Dataphone gets an A grade for effort and attainment
“Dataphone identified a cost effective and innovative solution to our needs. They worked well in partnership with us in devising and installing the system.” Denise Parker, Senior Receptionist
Issues
* Reception overloaded at peak times, often dealing with routine enquiries* Difficulty contacting Senior staff with urgent information several times a day
* No way of updating parents quickly and simultaneously
Solution
* Bespoke SMS text messaging web based service* Auto attendant to route calls automatically
* Direct dial facility
* Voicemail for automatic and efficient message taking
Results
* Routine enquiries handled without receptionist intervention* Incoming callers can contact departments directly using the direct dial service
* Receptionist freed up to deal with important calls in a timely manner
Langdon School is a thriving school of 1800 pupils in East Ham, London, with Sports College status and strong links within the community. Their multiple buildings are scattered across a large site. Old system didn’t make the mark
In June 2008, Langdon School felt their current telephone system was not able to meet with their requirements.
The Receptionist was spending a significant amount of time each day contacting Senior staff of around twenty people on their mobiles to keep them updated of changes to the timetable, meetings, etc. This was time consuming, not always effective and a substantial cost to the school.
In addition, the Receptionist was handling multiple calls at any one time, transferring calls to other departments and taking messages for staff. Langdon School wanted to free the Receptionist to support people, rather than answering routine enquiries, transferring calls and taking or delivering messages.
Better support for teaching staff and parents
Dataphone’s solution, with the Siemen’s HiPath, addresses all of the school’s requirements. Direct dial numbers, coupled with an efficient, fully integrated Siemens voicemail system, means departments can be contacted directly and voicemail messages taken.
The Siemens Auto Attendant reduces the number of calls to the Receptionist, improving customer service and the speed of response for callers requiring routine information, or who wish to be transferred to a department.
A Screen Based Operators’ Console was installed, giving the Receptionist detailed visibility of incoming calls. The new functionality means she can focus on supporting those callers with more complex enquiries.
To contact Senior staff efficiently, Dataphone provided a bespoke web based solution, allowing SMS text messages to be sent to multiple people simultaneously. This has greatly improved the efficiency and speed of staff contact within the school, when staff are often on the move and therefore difficult to contact. Additional applications of this efficient service include simple and rapid delivery of information to parents of school closures due to weather conditions, changes to school trip return times, changes to school sporting fixtures and of course informing parents of pupil absenteeism.
The installation of the new system was completed within a week, for 80 extensions across multiple buildings. To ensure there was no disruption to teaching this was done during the August summer holiday period.
Planning for the future
The Siemens HiPath system is future proof, with VoIP, SIP and DECT capability, if required. When new buildings are complete then wireless connectivity between the sites can be used, reducing the need for costly fixed lines. At the time of consultation, Dataphone ensured the system could cope with massive expansion of more than double its original configuration.
“I am pleased we have been able to meet all of Langdon’s objectives, including making the Receptionist’s job easier, saving money and streamlining their communications. Our engineering team went the extra mile for Langdon School, ensuring the installation was completed on time, despite encountering installation obstacles with the existing cabling infrastructure which were beyond the original specification.”
Tony Butler, Dataphone Account Manager
