Recruitment firm clock on to superior telecom service

By saving money and improving efficiency a state-of-the-art IP telephone system installed by Pennine Telecom is proving just the job for Time Recruitment Solutions.

After the lease expired on its old system the fast-growing Manchester-based firm was keen to enhance the customer experience whilst minimising costs and streamlining all its telephony needs. “We’d suffered continuous niggles, things would fail which our previous provider never really sought to find the root cause of. They’d do a quick fix which would work there and then but then the problem would recur,” explains Time Director Paul Leaver. “Two or three years into the lease they also decided to sell off their lines and calls business to a third party and so we ended up with one company responsible for hardware, another for lines and BT stuck in the middle. The first reaction to any issue was to blame everyone else.”

Having evaluated the market Time opted to consolidate its telephony requirements with Pennine who recommended installing Avaya’s IP Office, a powerful, feature-rich and future-proofed platform capable of expanding in line with Time’s ambitions but which cost less than the previous, creaking system.

“It offers additional functionality such as on-screen dialling which is really useful, especially as Pennine were very helpful in integrating IP Office with our database. Our consultants get screen captions which tell them who is calling, whether it’s a client or a candidate. They’ll be able to see the caller’s record on the database so they’re ready to go straight away rather than the classic ‘hold on a second whilst I pull up your details.’ It’s a better experience.”

That, of course, saves time which is both important to Time - which is busy shrugging off the economic gloom - and the company’s clients who want supremely efficient and professional service.

Whilst Mr. Leaver is happy to report the Avaya platform is “much better value over all” he’s also delighted that Pennine has been able to trim line and call costs - and even confidently predicts that greater savings are in the pipeline.

Time has grown since being founded in 2002 to secure annual revenue exceeding £5 million and now employs some 20 staff and remains both optimistic and ambitious. So a crucial factor in the choice of IP Office was its ability to expand with the business. “As we go forward with extra locations it’s easy to link IP Office through internet connectivity and retain our telephone numbers and manage the main system from here. It will allow us to grow without it requiring any further massive capital outlay,” note Mr. Leaver approvingly.

Of course whilst the system is crucial, it is not the only factor in Time’s tale of satisfaction. Service standards previously had caused much heartache. So how does its new supplier stack up in Mr. Leaver’s eyes?  “We were looking for a firm that was able to get to us relatively quickly if they needed to be on site and would sort out any problems by whatever means necessary. The proof’s in the pudding in terms of Pennine because we’ve not had any glitches and every little thing that needed to be done, has been done.

“Pennine have been very helpful in liaising between us and our software provider to make sure everything works as it should. To be honest everything went smoother than I thought it was going to!”