First Port Property Management – Press release
First Port Property Management offers customers 24-hour access to accurate account balance information and automated payment facility using Encoded.
UK’s leading provider of residential property management services deploys automated technology to streamline processes, maximise resources and boost customer loyalty.
OM Property Management, part of Peverel Property Management (PPM) one of the UK’s leading provider of residential property management services, has deployed interactive voice response (IVR) technology from Encoded to offer customers a round-the-clock automated payment option when paying service charges, ground rents and other items, such as a new key or security fob for communal entry doors. Since implementing Encoded OM Property Management has been able to increase its contact centre opening hours with improved utilisation of its existing resources.
OM Property Management operates a busy customer contact centre that is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday. More than 50 per cent of the 115 strong customer service team work in the contact centre and handle a wide variety of calls from customers reporting maintenance or repair issues and requesting parking permits, to paying for service charges or new keys.
Prior to Encoded technology, calls for payments were handled manually and also supported by an outsourced provider. To improve customer service OM Property Management sought an IVR solution that could automatically process customer payments and enable its contact centre team to focus on handling more complex non-payment related customer enquiries accurately and efficiently.
Tracey McCabe, Head of Customer Service, Peverel Property Management, commented, “We handle hundreds of thousands of calls every year that demand a broad knowledge of financial and legal matters as well as general property maintenance issues. Our previous manual process needed updating and the time had come to find a more permanent and automated solution that could accommodate rising call volumes and accelerate the payment process. Encoded presented a sound proposal that promised to deliver round-the-clock efficiencies in a cost-effective package. Compared with other solutions in the marketplace, the overall approach and sophisticated IVR technology proved to be the perfect answer to our problems.”
OM Property Management has noticed a series of operational and business benefits since the implementation of Encoded. Customers can make self-service payments 24 hours per day, 7 days a week and obtain accurate, up-to-date information about the balance of their account. Today, 20% of all payments are handled by Encoded’s IVR automated system.
Encoded has always delivered on time and OM Property Management is impressed by the quality of Encoded’s support combined with expert knowledge and quick response times. Tracey McCabe added, “We introduced this solution with Encoded nearly five years ago and cannot praise this system highly enough. Dramatic improvements in efficiency and call flow have boosted agent morale and tangibly enhanced the overall customer experience. What is more, Encoded is a valuable tool that has helped us streamline our business processes and maximise our existing resources at no extra cost. It’s a win, win situation.”
Robert Crutchington, Sales Director at Encoded concluded, “A diverse and fast-moving organisation like OM Property Management needs technology it can trust to drive efficiencies, reduce costs and keep clients happy at all times. Automation is the way to go. With our tried and tested IVR solution, Peverel can rely on us to help them build a robust contact centre operation that continually boosts efficiencies and maximises precious in-house resources whilst delivering great customer service at the same time.”
OM Property Management has successfully built a sound technology framework using Encoded. Next on the horizon is examining the potential of Encoded’s customer survey service to strengthen its existing feedback process.
About OM Property Management
OM Property Management is a leading manager of privately owned residential developments in England and Wales. (Peverel) OM manages a portfolio of approximately 1,200 developments, corresponding to around 70,000 individual properties.
Offering a level of experience and expertise which is second to none. OM Property Management can provide a quality service to developers, landlords, residents, freeholders, management companies, right to manage companies and residents’ associations.
For more information, please visit: www.ompropertymanagement.co.uk
About Encoded
- Reduce costs by automating business processes
- Increase sales by offering new fulfilment channels
- Improve customer service by maximising resource efficiency
Encoded was established in 2001 to offer affordable, pay-as-you-go solutions to the growing telecommunications requirements of small and large businesses. Today, the company’s software regularly supports 30 million customers and 10 million calls globally and automates £60 million of secure payments without operator intervention.
