As the UK’s premier 24/7 contact centre, Office Response has extensive and on-going experience in the legal industry and recent research, produced by our Business Intelligence Team, has provided us and our clients with some interesting and actionable insights.

To illustrate some of our learnings we have created this infographic from data found in our popular Legal Services ORBIT report. If you are a Solicitor, or provide marketing services to Solicitors, don’t hesitate to share our infographic, request our Legal Sector ORBIT report or call us to discuss how we might help support you in your objectives.

Click to download a PDF copy of the Solicitors Infographic

Office Response has provided an apprenticeship programme, named the Academy, for 16-19 year olds for the past three years, and has recognised the importance of discovering highly skilled workers who can grow and develop within the business. In the past six months, over 90% of the young people in our programme have completed their NVQ and have either been offered a permanent position within the company, or have moved to other positions with six months on the job work experience and a nationally recognised certificate – an NVQ Level 2 in Commerce Innovation and Skills Faculty.

These jobs roles have predominately been as advisors in the contact centre, but others have progressed to the other parts of the business including sales and client services. One of our former apprentices has further been selected by the National Apprenticeship Service as an ambassador.

The Academy has a strong support base for our young people. They are managed in a custom built office by a Team Manager who has shown excellent compassion and empathy for a group of people from sometimes difficult backgrounds. Our supplier, City of Bristol College, offer off-site
training and development in their key skills and technical certificate and this is supported by a six month training plan created by the Office Response training department.

This involves step by step training on client skill sets starting from basic call handling to placing orders and facilities management. The apprentices are also trained on outbound cold and warm sales techniques and interview and CV writing. An extensive induction provides
training on high level complaint handling.

This shows that Office Response is willing to invest time and money into what we consider the future of our company. The company already has a strong record for progression – the majority of our management team have progressed from advisors – and unlike other companies all government funding from the apprenticeship scheme goes to the college and not to Office Response. This has helped Office Response become the leading provider for apprenticeships in the Contact Centre industry, and we have been rewarded with awards including the People Development Award in 2010 at the South West Call Centre Forum Awards.

Below are a few testimonials from former apprentices about the scheme:

‘The six months I have been at Office Response Academy I have gained a lot of experience; I have learned good customer service skills, different computer systems, how to handle persistent customers and how to work as a team. I have worked with very friendly people and happy to help me in hard situations.’
Rachel

‘The academy is a great place to start work as it builds you up to the main job upstairs you build strong friendships between you and your colleagues. I am now in the contact centre full time and am enjoying employment and have since moved on to other roles in the contact centre’.
Tom

Sean Colledge
Training and Performance Manager

If you are interested in joining our Academy of Apprentices, please see the Careers page.

Office Response’s training department recently revised the standardised scripting used in the contact centre. Although Office Response offers a bespoke service to our clients, we need to create templates for client call flows to be built around. This speeds up the set up process to prepare us more quickly for ensuring we are able to answer our clients’ calls as early after the sale as possible.

Our advisors are trained to use client scripts as a basis for building a conversation and rapport with our callers, but rapport-focused scripting can set a positive tone to the call for them to work around and improve the impression that the caller is directly through to our client rather than an answering service.

As a result, the training department have suggested changes in the following areas:

1. Greeting

The way in which a call is greeted will set the tone for the rest of the call. A lately timed or dull greeting will give a caller the impression that the company they are calling are unwelcoming. Phonetic client names ensure that the advisor greets the caller with the correct pronunciation and advisors are encouraged to give their names at the start of the call to ensure the caller has a reference point. The advisors are then coached to open the call with a smile and this avoids the caller feeling that they are talking to a robot or just another voice at the end of their phone line.

2. Using the caller’s name

This is an area of call handling that is widely debated by contact centres. The questions that often arise include: Should the advisor use the caller’s name at all? If so, how many times should it be used? Should the advisor refer to their caller by their first name or their title and surname?

The main issue for advisors using their caller’s names is formality. The advisor can often feel too informal if they use the caller’s name; preferring ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ instead. This can affect the advisor’s ability to build rapport. It is the caller’s name that personalises that call from any other call they take that day. By not using the caller’s name, calls can come across as systematic and uncaring, particularly where the call is heavily scripted.

Equally, assuming to use the caller’s first name can appear too informal. It suggests over-familiarity and many callers, particularly those of an older demographic, have been offended if their first name has been used before giving their permission.

Interestingly, a poll on Linkedin showed that 52% of call centre professionals acting as customers preferred to be addressed by their first name, with 42% preferring title and surname, and only 4% as sir or madam.

Bearing all this in mind, our standard scripting has been modified to ask for the caller’s full name and then ask how they prefer to be addressed. The advisor will then be scripted to use their name in the specified way at least three times on the call – once at the start after the name is given, once in the middle of the call when taking their personal details, and finally once at the close.

3. Empathy and Rapport

It is always difficult for an advisor when working on behalf of many companies to be able to relate to every client’s customers. Our advisors will take one call for a law firm, and then the next three calls may be for a facilities management company, a photo-booth repair service or a PPI claims company.

However, there are some standard tools that the training department have added into scripting which can be transferred to any type of client.

The first of these is an apology. A gripe for anyone calling any type of business is that there is no acceptance of blame if a caller’s needs haven’t been met. Many of our clients use our services when they are unavailable to take calls, and this can cause frustration with their customers if they cannot speak to the person they need to. A scripted apology can act as a reminder for the advisor to empathise with the caller. It is of course up to the advisor to ensure that this sounds sincere and follow it up with a positive indication of how they can help.

Secondly, positive acknowledge phrases, such as ‘great’, ‘excellent’, or even ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ can maintain the energy of the call through to its close. It’s a lot easier to say ‘excellent’ with a positive tone than a negative one! Again, these are scripted mostly to act as a reminder for the advisor to use those that they feel comfortable with to avoid sounding strained or fake on the phone.

4. Call Close

A positive call close is as important as the greeting. It’s stating the obvious, but this is the last thing the caller will hear before they hang up, so it’s important that it gives a good impression of the client they have dialled. Scripting has been created to ensure that the advisor is able to summarise with the caller exactly what will happen following the call and to thank them sincerely for taking the time to call. As indicated above, they will also use the caller’s name when closing their call and are encouraged to sign off the call with phrases such as ‘Have a nice day,’ or ‘Have a good weekend’.

Scripting such as this will help give the right impression for our client’s callers, and make the transition from in-house to answering service as seamless as possible. If you would like to know more about how Office Response can help to support your business, contact our Business Development Team on 0845 223 7004

Sean Colledge – Training and Performance Manager

At Office Response we have studied the use of voicemail facilities to see how effective, or not, they truly are. You might be surprised to hear that a staggering 79% of people will not leave a voicemail if they are calling to place an order for a product or service for the first time. And the majority of people surveyed expect to be called back the same day if they do leave a voicemail.

Whilst offering voicemail may be the norm for the majority of personal trainers the real question is whether it really provides the solution you need to grow your business, deliver customer satisfaction & optimise your marketing spend? That said we believe that your real challenge is achieving the optimum workload for you and your business. Clearly the busier you are training the less you are available to take valuable new business calls which will ultimately restrict your ability to grow.

One way to break this cycle is to outsource your Telephone Answering to a live Telephone Answering Service. You could employ an assistant or, more reasonably, use the services of a 24/7 Telephone Answering Service. In our experience, not surprisingly, whichever option you go for will be better than voicemail… but we’d love to hear of your experiences either way.

Please add your comments below or, if you would like to learn more about how Office Response could support you and differentiate your business from your competition please contact our Business Development Team on 0845 223 7004

With this in mind, an increase in clients and working hours means that it is imperative for personal trainers to not only keep up with demand but to differentiate themselves from the growing competition too.
After looking into the fitness industry and personal trainers in particular, it has become apparent that a lot of time and money goes into providing the best training possible with a real focus on continuous improvement but there appears to a lack of guidance when it comes to marketing and lead generation.

Many personal trainers invest a substantial amount of time and money into their business, only to miss potential clients who contact them via the phone during a training session. Or even worse, answer the call and risk losing the valuable client which they are training.
There are numerous articles on the web (including The Professional Personal Trainer – Answering a phone call during a session with a Client) on the use of mobile phones in personal training sessions, all of which conclude that a mobile phone should never be answered whilst they are taking place.

Here are a couple of tips for personal trainers and those looking for one:

‘If you are struggling in the middle of a tough set and instead of spotting you, your trainer is answering their cellular phone or sending a text message, it may be time to find another personal trainer.’ (www.askthetrainer.com)

‘Never answer your mobile phone or gym phone during workouts clients want your complete attention as you are charging them by the hour. You wouldn’t go to the doctor and have him answer a personal call for 5 minutes. ‘(www.myfitnessstudio.co.uk)

Office Response provide professional and bespoke 24/7 Telephone Answering Services to ensure that all calls are captured so that you can concentrate on your core business, provide excellent customer service and in turn both gain and retain valued clients.

If you would like to learn more about how Office Response could support you and differentiate your business from your competition please contact our Business Development Team on  0845 223 7004

With businesses and their apprentices from a variety of sectors in attendance, we were in good company with the likes of Royal Mail, Holiday Inn and Avon and Somerset Constabulary to name just a few. Whilst Office Response was also nominated as ‘Commerce, Innovation and Skills Employer of the Year’, we were pipped at the post by local business Horseworld.

Privately owned Office Response has been working with young apprentices since 2009 and the owners, Iain McGregor and Martin Blain, take a real pride in their on-going development, with a number of apprentices rising through the ranks and securing permanent positions within various areas of the business including the Contact Centre and Customer Service Departments.

Nancy Parker, Head of Contact Centre, quoted “This is a fantastic achievement for Francesca who is now a fully-fledged member of our Contact Centre team among others who have progressed through the Apprentice academy. The event itself was really inspiring showcasing a real variety of talent all of whom are a true credit to Bristol business. Although we did not win the Commerce, Innovation and Skills Employer of the Year award this year, we are extremely proud of our achievements to date and will be back next year more determined than ever!”

Huge congratulations to Francesca who deservedly scooped first place and proudly accepted her award with Bush and Troy of Heart FM. We would also like to thank the City of Bristol College for their continued support and of course the entire Office Response team for their on-going commitment.

Office Response proudly work alongside numerous insurance companies, all of which offer a variety of policies – from home, car and business insurance to specialist yacht insurance. We all know the importance of having secure insurance policies in place for a variety of situations, but there are a small selection of companies offering more unique niche policies to those who seek insurance cover for any given situation, regardless of the obscurity.

Here are a few of our favourites:

Alien abduction insurance – for those who live in fear of being abducted during the night and pulled aboard a spaceship, help is at hand in the form of alien abduction insurance. The first company to offer such a thing was St. Lawrence Agency, an insurance provider who claims to have sold over 20,000 of these policies!

Paranormal activity insurance – back in 2002, it was reported by the BBC that hotel owner Terry Meggs took out insurance to protect his patrons against an unruly poltergeist with the potential to harm. It is said that he paid £500 a year to insurers Ultraviolet, to be covered by their ‘SpookSafe’ policy.

Attractiveness insurance – another unique one which has featured in the Daily Mail, is the ‘FaceSafe’ policy which will pay out if the policy holder is no longer deemed as attractive. In one case, to claim on the policy the holder would have to be declared unattractive by a panel of 10 builders – a test she said her husband appreciated being a builder himself!

Winning the lottery – Lloyd’s of London offers policies which will protect an employer if more than two of their staff win the lottery and decide not to return to work. It has been reported that payment is triggered when two or more staff win at least £100,000 each, and leave within 14 days, and the payout would be between £25,000 and £500,000 to cover the cost of hiring temps or recruiting new staff.

If you work in the insurance industry and know of any other unique insurance policies, or even if you’ve taken a policy out yourself, we’d love to hear from you!

According to a recent YouGov survey on behalf of Citrix Online over 20% of UK employers are being put under greater pressure to by their employees to adopt increased workforce flexibility.

Whilst the employee’s drive is typically to improve work/life balance there are significant benefits to be obtained for the employer if they readily embrace the vast raft of personal communications tools that are available to them.

The fact of the matter is that many employers are used to working this way within specific disciplines e.g. field sales. The challenge for any employer is to gain from the benefits (cost savings, productivity & staff well-being) whilst not suffering from any of the potential down sides.

At an entry level web based technologies such as citrixonline.com and sococo.com allow effective team working through the use of multi-media (often better than you’d have in your own office anyway!) and “presence” (knowing when people are available as opposed to where).

At the opposite end of the scale Avaya Aura delivers a state of the art unified communication platform that can seamlessly link all employees of an organization wherever they are!

Andrew Millard, senior director of marketing at Citrix Online, recognizes that there is a huge change taking place in the UK workplace.

“As the boundaries between office hours and personal time become less distinct, managers are losing control of how people ‘work’,” he stated.

“Individuals want to prioritise what they do. It is no surprise therefore that there is so much resistance to work shifting, as managers have to move to evaluating performance on results over time rather than on the basis of physically seeing them working at their desks.”

The fact of the matter is that by focusing their management on results and not just “being there” there is a self-fulfilling win-win. The employees are supported in their quest for a better work-life balance and the employer is rewarded with greater overall performance.

Mr Millard said that the good news for employers is that mobile devices enable employees to take charge of their time, by “self-prioritising in an effective and controlled way”.

At Office Response we have been working with innovative home workers for over a decade now. By providing telephone answering service and more complex contact management solutions such as 24/7 order lines and 24/7 help desks Office Response has enabled individuals and companies of all sizes take control of their own work loads and work patterns increasing their productivity, profitability and their work/life balance.

If you would like to learn more about how Office Response’s Telephone Answering Service could support you and your business please contact our Business Development Team on 0845 223 7004

Companies House have revealed that the number of UK registered companies increased by over 7,000 during May this year.

According to The Office for National Statistics, (for the three months to April 2011) the number of employees and self-employed people working part-time, because they could not find a full-time job, increased to the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992. With more than 35,000 people delving into the world of self-employment last year, there are now almost 4 million small-business owners and freelancers in the UK.

Emma Lunn, writing for the Guardian commented, ‘’Why this is happening is not hard to answer: redundancies, a lack of good jobs, and the fact that in some industries it can pay to go it alone.’

Office Response has similarly seen a marked increase in enquiries from the recently self-employed. The majority of small business owners invest a substantial amount time and money into developing their business and it is understandably becoming more important than ever for them to differentiate through the delivery of a professional service.

By using a professional telephone answering service to outsource their call handling needs these fledgling entrepreneurs are able to concentrate on developing their core
business whilst we ensure that each crucial new business opportunity (phone call, email etc) is captured by seasoned professionals… 24 hours a day.

If you are a small-business owner and would like to know how outsourcing your call handling needs could help boost your business please contact Office Response’s Business
Development team on 0845 223 7004.

Dan Hobson, after a nervous meal, triumphantly marched up to the stage to receive the honour of being 1 of 2 people to receive the accolade of being “Highly Commended” in the “Agent of the Year” classification. The top agent is the most competitive award of the event and during a private conversation with one of the judges we were told Dan came within a whisker of an outright win. Well done to Dan.

Heather Dawes was shortlisted for the third year in a row as one of the best Contact Centre Managers in the region and yet again she was pipped at the post for the top prize. Getting to the final three is in itself an achievement as the forum now contains some of the strongest contact centres located from Swindon via Gloucester to Truro. Evidence of the strength of the competition was that last night’s event at the Bristol’s Marriot hotel was attended by 336 people.

In the company classifications we were up against those corporate giants Orange and DAS for “Best use of Technology”. Comparing our budgets to that of the other finalists it is staggering to think that we even got shortlisted but in the end our innovative use of our call recording technology was not enough and Orange predictably scooped first place.

We are clearly very proud of our achievements and would like to take this opportunity to thank the broader Office Response team, our agents, recruiters, trainers, team leaders, and managers who made them a reality.