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Sencio Community Leisure delivers
value for money to the citizens of Sevenoaks with ROCC’s
communications and IT network
In the leisure industry organisations are leveraging IT to deliver
improvements in the level of service to the public. So when
Sevenoaks Leisure Services’ management team took over control of the
leisure function from the district council to begin operating as a
trust - Sencio Community Leisure - the new provider was soon
striving to deliver improvements in the level of service through an
innovative IT strategy.
“We
are IT dependant; that’s a fact of life,” declares Mark Whyman,
Sencio’s Managing Director, “and we have to move on. Unless we can
run the computers, we cannot run the business,” he states
unequivocally.
Sencio is focused on the provision of affordable services across all
facets of leisure. “We can do everything and cater for all customer
types,” Mark says, “but everyone wants value for money.” As a trust,
Sencio reinvests any profits directly into the centres for the
benefit of customers, so the people of Sevenoaks can reasonably
expect to enjoy a high standard of service delivery. Figures suggest
that users are not being disappointed. “In terms of customer
expectation, we are delivering a high level of satisfaction,” Mark
reports proudly.
Among Sencio’s key objectives is the need to ensure continuous
improvement in the service over the next five years and to deliver
those services in “a customer conscious way” - efficiently and
effectively. “But intrinsic in that progress is the operator’s
increasing reliance on IT”, says Mark. “We ran the existing IT for
18 months but when we left council support we had to completely
refresh the technology we used.”
Sencio is now running a bespoke networked system with telephones and
dedicated operational software that is already reaping rewards in
terms of increased customer service and communication among the 320
staff working in the five centres.
ROCC provided a £30,000 Alcatel OmniPCX Office telephone solution,
with up to 30 analogue and digital handsets positioned at each site.
The system features include:
Jane Parish, Commercial Services Director, adds. “Our receptionists
also have to function as switchboard operators and the previous
system did not allow phone callers to bypass the front desk to reach
the department they wanted - membership, squash, pool and gym
bookings for example. That’s resolved now."
A high performance network was required. Bob Adshead, ROCC account
manager explains, "The position was complicated because Sencio had
leased lines from the council and there were high cancellation
charges applicable. So the contract was transferred over to the
Leisure Trust, some lines later cancelled or rerouted and new lines
added. We installed a centralised data server hub connected to the
leased lines to avoid cancellation charges and because leased lines
are generally more reliable than Broadband-based networks.
A central server and leased line system is easier to manage and more
economical because ‘thin clients’ are used – specialised items of
hardware that replace PC’s. These are very reliable, last for at
least five years, need little maintenance or administration, are
silent and low-energy”.
Since going live, the new system has drawn stout praise from
Sencio’s management team: “This was a large project because it
involved the installation of a network across the whole of our
organisation,” Jane Parish explains. “We had no specialist IT
know-how in-house so we needed continual IT support and service.
ROCC had already worked with a leisure services provider on
networked solutions so we saw them as an appropriate supplier.”
Jane Parish points out some of the major benefits they enjoy in the
client/contractor relationship. “ROCC could put everything in plain
English – taking us through the costs and implications so that what
they were proposing made sense and it was geared to our level of
expertise at that time. They assembled the entire project plan and
were excellent at communicating with the council over the transfer
of ownership of the phone lines. Also, they kept us informed every
step of the way.”
But the final word should come from Mark Whyman, who is clear that
Sencio have made a good choice. “ROCC have proven to be far more
sensitive and reactive to the management of our business and are
rapidly building expertise in meeting the IT needs of an industry
sector [Leisure] that is moving incredibly quickly. We have a
supplier that understands our needs, is dedicated to us and gives
levels of satisfaction that exceed our expectations.”
Learn More:
Visit
the Sencio Community Leisure Website
