IMG
Benefits
- Scalable support without the traditional overheads
- Knowledgable and professional Moneypenny Receptionist
Background
IMG owns and manages a diverse portfolio of events in the field of sport and entertainment. With expertise and a proven track record in creating and promoting events around the world, IMG aims to provide participants, patrons and brands with a strong product offering and high levels of service at all times.
Business Challenge
The Natural History Museum Ice Rink is an annual entertainment event managed by IMG. Concerns about their ability to handle enquiries about the rink prompted the company to evaluate its call handling capability in December 2008. Nick Mattingley, operations manager of IMG comments:
"We have in-house receptionists to handle calls to our offices. However, to staff to a level that could cope with public enquiries about the ice rink – when we weren’t entirely sure how many calls that could amount to – soon made us realise that we needed scalable support that didn’t involve the expense of hiring more staff."
Solution Deployed
Recommendations from a number of business acquaintances gave Nick the confidence to approach Moneypenny, who recommended the use of a dedicated ice rink telephone number that diverted all calls to virtual receptionist Janet and her dedicated team at Moneypenny. Nick continues:
"The public expect prompt and knowledgeable responses when they call our enquiry numbers. I’m pleased to say, with Moneypenny, that’s exactly what they receive. Janet makes an effort to understand our events and the types of questions people are asking. The entire Moneypenny team’s dedication and professionalism makes the service seamless and one less issue to worry about when managing such a large-scale event."
Connolys
Benefits
- Every call handled promptly
- No more engaged lines
- Great relationship with Moneypenny Receptionist
Background
Connolys, a building firm specialising in private nursing homes, employs 260 people. Chief Executive Max Richards and his team’s diaries are different every day, they’re often on site or in meetings with sub-contractors, suppliers or clients.
Business Challenge
Before they used Moneypenny, callers would be greeted with voicemail whenever their team of two receptionists could not get to the phone. They soon realised they were missing calls and losing business, but didn’t have the office space or budget to recruit more reception staff. They used a traditional telephone answering service for a time, until poor service levels and random operators answering their calls soon made it obvious they had outsourced their calls.
Solution Deployed
The company’s main line and their 0800 number are permanently routed to Moneypenny. Their Moneypenny Receptionist Nicola acts as a true receptionist, fielding calls and taking messages as appropriate. Even though the team move around, they stay in touch with their clients as Nicola puts callers directly through to them on their mobiles. She even gives directions to Connolys's office, perplexing visitors who ask "where does Nicola sit?" when they arrive.
Max describes the main benefit of Moneypenny: "My clients love it. They always speak to a real person, we are always available (even if we’re working on site) and our line is never engaged."
The quality of his reception has made a real difference to Connolys, "People are impressed by our telephone reception and our in-house receptionists feel that they can do a better job as they’re not tied to the phone. We no longer miss calls, we win more business, and save money. I regard Nicola as one of my team."
Bistek Solutions
Benefits
- More time to work undisturbed by calls
- Consistently high service levels
- Reduced operating costs
Background
Bistek Solutions provide software solutions to the nuclear and oil industry. They employ 200 people over three sites.
Business Challenge
Bistek’s Newcastle office is home to its engineers. As there were not sufficient calls to warrant employing a full-time receptionist, calls rang round the office until they were answered. Messages and calls were often not getting through to the right people, certainly not when they were out on site or in meetings. Other sites were finding it impossible to speak to their own engineers, and customers were increasingly frustrated.
Solution Deployed
All calls to the Newcastle office are now directed to Moneypenny. Jan, their Moneypenny receptionist then directs the calls to the relevant engineer on their mobile, or sends a message via text.
Says Sunita Hill, Bistek’s HR Manager "Having Moneypenny saves us so much time and hassle. Jan is great and understands exactly what calls we want to be troubled by and deals with the rest, and she has a fantastic relationship with our engineers. Because our calls are managed well and the phones aren’t ringing round the office, we feel we’ve got more time."
Sunita agrees that Moneypenny has saved the company money and made them much more efficient, allowing them to focus on their core business safe in the knowledge their clients receive the best service consistently.
Chadwick Lawrence LLP
Benefits
- Work planned more effectively with online reporting facility
- Every call now answered professionally
Background
Chadwick Lawrence delivers a comprehensive range of expert legal services to commercial and private clients. The firm has six offices across Yorkshire and is now one of the region’s leading firms.
Business Challenge
In August 2009, Chadwick Lawrence decided to improve its in-bound call handling capabilities by providing support to its reception teams. The improvements would also have to deliver consistently high levels of service to clients calling the office - regardless of staff holidays or high call volumes. Jeremy Garside, managing partner of Chadwick Lawrence comments:
"The challenge was to achieve a successful balance between the cost of extra staffing and maintaining high levels of client service during periods of high call volume. We needed support that would help us manage our peak call periods cost effectively, but also deal with our customers in a professional and efficient manner at all times."
Solution Deployed
After an initial trial period that enabled Chadwick Lawrence to review the times and days they needed telephone support, Moneypenny was appointed to handle the firm’s "overflow" calls. Jeremy concludes:
"Moneypenny has worked seamlessly with our in-house team to ensure no calls are missed at peak times and that each call is handled professionally and competently. The online reporting tool, which we can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week also helps us plan effectively for call peaks in the future."
Red Bee Media
Benefits
- Scalable switchboard cover
- Improved service levels
- Reduced operating costs
Background
Red Bee Media’s head office in London employs over 1500 members of staff and receives approximately 2200 calls per month. Prior to using Moneypenny, planning for and managing this many calls had considerable cost, service and HR implications.
Business Challenge
Tracy Lewis, Purchasing Business Manager of Red Bee Media comments:
“Ensuring we always had sufficient cover for the telephones was an ongoing HR concern, as well as being an expensive monthly overhead. Even when reception was adequately staffed, lunch breaks or busy periods would leave calls unanswered for an excessive length of time. Put bluntly, we were in a lose-lose situation."
Solution Deployed
Tracy and Clare Plaisted, Red Bee Media’s Head of Communications, were invited to see how Moneypenny Receptionists handle calls exactly as if based in their clients’ offices. Subsequently, Red Bee Media took the decision to trial Moneypenny’s service.
“Everyone at Moneypenny has been supportive and on-hand every step of the way. They’ve liaised with our existing line provider to ensure our calls divert exactly to our requirements. We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly Stephanie, our Moneypenny Receptionist, and her team got to know how we work. This has ensured that callers assume they’re being handled in-house - which is exactly what we wanted.”
Red Bee Media now have a scalable solution for their switchboard, eliminating the headache of ensuring the phones were always covered. Service levels have improved and operating costs have reduced. Now no call goes unanswered and there’s an integral disaster plan in place too. Win-win.
Michael Poole
Benefits
- Every business opportunity captured
- Staff able to focus on in-branch customers, knowing calls will still be answered
- Avoided hiring additonal staff
Background
Michael Poole is an estate agency with six residential sales branches and a lettings department located across the North East of England.
Business Challenge
The management team at Michael Poole was aware that periods of peak activity compromised the efficiency of its negotiators, who struggled to cover phone lines, front of house duties as well as manage the needs of their customers. Michael Poole, Senior Partner comments:
“In a competitive market it is imperative that customers receive our best service at all times. However, heavy foot fall in our branches and incredibly busy phone lines meant our team was being tested to the limit. We became concerned that service levels were being affected. Employing additional staff was an expensive solution and wouldn’t necessarily help, given that support was only needed on an ad-hoc basis to cover spikes in call volume levels.”
Solution Deployed
Seeing Moneypenny at an event prompted Michael Poole to enquire about overflow cover for all his branches. Michael concludes:
“Moneypenny has been an incredible asset to the entire team here at Michael Poole. Our Moneypenny Receptionist Shauna and her team handle overflow calls from all our branches and then forward detailed messages to the appropriate member of staff immediately. Our negotiators can now concentrate on managing customers without worrying about missing new instructions or valuation opportunities.”
British Waterways
Benefits
- Valuable resources maximised
- In-house teams able to work smarter
Background
With half the British population living within five miles of a canal or river, British Waterways is the public corporation that cares for the 2,200-mile network of canals and rivers in England, Scotland and Wales.
Business Challenge
British Waterways’ Northwich region was struggling to handle the volume of calls they were receiving. Volumes varied dramatically, with around 1,100 calls in a quiet month, increasing to 2,600 in a busy month. Hiring more staff was not cost effective, and the specific nature of the calls meant temps were out of the question. Julie Sharman, General Manager at British Waterways comments:
“The public expect us to handle their enquiries promptly and effectively”. “We suspected that we weren’t capturing all inbound calls, but hiring more staff seemed a costly and inefficient solution to the problem.”
Solution Deployed
British Waterways’ Northwich region approached Moneypenny for help and following a consultation period, was offered a four week trial that included the support of two dedicated Moneypenny Receptionists, Sian and Laura. Julie concludes:
“Having Moneypenny to handle all calls has been a great success. In addition to no longer having to worry about missing calls, the solution has also freed up valuable floor space, as our in-house switchboard operators are now used in a different capacity. Thanks to Moneypenny, these same benefits have since been achieved by 8 other regions.”
Impax Asset Management Group
Benefits
- Reliable back-up solution as part of a wider business continuity policy
- Service and communications not disrupted in the event of an emergency
Background
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:
- Maintained normal service to clients
- Business-critical activity continued
- Staff able to get in touch easily
- Fully-audited activity during downtime