IMG

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.”

Bistek Solutions

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.

Connolys

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, determining who needs which call and when. And 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 their office, perplexing visitors who ask “Where does Nicola sit?” when they arrive.

Max describes the main benefit Moneypenny makes; “My clients love it. They always speak to a real person, we are always available (even if we’re working on site), the line is never engaged.”

The quality of his reception has made a real difference to Connoly’s, “People are impressed by our telephone reception, and our in-house receptionists feel that they can do a better job as they’re not so tied to the phone. We no longer miss calls; we win more business, and save money. I regard Nicola as one of my team.”

Chadwick Lawrence LLP

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.”

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.”

Michael Poole

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

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

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