Jessie May is a Children’s Hospice at Home service, caring for local terminally-ill children. The nurses provide vital respite care, emotional support, end of life care and bereavement support, alongside family events that help create treasured memories.
Blackstar Solutions, a leading provider of bespoke business communication solutions, were first introduced to Jessie May at a networking event, where a talk was given by the charity about the work they do. As communications experts, Blackstar Solutions wanted to help and support Jessie May as the charity expanded.
Jessie May is based in an old school building just outside Bristol and office space has been shared since the charity was first established in 1996. Due to the age of the property, the thick walls often meant that phone connectivity around the office was poor. Jessie May were embarking on a major office expansion project, so it seemed an appropriate time to simultaneously upgrade the telephony infrastructure. Blackstar Solutions carried out an extensive health check of the current telephony configuration, infrastructure, landlines and internet connections. They wanted to provide Jessie May with an enterprise-standard communications solution, and recommended the ShoreTel Connect system.
Jessie May were impressed with the extensive features and functionality of ShoreTel Connect. In October 2016, when the legacy supplier’s contract was expiring, Jessie May asked Blackstar Solutions to deploy the ShoreTel technology, straight after the office building work was completed in September.
The implementation process was seamless, transferring the analogue and digital system to ShoreTel’s IP platform, with minimal downtime for the 30+ extensions. Lots of extensions have been reprogrammed which can all be done remotely. Jessie May even have their own logo on the phones, giving them a consistent look and feel and a professional, corporate identity. Blackstar Solutions project managed the move out of hours and the actual installation only took a matter of hours. Blackstar Solutions provided three training sessions for staff before and during the migration to ensure that staff felt comfortable with the new solution once it was deployed.
The new telephony infrastructure now offers improved connectivity, is faster and much more reliable. ShoreTel Connect can do so much more than the legacy phone system. Previously, messages could only be left on one specific phone but with ShoreTel Connect, messages can be left or picked up from any phone, and calls can be transferred to a vast number of users.
A huge benefit is that remote staff now have unlimited access to the communication system. With more people working in remote locations, it offers a more flexible way of working. The nurses now also have a mobile phone each (known as a lone worker device) when they are out in the community, which integrates with the ShoreTel system. Transferring calls from a landline to mobile and vice versa is a simple and seamless process.
The ShoreTel system is not only intuitive and simple to use, Jessie May are also making cost savings in lines and call charges. Blackstar Solutions now provide both remote and onsite support for the ShoreTel Connect system, along with the other business critical elements such as landline connectivity.
