Swindells & Gentry Case Study

About Swindells and Gentry

Swindells & Gentry are an established firm of chartered accountants and advisers with offices in Uckfield and Seaford. Having been established for more than 80 years, Swindells & Gentry are now one of the largest practices in Sussex with more than 2500 private clients, businesses and trusts of all sizes.

The Requirements

With 6 partners and over 50 staff, the existing telephone system was not meeting the growing demands of the business and it was time for a change. The two offices were using separate old systems and did not even have voicemail.

Practice and IT Manager Martin Clay (pictured above) outlined the requirements for the new communications solution; “We wanted to enhance customer service and make it easier for our clients to contact us. We also wanted to simplify administration and future proof communications so that could link mobile phones to our office system and make it possible to enable home working if needed.”

Choosing Cavendish

When asked about the process of choosing a provider for the new system, Martin Clay replied, “We had enjoyed a long standing relationship with Cavendish with good service but thought it prudent to consider more than one option.”

“Cavendish understood our requirements straight away and were able to demonstrate their proposed solution in our offices.”

“They answered any questions that were raised by us and their competitors and we felt happy to continue being supported by Cavendish.”

The Solution

The chosen solution was a new Mitel Communications Platform at each office which are linked using a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) connection, a range of stylish and robust Mitel IP handsets and a Xarios call control application.

As well as the being toll free, calls between offices have been made easy by simple extension to extension dialling and the Xarios call control means that staff can see if colleagues are available before dialling.

Linking the two office systems has meant that Swindells can have a centralised operators console to manage all incoming calls if needed.

It also means should lines to either office become unavailable, calls to the practice can still be received at the other office.

The Installation

When asked about the installation, Martin Clay said,
“The deployment went very well. Naturally we had some concerns about using new technology but Cavendish simply plugged in the handsets and they all worked. Everything went according to plan and within deadlines”

Martin went on to say,“By installing the new systems, Cavendish were able to remove some redundant analogue lines and eliminate some unnecessary expense.”

“Any subsequent issues have been dealt with promptly and without question. Dealing with Cavendish has been a good overall experience”

The Benefits

Asked about what impact the new systems had had on firm business Martin said; “Having the two offices linked has had even more impact than we had expected. It has brought the two teams closer together.”

“Being able to see who is available in the other office [on screen], means that we spend less time listening to busy tone or leaving each other messages.”

“The new communications system has improved the 'feel good' factor for the practices and linking the offices means we have some business continuity should we lose the telephone lines at either office.”

In summary Martin said, "We have improved communications, without increasing the costs".

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