How Nationwide International’s call centre moved ahead of the
game with the help of Manx Telecom.
The challenge
Nationwide International wanted a robust new call centre to
better manage customer calls. As Phil Dunne, the company’s IT
Director explains, “With our old system, we were in some cases
working blind. For example, we had no way of knowing when customers
were waiting on the line, and consequently when to allocate more
staff to handle calls.”
In an organisation where so much highly valuable business is
transacted over the phone, a state-of-the-art communications system
was called for.
The solution
Having been chosen by Nationwide for the job, Manx Telecom
installed a Mitel 3300 IP telephone system with the Mitel Contact
Centre and Witness Voice Recorder.
Paul Cowell, Corporate Sales Account Manager at Manx Telecom,
says: “The Mitel 3300 is an excellent IP telephone system which
uses the latest technology to converge voice, video and data
applications on one platform. It is easier to manage than
traditional systems and gives organisations of all sizes the
ability to work smarter.”
With the Mitel 3300, everything runs seamlessly through a
Graphical User Interface which can be accessed by any networked
computer. The system allows for a range of collaboration and
availability applications for simplifying and enhancing the office
environment.
The benefits
“The system offers businesses of all sizes many general everyday
benefits,” says Mr Cowell. “The same cable can be used for both the
computer and phone, which means just one wire to the desktop. Moves
and changes are much easier, as each phone has a unique ID, so when
moved to another networked point, all of its’ stored personal keys
and features move with it.”
The system also gives users much greater collaborative powers
and many more convenience-enhancing features. For example, with the
Mitel Your Assistant application when you double-click on a contact
in outlook, your phone can automatically call that person, so
there’s no need to dial from the phone. When incoming calls are
received and the customers number is forwarded the system can
integrate with databases where the phone numbers are stored and
‘pop’ information onto the screen.
The implementation
With more engineers accredited in Mitel, Cisco and Nortel than
any other company on the Island, Manx Telecom was well equipped to
handle such a major switch from traditional to cutting edge. Three
engineers worked on the installation, supported by Paul Cowell and
his team at Manx Telecom’s head office.
“The installation went smoothly,” says Phil Dunne. “An instant
plus was the roll out of wireless head sets, enabling our team to
move about the office rather than be anchored to their desks.”
The results
Thanks to the new system, Nationwide International is reaping
the rewards of greatly improved call management – from customer
satisfaction to staffing cost savings.
As Mr Dunne explains, “With conventional call systems, you often
get clusters of people waiting and then five minutes later no calls
at all. With the new system, we can spread the load a little. Also,
we can now see if customers are waiting, and so allocate more
people to answer calls.”
The system has in fact enabled Nationwide International to see
clearly when their busiest times of day are. Staffing has now been
more accurately tailored to the level of calls, leading to
considerable cost savings.
The new call recording facility automatically records all calls,
whereas the old system had to be initiated by individual operators.
As well as helping resolve queries much more quickly – resulting in
more cost savings – another benefit Nationwide hadn’t anticipated
was how much the recordings would help with call centre staff
training.
There are other benefits too. Says Mr Dunne, “The reporting
package Manx Telecom put in for us allows our team to see how
they’re doing during the day and pull together to hit targets and
improve service. From a longer-term viewpoint, we’re now able to
see how quickly the business is growing which means we can improve
our recruitment planning.”
One final benefit is the system’s flexibility. If the call
centre team need to have a meeting, for example, the system
seamlessly flows through to the support team – something that
previously couldn’t have been done without physically moving people
around.
Phil Dunne concludes, “The Mitel system has had a big impact on
our business. We chose Manx Telecom to install it because we felt
they could support us better than anyone else. The team gave their
all to provide the best system for us and continues to do so.”