Using UCA: In Conversation With Haines Watts

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE UCA FOR HAINES WATTS?

ANDY: We moved offices about a year ago to offer us a more agile working environment. This meant that people didn’t have fixed desks or locations like we had in our old office. We needed a solution that would support us to communicate effectively, no matter where our staff were working.

We chose the UCA solution because after having several conversations and demos of how it could work for us, it was clear it would enable us to do exactly that.

MATT: The first time I met Jamie Lake, about 3 or 4 years ago now, he was in the office and his phone flashed up. I looked over and saw this fancy app that PCS had developed for their customers.

Jamie went on to show me all the features and I immediately thought how useful it would be to have something like that at Haines Watts. Especially for those that do similar roles to me and are not always in the office. So as soon as we began looking for an alternative communication offering at Haines Watts, I put forward PCS’ UCA solution and the rest is history!

HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE APP SO FAR?

ANDY: The app itself is absolutely fantastic. It’s solved a potentially huge problem we would have had in relation to agility and remote working at Haines Watts.

We use it every day and the features work really well for our business. And because all calls are made over WIFI, it means that we don’t have to use up mobile data costs, which for some of the team who are without company mobiles, is a huge benefit.

There were a few teething problems to start, but that was mostly due to our internet connection not being sufficient. But I have to say the PCS support team were fantastic liaising with Jacob, who manages our reception, to resolve the issue quickly and efficiently.

MATT: What’s been great about the solution so far is that it’s not just a product that has been sold off the shelf – it’s really been tailored to us and PCS take on board anything we need from the app and try to develop it and make it better.

It’s given us a lot more flexibility and mobility than we have ever had before.

It’s helped us to maintain accessibility whilst offering us the opportunity to do more with our communications.

At any time we can move to another location for privacy, quiet or ease and still be just as productive and reachable as we would be sat at a desk and that’s been invaluable, especially during the recent pandemic.

It’s now so much easier to manage our communications both internally, by letting my colleagues know my availability, and externally by being able to have that flexibility to call clients using whichever number is most appropriate. 

WHAT ARE THE BEST FEATURES?

MATT: Well it’s got a lot of features that we’re still trying to fully utilise like the chat function and video conferencing, both of which we’ve used a lot more during the Covid-19 pandemic. But what has worked really well for us so far is the presence state feature.

If we are in a meeting, on a call, travelling or even on another Zoom call given the current climate, we can set our status to reflect that. This gives our switchboard instant visibility around who is available so they can better manage calls and ultimately, improve the client experience.

ANDY: One of the things I really like about UCA is that you can be anywhere in the office, or potentially even anywhere in the world, and still be able to make and receive calls as if you’re sat at your desk.

As far as the client is aware, they’re calling the office or vice versa. And I really like that. I also like the fact that members of the team can call customers from their personal devices, but with the call appearing as the office number. This offers that element of professionalism without compromising our user’s personal details.

MATT: When Boris announced he was putting the country into lockdown, while everyone else was panicking wondering how they could manage, the next day it was business as usual for us. It was such a seamless transition from office to home, no one even noticed.

A few people were quite surprised as they expected it to be a lot more difficult than that, but having UCA meant we were able to maintain that business continuity and client communication and that’s really important to us as a business.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND UCA?

ANDY: Absolutely. PCS have provided us with a solution in UCA that we thought was impossible and it’s helped us so much. We have already recommended PCS and the UCA app to some of our other Haines Watts locations, as well as to some of our clients who have a need for a solution like this.

MATT: Definitely. UCA adds so much value, and the app is so eye catching that it’s hard not to be a talking point in meetings with clients or internal members of the wider Haines Watts team!

We’re really pleased with what it’s done for us so far and hopefully it’s a system that we can utilise even more across the team going forward. We also want to help develop the app to make it even better by being PCS’ UCA guinea pigs!