What is the impact when IP departments are regularly asked to “do more with less”? Employees may feel that they are paying the price and burnout is on the rise. Instead, with thoughtful evaluation, IP legal teams can find areas of efficiency to work smarter with less.
IP legal teams continue to face a universal business challenge: how to do more with less. If this challenge is not thoughtfully addressed, it can have a negative impact on an organization’s ability to meet business requirements. Plus, it can also intensify employee burnout.
A 2022 McKinsey survey of 15,000 employees across 15 countries and various demographics found that on average one-in-four employees were experiencing symptoms of burnout. Fortunately, investments to support well-being are increasing, but how do organizations address root causes of burnout, for example doing more with less? One solution: make investments to identify efficiencies and enable teams to work smarter with less.
Working smarter with fewer resources
In the latest case study from ClarivateTM, we explore how our IP Diagnostic consulting team collaboratively engaged with global domestic appliance business Versuni to create a tailored strategy, fine-tuning and reshaping their IP organization, including:
- Adjusting organizational requirements after becoming a new smaller company
- Aligning with the new commercial business strategy
- Addressing employee needs and concerns
“Product lines and priority deadlines keep coming, everything goes on, and all the work needs to continue. But we faced insufficient capabilities to deal with daily matters, such as the people and procedures to do the required filings or searches,” explained Birte Vanrobaeys, Head of Trademarks and Designs at Versuni.
Based on analysis of the data collected, Clarivate presented a report which proposed a range of initiatives and recommendations, structured to make both immediate and long-term changes. The Versuni team was excited at the prospect of adapting their roles and structure, honing their processes, and accelerating operations.
| Client Profile
Industry: Domestic appliances Established: 2021 Challenge: Versuni’s IP team needed to reshape their roles, processes, technology, and data to align with a new commercial business strategy and a smaller setup. |
Understanding the changes needed
A tailored IP legal strategy starts with identifying where change is needed. To achieve an effectual outcome, careful analysis of an organization’s roles, processes, technology, and information is required. Questions to consider include:
- Are members of your IP team overburdened?
- Does your IP team need to increase operational efficiency or mitigate risk?
- Are you concerned about the quality of your patent and trademark data?
- Are you trying to reduce costs in IP protection and portfolio management?
- Do your processes support business objectives?
If this resonates, an unbiased third-party evaluation, such as an IP Diagnostic, can help identify strategies to achieve key business priorities, gauge the efficacy of the team structure and technology in place and verify whether the processes are optimal.
| What is an IP Diagnostic?
An IP Diagnostic is a collaborative engagement where Clarivate helps organizations identify opportunities to maximize people, processes, information, and technology. For every project, we assemble a multi-disciplinary team, comprised of experts from a wide variety of backgrounds, including attorneys, business analysts, scientists, and paralegals. We customize each project to support exact needs and align with unique requirements. |
The benefits of unbiased evaluation
Creating a modern and efficient IP legal team is a complex and vital undertaking. The IP Diagnostic consulting team has helped organizations successfully position themselves for the future with over 150 projects in over 15 countries.
Each IP Diagnostic is customized, focused on amplifying four key benefits:
- Maximize the value of people
Place the right people on the right tasks to improve productivity and adjust responsibilities to optimize workload. - Increase process efficiency
Evaluate current processes for logic and consistency to uncover ways to reduce costs and boost team output. - Utilize the best data for key decisions
Review the input and processing of data, analyzing where your data comes from and the quality. - Optimize use of IP technology tools and systems
Assess whether existing systems are working well together and identify opportunities to meet objectives through automation.
When asked about the IP Diagnostic methodology Dries Duijnstee, Chief Legal Officer at Versuni said: “I really liked the Clarivate approach of interviewing everybody in an intensive and open way with very candid discussions about how they did their work and what was on their mind. I could see that our people enjoyed it and didn’t see it as threatening, and it also gave us a lot of insight.”
Conclusion
The case study concludes with Dries’ thoughts on the impact of the IP Diagnostic: “Clarivate came to us with a good and clear solution… As a result of the changes we’ve made, we have increased speed, solved a number of challenges, and reduced quite a lot of stress for people”.
As change continues to come at a faster pace, setting employees up for success with optimized processes, technology, and information is critical for both the business and the burnout.
Interested in learning more? Download the case study: A new global IP team with a tailored strategy for success.
To see how Clarivate can help your IP team become faster, people focused, and more flexible, contact us today.
