Why should I use Helmsmen to prepare my practice for Lexcel?
As we have had experience of a number of Lexcel assessments, we understand how the assessment bodies interpret the standards. This avoids problems of differences in interpretation between yourselves and the assessment body with the consequent need for reworking procedures and for reassessment.
We will manage the process of preparation, thus relieving a senior member of your staff of the task of guiding the practice through the Lexcel process.
The use of an external consultant ensures that momentum is kept up in the process of preparation for Lexcel, as agreed targets are set for what is to be achieved by each visit.
Where new or modified documentation or procedures are required, we can, from our experience, propose a Lexcel compliant solution. By providing a compliant example and, after discussion, creating the document or designing the procedure, the time investment of you and your staff is minimised.
When we have reviewed your procedures we can use our experience of other practices to suggest alternative working practices if we feel that this would be of benefit to the efficiency of the practice.
We believe that the above benefits will result in a substantial saving in the time that fee earners would lose from their normal daily tasks and that this will more than compensate for our fees. In addition to this, the solutions adopted by the practice in any changes to its procedures will be 'best practice' and you will achieve Lexcel in the minimum time, as we would expect to achieve accreditation on the first assessment.
What will it cost?
This depends upon the size of practice and the number of sites from which it operates.
A small practice may need as few as five days of consultancy time.
How much time will it take?
Overall the preparation time is around nine months. This consists of:
Two months to review the practice, agree the changes required and agree an action plan.
Implementation of any new practices and procedures normally, which takes two further months before the Department is fully compliant.
Advisedly, a further four to five months building up compliant files before assessment.
What guarantee have I that I will achieve Lexcel?
The fee quoted by Helmsmen includes all preparation for the assessment and covers all our time until we judge that you are ready for assessment. It is not limited to the days quoted. If you should fail the assessment (we would be devastated and it has not happen to any of our clients) we would continue to work with you until you had a successful assessment.