Future Voice prescribes 8×8 for diagnostics business with a hunger for growth

Since its formation in 1991, Sysmex UK has grown to become one of the UK’s leading diagnostic suppliers with a reputation for high-quality products, service and reliability.

Now, Sysmex UK Ltd is a 200-strong team of distributors, with its own contact centre staffed by qualified scientists, acting as a support network for Sysmex automated haematology and coagulation diagnostic analysers, reagents and information systems for laboratories and healthcare facilities within the UK and Ireland.

First and foremost, Sysmex’s ISDN-based Cisco PBX system wasn’t in line with its customer service-focused future. Service aspects like automated responses and chatbots were simply impossible with the technology they were using!

The legacy system also prevented call centre managers from running reports on call performance, which made it hard for leaders to better understand where improvements could be made or highlight top performers. It also meant Sysmex couldn’t give its partners solid numbers to assess KPIs against.

Even though Sysmex had adopted Teams through the pandemic, the existing PBX system prevented the redirecting calls to other numbers or devices, too, which was a massive frustration for Sysmex and its team, preventing them from working from home efficiently!

“There was a lack of visibility into all the metrics you need to know to assess the success of the team. Given new ways of working and communication channels, we knew we needed much more than ‘just’ a telephone system!”
– Ken Turner, Chief Operating Officer, Sysmex

Furthermore, adding or removing lines was a long, drawn-out process, and there was no in-built resiliency or failover to ensure lines kept calling in the event of an outage.

After Sysmex’s previous technology partner dropped off the radar, they went directly to 8×8 (the platform Ken knew would be their solution) instead, with one of their advisors recommending Future Voice as their perfect partner.

After a few emails back and forth, Future Voice visited Sysmex to scope out the challenge and ensure a smooth transition.

“It was immediately clear how knowledgeable the FV team is, and no question was too small, difficult or crazy… They listened to our entire Wishlist, sharing our excitement, and basically said yes to everything!” ”
– Turner

Confirming the various needs of the team, it was clear 8×8 was the right way forward, facilitating softphones on all team’s laptops for homeworking, as well as their deskphones in the office, so that staff could use whatever device they were most comfortable with.

Teams would also be integrated directly into 8×8 so all Teams video calls and chats could be managed and joined via 8×8, for an ‘all-in-one’ experience.

Future Voice also recommended a resilient service, one that could reroute calls via 8×8 in case there was ever a power or internet outage that would disable the on-site devices.

With a true WFH solution, Sysmex’s team can take their office numbers with them wherever they go. Plus, leaders and call centre managers have rich visibility across their team and call metrics, ensuring they can focus on enriching the customer experience!

In other words, Ken and the customer service team couldn’t be happier with the results. So much so, Ken’s already looking at the next steps, including integrating new social channels into 8×8, as well as AI chatbot tools, in the near future!

“We’ve now got what we needed and a defined path to adopt other mediums like chat and social media. Future Voice has done a lot of the groundwork, taking delays out of that to ensure we can quickly respond to new customer demands.”
– Turner

But it’s not just the system that’s made an impression. Future Voice has built a strong relationship with Ken and his team. This bond was fostered early on in the relationship, and continues to be strengthened with regular meetings – at least once a quarter – to ensure everything’s working as expected, float ideas to enhance productivity and raise new 8×8 features coming in the future to explore any benefits for Ken and his team.

Future Voice aims to be the communications partner its customers always wished for, and Sysmex is no different. In fact, the entire team is confident Sysmex will be a long-term customer for years to come, thanks to the collaboration and culture shared between the teams.

“It’s like working with members of our own team. They’re honest, collaborative and always passionate about what they do. We have so much fun, I have to stop myself sometimes when we’re having too much of a laugh and bring it back to business!”
– Turner