File Dynamics needed to deploy a fully managed, fully resilient, highly available Cloud Contact Centre and Call Recording solution. The solution had to provide standard Open APIs for integration into File Dynamics’ custom CRM platform, Filestream. It was expected that there would be a single solution provided for both the Contact Centre and Case Handler telephony, with the integration into Filestream providing a seamless architecture and process flow for the business.

The existing solution in place was a privately hosted telephony service with limited contact centre capability and no collaboration features.

Fraser Clark, Head of IT Systems at File Dynamics set the scene. “We were looking to improve the current service offering to our customer base, tackling known issues, whilst also streamlining processes and taking advantage of new proven technologies to make the service more efficient. It was also critical any future telephony solutions integrate directly into Filestream.”

Fraser continued, “Our teams deliver IT services to approximately 1200 staff, broken into three defined persona types - contact centre agent, case handler, and back office plus senior management, each of which have unique functionality requirements. This challenge intensified when it became apparent agile working practices were here to stay, meaning contact centre agents must be able to operate from wherever they are within the UK, without losing access to business-critical systems and secure information.”

The new agile working model adopting during the pandemic was fit for purpose, however as Fraser recalls, “Management Information (MI) was non-existent in the existing telephony solution and reporting was incredibly limited.” This posed challenges when it came to senior business stakeholders analysing productivity and line managers allocating correct resource in response to customer demand.

From an applications perspective, telephony is a major source of collating information directly from the inbound caller. This information defines internal processes and determines the workflows attached to processing said information, applying logic around the customer journey.

A major consumer of time was manual speech-to-text transcription. Fraser is adamant this will change once implemented. “We know transcription will be a game-changer. The problem we faced was that no suitable solution seemed to exist in the market able to transcribe complex legal jargon. Accuracy was a non-negotiable desire. What’s the point in investing in a solution if it causes further frustration and a new manual task for agents to manage? We’re very much looking forward to switching that functionality on very soon.”

Other non-negotiables were the solution had to be auditable to comply with industry regulators. Retaining existing telephone numbers was key for continuity of service as was a commercially attractive proposition supportive of fluctuations in resource, avoiding large Capex upfronts.

The RFP was abundantly clear in the desired outcome, stating, “The solution will provide technologies that will help File Dynamics to improve efficiencies within the Contact Centre, leading to a reduced cost of voice services to the business.”

Onecom proposed Five9’s intelligent Contact Centre as a Service solution for contact centre agents and case handlers, as well as Onecom’s own Connect4Teams Direct Routing to voice enable the existing Microsoft Teams environment for back-office staff and senior management. Text-to-speech transcription was another welcome addition.

The uniqueness lay in how the solutions were hosted. OneCloud is Onecom’s 24x7x365 digital customer platform. It has the ability to host multiple solutions across different market-leading suppliers in one central location. OneCloud enabled File Dynamics to seamlessly migrate their existing hosted voice platform including inbound numbering, SIP trunking, Microsoft Teams, plus the new cloud telephony solution from Five9 including transcription, into the fold. All of the aforementioned solutions seamlessly integrate into the CRM, providing much needed visibility and time optimisation.

The ask was to migrate in excess of 1000 agents, working remotely, onto the new enhanced solution within a matter of months.

In the first phase, 800 Case Handlers went live following intense user acceptance testing. “It’s always a nerve-wracking time completing UAT”, shared Fraser. He continued, “If issues are going to arise, it’s frustrating but best to spot them early on. In this instance, whilst there were without a doubt some speedbumps, the entire go-live process was expertly managed and delivered. Issue resolution was spot on – because the Onecom team listened intently to our feedback and were able to apply previous experience plus learned experience through our engagement so far to rectify and solve before minor issues became major ones.”

Phase two saw the migration of the remaining 200+ Contact Centre agents. Lyons Davidson 24/7 customer care team were the last to go live. With over 120 different line variation to migrate, all of which are whitelabeled services for multiple other insurers, the sheer volume added another layer of difficulty due to the way in which workflows needed to be built out. In the end, all users were successful moved across well within the three-month deadline.

The chosen solutions provide the all-important MI for the entire workforce across the three businesses (File Dynamics, Admiral Law, Lyons Davidson) alongside presence and enhanced inbound and outbound call functionality. Fraser enthused, “The solution can be scaled as desired. Each department and team have their own procedures to follow, and this impacts which elements of the solution are utilised daily. For example, whilst case handlers don’t require the level of sophistication in functionality as the contact centre agents – the option is there. We call this ‘Contact Centre Lite’.

This may seem like a waste of implementation resource, but in fact it was proven to be more cost and time effective to package the licenses in this agile way, opposed to creating multiple individual use cases with intricate user profiles. From a user perspective, they know through bespoke training what features to use, and which will benefit them most. If we want to increase functionality at a later stage, there’s no rigorous UAT to go through. The challenging work has already been done.”

Getting senior stakeholders on side wasn’t a difficult talk, particularly seeing as the requirements stemmed from a desire to improve the customer journey, a cultural synergy across all three engaged businesses. ‘The digital journey’ was a concept discussed at length.

Fraser explained, “Making intelligent, informed decisions empowers our clients to improve business processes, spot anomalies and optimise the workforce efficiently. We wanted to take a digital-first approach and the contact centre solution from Five9 really delivers. The solution makes it easy to engage customers and provide a personalised experience via the CRM integration. Real-time statistics provide meaningful reporting and valuable context.”

Core contact centre functionality now includes:

• Virtually see which client is in which queue
• Automate priority workflows to favour clients over other types of calls
• Presence and availability across the entire workforce
• Seamless integration to business-critical applications such as CRM
• Ease of access, whether working remotely or in-office
• Case management systems now enable click to dial
• Quantifiable metrics and reporting for in-depth analytics
• Automation around case references, removing manual task of creating reference numbers linked to clients
• Management Information
• Transcription and keyword analysis representing a huge time saver

Fraser commented, “IT need to be on the ball when it comes to user feedback. Ultimately, the improved systems are there to enhance not hinder the employee experience. Onecom continue to work with us to develop training programmes to help staff make the most of the technology. We’re set to run ‘day in the life of’ sessions to provide more in-depth training, relevant to individual job personas.”

“The pandemic has shown change in the legal sector is possible”, reflects Fraser. The last seven years has seen a switch change in adoption of cloud and hosted voice services. Return on investment is clearer and the justification much more defined. Traditionally, video calling to take an example, was seen as a necessary evil. Systems would gather dust in board rooms, until the story we’re all familiar with in 2020 hit. As the workforce returned to the office, an agile policy was introduced. Hot-desking was the best method to optimise space and video calling became essential to connect geographically dispersed teams.”

Fraser continued, “It’s a fast-paced world and the pandemic gave the legal sector the much-needed nudge to modernise IT infrastructure. Large scale businesses such as Lyons Davidson and Admiral Law were always going to be ahead of the curve, but the desire to stay ahead didn’t fade – it only grew stronger.”

Mark Savill from Lyons Davidson added, “Our ability to deliver a consistent and high-quality service has allowed us to develop strong relationships with a number of business partners such as insurers, banks and membership organisations that rely on us to give their customers and members the help and advice they need. The new technology solution is an intrinsic part in empowering that mission and we’re delighted to have a partnership with File Dynamics, a business which has such a clearly defined ideal of the digital customer journey and the practicalities of delivering the desired outcomes.”

When asked about the relationship with Onecom, Fraser invited, “The experience with Onecom, and of course, the Five9 team has been excellent. From the initial engagement I suspected we were culturally aligned and that’s proven true. The Onecom executive team were critical in the commercial process and the projects teams were proactive with suggestions to improve usability and customer engagement. Even now, as we move into future planning and business as usual, the account management style is collaborative and partnership led.

Nick Beardsley, Enterprise Director at Onecom closed saying, “Over the years, we’ve learnt that whilst the majority of businesses accept change is crucial to survive, the percentage of those ready to activate change is much smaller. We’re in a fortunate position where we can afford to hand-select our engagements with future customers. File Dynamics appetite for ‘digital-first change’ excited us from the very beginning. Not only are they an innovator and disrupter in a regulated market, their clients are too.

This combination afforded us the opportunity to get creative. To think about the art of the possible, and to deliver a truly innovative, digital-first contact centre solution from market-leader Five9, fit for future. I’m looking forward to our continued success and partnership with File Dynamics, and in particular Fraser who has been an advocate for championing the customer journey for the better, throughout.”