a robust tool was necessary to make their job easier and more effective. MLA Global consists of multiple business lines, each managing and viewing information differently. A tool like Bloomfire was needed to create transparency and ease of use across all business lines.

The implementation of Bloomfire faced some initial hurdles. Designing a structure that satisfied all business lines was challenging, and the initial framework was built primarily to meet the needs of one business line that was more invested in the process. The expectation that other business lines would easily adapt to the new system did not play out as anticipated, leading to the realization that separate instances might be needed for different business lines. Despite these challenges, the business line that utilized Bloomfire found significant success. Feedback indicated that finding information became easier, creating a more self-service environment. Employees no longer relied heavily on others to access necessary data, and the managed information was more accurate and up-to-date.

Managing change during the implementation of Bloomfire had mixed results. Change management was relatively smooth when explicitly designed for a business line with dedicated management. However, other business lines found change management more challenging, especially when the system was not tailored to their specific needs. The complexity of their information management culture contributed to these difficulties.

“Bloomfire’s AI functionality and search capabilities have been particularly valuable, improving information retrieval. It has created more of a self-service environment, whereas in the past, our producers relied heavily on others to do this work for them.”

The Results

Most departments at MLA Global, including producers, knowledge management, research, and executive levels, leverage Bloomfire. Employees use past scenarios to educate themselves on current situations, and Bloomfire is extensively used for researching policies, marketplace trends, and internal data. The specific features of Bloomfire, such as the AI functionality and search capabilities, have been highly appreciated for making information retrieval easier.

The overall experience has been positive. The operations team found the implementation process smooth, thanks to the support from the Bloomfire team. The platform’s continuous evolution and feature updates have been beneficial. It has saved time and increased productivity, making employees more relatable and consultative to clients and candidates. The knowledge manager’s role has gained credibility due to the accuracy and accessibility of information.

Conclusion

MLA Global’s experience with Bloomfire underscores the importance of a robust knowledge management system in enhancing operational efficiency, employee productivity, and overall organizational effectiveness. The successful implementation in one business line highlights the potential benefits, while ongoing adaptations aim to extend these advantages across the entire organization. Tools like Bloomfire are essential for ensuring accurate, timely, and efficient information sharing for organizations serious about knowledge management, ultimately leading to better decision-making and competitive advantage.