Case Studies

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:

• automated attendant - the caller is presented with various options should the line be busy

• intersite three-digit dialling

• two base stations at each centre to provide maximum coverage and the ability to grow the number of users

• 999 direct dialing from pool and gym areas

• voicemail with alerting lights show when message received

• VoIP-enabled so it can be turned on in the future when required

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.”