Case Study: Zodiac Training Ltd.

Objective

In 2004, Zodiac relocated its head office to new premises at Team Valley, Gateshead. At the same time it established a new customer services team and introduced a non-geographic telephone number. The purpose of the new team was to standardise service and quality control across its four training centres, whilst the new telephone number would make the company more accessible to its clients. However, by introducing the new number, the company would be faced with call charges for all internal calls if it did not upgrade its existing PBX BT Meridian phone system.Also, with 60% of its staff working in the field as trainers, Zodiac realised it needed an efficient and flexible communication system to support mobile and remote working. With a VPN (virtual private network) already in place, the management team decided it was time to modernise its phone communications and consider IP telephony as an alternative solution.

The Solution

Zodiac reviewed a selection of IP telephony systems including BT, Avaya, Mitel, and Swyx. But after receiving a demo of the Swyx soft IP PBX by reseller Comtec "all other systems paled into significance" said John Sushames, Data & Communications Director at Zodiac. "The key driver in our selection was Swyx's call recording application which unlike other vendors was included as a standard feature at no additional cost!"

Swyx was installed at Zodiac in October 04 for 100 users, and the solution runs on a standalone Microsoft 2003 server. This is supported by ADSL lines at each of its training centres with a 2 megabyte SDSL line at its head office. According to John Sushames the installation at the head office took around a day.

Features and Benefits

Swyx has delivered substantial cost savings to Zodiac. The company has achieved FREE internal calls between sites, using its VPN, and saved a third on maintenance and cabling. Sushames comments "Compared to other vendors Swyx's maintenance costs are realistic and affordable, costing around £1000 compared with rivals that wanted to charge £3000".

However adopting IP telephony has not just been about cost savings. Swyx has also helped Zodiac to deliver training more effectively. Zodiac trainers regularly visit 'Learners' in the workplace to monitor and assess their progress, and conduct what is known as 'guided discussion' which forms a crucial part of the training programme. This involves the trainer interviewing the learner to test their knowledge. Previously, these interviews were recorded with a dictaphone but using Swyx, interviews can now be conducted over the phone, recorded as a WAV file and then burnt onto a CD.

The CDs are then stored and filed, forming part of the student's porfolio of evidence. Normally trainers would undertake around 20 visits per week with distances ranging up to 100 miles. But having the facility to record interviews over the phone with Swyx has reduced field visits, cut travelling expenses and enabled Zodiac's trainers to devote more of their time to alternative tasks.

Staff at Zodiac have reacted very positively to the new phone system and little training was needed as the solution is easy to use and PC based. The company is using a selection of phones, from the SwyxPhone L400 deskphone through to headsets. SwyxWare has also enabled staff to hot-desk, and set up dialling routines for re-routing calls. For example, the company has set up its main reception facility to re-direct calls to a second reception group if no-one is available, ensuring that incoming calls are always answered. The re-direction facility is also crucial for field staff. It improves their mobility and allows calls to be re-routed to their mobiles when they are out in the field or play pre-recorded messages if they are busy.

The company has also established an extensive Learner Database which holds personal information on students ranging from address details to qualifications being undertaken. Zodiac's CRM package is web based, so that when a member of staff wants to call a contact, they simple click on the number on-screen and the call is automatically dialled.

Swyx's integration with its CRM solution is also helpful for staff when they undertake learner satisfaction calls. Incoming caller details flash up on screen, enabling staff to personalise the call, and if required pull up their details on screen which saves both time and frustration and speeds up the overall process.

Summarising Zodiac's experience of the new IP telephony system Sushames said "Swyx offered far greater functionality than its competitors and was realistically priced, in terms of cost and maintenance. It is highly functional, and has been directly responsible for major improvements to our training business."

Future

Zodiac plans to open more training sites in the future. John Sushames commented "If we change premises or open new offices, it won't mean pulling out the telephone system. With IP telephony, it's portable, so we can simply re-install or extend the solution somewhere else. With Swyx it really is just a case of unhooking the cable and relocating your PC."

Zodiac also plans to develop its use of Swyx over time, eventually taking advantage of features such as application sharing between training centres and departments. The company also hopes to use the recording facility in-house to monitor its own customer service calls and enhance staff training.

Sushames believes that in the future it will be feasible for the company to use Swyx for call handling training at its training centres. Currently trainers conduct these courses in the workplace using the employers own technology, but with Swyx's recording capability Zodiac sees no reason why it could not provide this training facility in-house, which would create an additional gain and revenue from its Swyx investment.

Finally, Sushames hopes to develop the Swyx 'skins' to brand Zodiac's business for the future.