Tasked with processing over 75,000 registration forms annually, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania engaged IMR to implement its Business Process Optimization (IMR-BPO) service to streamline application processing and reduce backlog.

IMR-BPO automated the registration process, thereby reducing the amount of manual labor required and providing for immediate electronic availability of documents that had been received. The automated IMR-BPO process resulted in a substantially shorter processing time, compressing proof of delivery from six weeks to overnight, and improved overall customer service.

The Challenge

Any attorney, who is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, is required to renew their credentials each year through the Disciplinary Board. In the past, the registration process began with the printing and mailing of registration forms to each of the 75,000 practicing attorneys in the Commonwealth. Once received, each attorney would review, revise and approve their form, attach their renewal check and mail the form back to the Disciplinary Board. The renewal process peaks between the months of March and August, with some 4,200 forms being filed daily. The process required that once the Disciplinary Board received and validated each application, they would be data entered into the registration system. Completing all the tasks related manually meant that an applicant's status could be unknown for up to six weeks.

Furthermore, the manual labor intensive process to complete the large volume of the registration forms necessitated the Board's commitment to additional equipment, office space and the training and supervision of up to eight temporary workers to keep pace with the overwhelming demand.

The Solution

IMR's Business Process Optimization (IMR-BPO) was the perfect solution for the burgeoning needs of the Disciplinary Board. Utilizing IMR-BPO, the printed application forms are first generated and mailed to attorneys. However, once the paperwork is returned, the completed applications and checks are sent directly to a post office box near IMR's production facility in Hazleton. Each day the mail is picked up by an IMR courier and delivered to an assigned work cell that is staffed by IMR personnel, who are specially trained to process the attorney application forms. After each envelope is opened, the application and check is visually reviewed, categorized, scanned and indexed.

The IMR-BPO system enables the Disciplinary Board staff to have same-day access to applications that have been received and processed. Each night the data and scanned images, as well as the checks received and processed that day, are automatically downloaded and imported to a document management software solution installed on site at the Board's administrative office. With the one-day turnaround provided by IMR, the completeness and accuracy of each application form can be immediately reviewed and any questions can be immediately addressed.

According to IMR's Imaging Specialist Chuck Chiara, IMR-BPO has been specifically developed for organizations like the Disciplinary board that have a large volume of documents flowing into the office on a regular basis. The application is especially beneficial to organizations that experience increased processing demands during peak periods, as the Disciplinary Board does. "Our process handles the intake of all types of paper and electronic documents, indexes them and provides our clients with the necessary information they need," he said. In doing so, clients using IMR-BPO recognize increased productivity, improved customer service and the elimination of in-house maintenance and staffing costs.

Benefits to the Disciplinary Board

At its most basic, the solution has eliminated the need for Board personnel to manage and train temporary workers and dedicate office space to the registration process. From a customer service standpoint, the Board can now provide attorneys immediate assistance when asked about registration or payment status. And while the process is transparent to those attorneys filing registration forms, knowing immediately where the application is in the process as opposed to finding it in six weeks time adds a great deal of credibility and reliability to the overall process.

In concert with IMR, the Disciplinary Board has redesigned the registration form for 2010 in order to continually improve the overall process. After one calendar year of working under the new system, the Board is striving to maintain a registration process for attorneys that is efficient, timely and cost-effective.