Devon & Cornwall Housing

History

The Devon and Cornwall Housing Group (DCH) is a major housing provider in South West England, providing rented homes, shared-ownership homes and supported accommodation to residents. The group is responsible for 17,000 homes and employs around 700 staff in nine offices throughout Devon and Cornwall. Like all Housing Trusts DCH were facing external pressure to improve the customer service it provides to its residents and in particular the choice and cost effectiveness of its communications. The group required a Unified Communication system across all of its locations to integrate new applications and provide improved communications support services.

Requirements

DCH conducted a formal tendering exercise in order to evaluate a number of market leading systems from different suppliers. Datasharp recommended a ShoreTel unified communications solution and a multimedia contact centre solution from Syntellect called Customer Interaction Manager (CIM). The Datasharp solution proved to be the most user-friendly, offered the best value for money, and above all, enabled residents to communicate with DCH staff more effectively, in their chosen method such as SMS, email, web or telephony. This means DCH can deliver better service to customers.

The deployment comprises two new contact centres in Devon, an upgraded contact centre in Cornwall and a Unified Communications system across the entire estate, providing residents with highly efficient and flexible communications and improved accessibility to appropriately trained staff.

The deployment comprises two new contact centres in Devon, an upgraded contact centre in Cornwall and a Unified Communications system across the entire estate, providing residents with highly efficient and flexible communications and improved accessibility to appropriately trained staff.

The 340-user deployment includes:

• A ShoreTel Unified Communications System
• ShoreWare Director
• ShoreWare Call Manager
• ShoreWare Mobile Call Manager for Blackberry users
• ShoreTel Certified Syntellect Customer Interaction Manager contact centre solution
• SMS Gateway from VoiceConnect
• Syntellect Customer Interaction Management

Solution

It was crucial that the installation didn’t disrupt DCH’s handling of customer queries. Thanks to Datasharp’s expertise and the user-friendliness of the ShoreTel equipment, the system was deployed on time and the sites involved are already experiencing significant benefits to their customers and staff.

The Unified Communication system offered wider opportunities for value for money; it also helped improve communication within the organisation and increased employee flexibility. The sites now have a single internal phone directory which can be navigated with ease. Staff can also respond to customer requests when working remotely, thus minimising travelling to work and lowering the carbon footprint of the organisation. The Unified Communications system allows them to connect with their customers in new ways and respond to requests effectively and according to the customer’s preferred mode of communication.

What the client said