Richardson Groves

Richardson Groves is an ICAEW accredited practice offering services in all areas of accountancy, business and tax consultancy to clients across the South West. Based in Bath, the company has particular expertise in the fields of buying and selling businesses, business plans and strategic planning.

Business Challenge

With no dedicated receptionist, Richardson Groves felt they needed to improve its inbound call handling by providing additional support to their administration team. Peter Groves, managing partner of Richardson Groves comments:

“We became increasingly aware that team members were struggling to juggle their own work with answering phone calls, especially in the mornings when call volumes are generally at their highest. We needed a solution that would allow us to divert calls whenever we needed additional support.”

Solution Deployed

It was on the recommendation from a local solicitors’ firm that Richardson Groves approached Moneypenny in July 2009 to provide assistance with their overflow calls. Peter concludes:

“Within days of starting our four week trial, we realised the immense value of Moneypenny’s service. It relieved the pressure on our in-house team immediately and allowed them to concentrate on other work, safe in the knowledge that inbound calls were being handled professionally.”

Langford & Co

Langford & Co is an accountancy firm based in Tring, Hertfordshire. The company offers a range of accountancy services for individuals and businesses.

Business Challenge

Chris Langford, proprietor of Langford & Co, approached Moneypenny in August 2004. He had identified that he needed a PA to handle his calls while out of the office, someone who would offer a professional point of contact for any potential new business. Chris comments:

“We needed someone to answer the phone and process simple calls whilst I was with clients or away from the office. However, I could not justify the cost of employing someone to do this full-time.”

Solution Deployed

Having found Moneypenny, Chris decided to trial the dedicated PA service to see whether it would meet his requirements. Chris explains:

“Julie, my Moneypenny PA, has helped me grow my business by allowing me to focus on my clients. She takes work off my shoulders by answering calls, managing VIP clients and always ensures messages reach me wherever I may be. My clients think Julie is based in my office and her friendly yet professional approach sends exactly the right message to callers.”

Lubbock Fine

Lubbock Fine is a significant firm of chartered accountants and business advisers. Based in central London, it provides a full range of audit, accounting and taxation services and advises many businesses and individuals, both in the UK and overseas.

Business Challenge

Lubbock Fine understands the importance of providing a high level of service to clients. When the firm’s reception team advised that customer service was being compromised by having to handle a high volume of inbound calls, as well as greet clients visiting the offices, a solution to the problem was sought immediately. Geoff Goodyear, managing partner of Lubbock Fine comments:

“With secretaries helping out on reception, we soon realised more essential work was being sidelined and even more crucially, service levels showed no real sign of improvement. We needed a solution that would help manage our firm’s inbound calls, as well as provide cover for breaks and holiday periods.”

Solution Deployed

Lubbock Fine made contact with Moneypenny in April 2009 to help manage overflow calls. Geoff concludes:

“Outsourcing overflow calls to our Moneypenny receptionist Christine and her team had a positive impact instantly. Not only did we have a permanent form of cover for our telephones, but we’ve also been able to extend our virtual office hours. With our in-house reception team able to manage peaks in activity with ease, out secretarial staff members have reverted to concentrating on administrative duties and other important business priorities.”

Impax Asset Management Group

With a track record for delivering excellent returns across private equity and hedge fund strategies, Impax’s reputation as a leading investment manager requires the company to provide world-class levels of service at all times.

Business Challenge

Impax employs over 40 team members at its office in central London. When the company reviewed the crisis management policy in place for its telephone systems, the decision was taken to approach Moneypenny to discuss how their phones could be handled in the case of a telecommunications failure. Darren Johnson, operations director of Impax, comments:

“Ensuring we have an effective crisis management policy in place for our telephone system is a key part of our wider business continuity plan. We were keen to establish whether Moneypenny could respond immediately in the event of a disaster. They reassured us this would always be the case.”

Solution Deployed

Moneypenny’s business continuity package – providing a flexible solution with fully briefed virtual receptionists on hand to answer all incoming calls in the event of an emergency. Messages are either taken and forwarded immediately via email or SMS, or calls connected through to appropriate mobiles. Call handling instructions are all agreed in advance and all relevant data e.g. staff names, contact numbers collected to ensure a seamless transfer whenever required.

Moneypenny handled 61 calls for the company in March 2010, when a BT fault caused all incoming telephone lines to fail between the hours of 11am and 3pm. Having Moneypenny set up and on hand to take calls meant that:

• Normal service to clients was not interrupted
• Business critical activity continued
• Staff were able to get in touch easily
• All activity during downtime was fully audited