Pomphreys Solicitors
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Business Challenge
Pomphreys is a medium-sized professional solicitors practice employing 25 staff.
The business is well established in the area, having been founded more than 100 years ago. Until autumn of 2007 it had operated from two offices, the main location in Wishaw and a satellite office about six miles away in Hamilton. Both towns lie a few miles to the south-east of Glasgow in central Scotland.
When the firm acquired another local solicitors practice in Wishaw,and opened an estate agency office it prompted the need and desire to upgrade and connect the telephony systems at all three locations.
For any solicitors practice, both the initial contact and in the continuing communication with the client are critical to developing a good relationship. So having good, reliable telephony systems is vital. In many cases, the only contact that the firm’s staff will have with clients is over the telephone. There is also, of course, a constant need for practice staff from all three offices to keep in touch with each other at all times.
Pomphreys wanted to make internal calls between all its locations easier and cheaper. It needed to have a main central number from which calls could be transferred to any individual in any of the three locations, quickly and efficiently. In addition, the firm wanted to maintain the established telephone number for the practice it had acquired, so that existing clients could still dial that number and get through.
The ability for some staff to ‘hot-desk’ between locations was a further requirement. Two of the firm’s partners regularly work at different locations and wanted to be able to have their calls routed through to them on their usual number, wherever they were working at the time. Voicemail was also deemed essential.
Installation of the new systems needed to be carried out in such a way that the practice could switch over to the new system without disruption – and all work needed to be completed over a two-week period in October 2007.
Solution
Pomphreys spoke with a number of telephony resellers and finally looked at three possible solutions proposed by local suppliers. Glasgow-based Siebert Telecom Solutions was chosen to supply the required system. It had supplied the Pomphreys’ previous analogue system and a good relationship had been established between the two firms. A fully-accredited Avaya business partner, Siebert Telecom recommended the Avaya IP500 for Pomphreys as this system addressed all the firm’s business challenges and also provided the scalability to future-proof investments.
Siebert Telecom also proposed the use of a laser link to connect the two offices in Wishaw, which are located only around 100 metres from each other. This innovation made its proposal stand out. Other suppliers simply suggested the use of a leased line, which would have proved much more expensive but not necessarily any more effective. Siebert Telecom was confident it could fully integrate the laser connection with the standard-based Avaya solution.
It also suggested the use of a virtual private network (VPN) to link the Wishaw and Hamilton locations. This could be fully-supported by the Avaya IP500 system and, as it would use ADSL connections, save on costs. Avaya Small Community Networking was also deployed to provide email facilities for all staff.
Additionally, four staff – the Practice Manager Senga Allan, the receptionist and two Paralegals – have Avaya headsets that enable them to take calls hands-free or while they are on the move. These have proved extremely practical and have also worked perfectly from day one. “It’s an absolute boon because you are not tied to the desk”, says Allan.
Avaya VoIP handsets are used for all voice calls. The stylish and easy-to-use design of Avaya’s handsets have proved very effective says Allan. “The telephones are quite user-friendly, they are very easy to use and they certainly look quite attractive, there is no doubt that that has a bearing on it. They looked professional without having too many bells and whistles to confuse anyone.”
Results
The Avaya IP500 intelligent communications system has proved to be perfect for Pomphreys’ needs. It has brought together all three locations and delivered cost-effective and efficient communications for the whole practice.
There was no real concern about moving to VoIP. Their trusted IT supplier, which was providing the cabling for the new system, was very comfortable with the idea and Siebert had the confidence and experience in the technology to reassure the firm that it would work as expected.
In terms of cost-savings, it is difficult to make a comparison with the previous systems, says Allan. “It is very hard to compare because it’s a completely different system with two offices combined and 25 people compared to one office with 18 so it is very difficult to say that we’ve saved money. But then we are not comparing like with like. But we are certainly very happy with the costs we are incurring at the moment as far as the phone system is concerned.”
Indeed, Pomphreys is more than contented with the Avaya system overall. It gives the practice added flexibility and ensures that call costs are kept under control. Previously the practice would have had to pay for the ‘long-distance’ cost of transferred calls between Wishaw and Hamilton. While these costs may not have been massive, this system also had severe limitations, as only one transferred call could be open between the two locations at any one time. The Avaya system and VPN connection enables the practice to have as many lines open between all three locations as are required. This makes life much simpler and aids efficiency, ensuring that Pomphreys can always meet the high standards that its clients expect.
Key benefits of the IP500 solution for Pomphreys
Consistent, reliable performance –in a busy solicitor’s office, reliability is absolutely vital and in this respect, the Avaya equipment has performed faultlessly. “It’s been very reliable and we have had absolutely no trouble with the handset and the phone management software at all”, says Allan. “The laser link is also very reliable except very occasionally in extreme weather such as very high winds and heavy snow. But other than that it has worked perfectly.”
Added flexibility – The system is scalable, although this is one of Avaya mid-range products it provides remarkable capacity to add additional users
Inter office zero-cost communication – Pomphreys can now communicate between its three offices at no additional cost.
Customer comments
“It’s been very reliable and we have had absolutely no trouble with the handset and the phone management software at all.”
“We are certainly happy with the costs we are incurring at the moment as far as the phone system is concerned.”
Senga Allan, Practice Manager