Leggett Immobilier Case Study
To secure its position as one of France’s leading estate agencies, management within Leggett Immobilier determined that they needed specialist help to modernise their outdated communication technology and IT infrastructure.
To achieve this we made the following improvements:
Infrastructure
Upgraded their communications and data infrastructure to solve business-critical challenges.
Efficiency
Significantly improved the cost-efficiency, resilience and effectiveness of their systems.
Consistency
Provided them with the technological means to deliver more consistent customer service excellence.
Security
Strengthened their firewall protocols and policies to improve security measures across the company.
Speed
Installed a high-preforming, private fibre circuit for greater speed and reliability across their entire IT infrastructure.
Flexibility
Transitioned to new cloud technology and business management software to improve system flexibility.
Resources
Introduced an extensive range of capabilities and features that aided in both training and marketing efforts.
Personalisation
Supplied dedicated account management and engineering support to ensure the highest quality, responsive service.
Project Background
Established in 1998, Leggett Immobilier has become a leading, multi-award-winning national estate agency with hundreds of agents spread across France. Despite their size and a multi-million euro advertising budget to promote their clients’ properties and property portfolios, the agency still prides itself on being a family-run business with a personal, local feel. Leggett Immobilier also works with international buyers looking for a holiday home, an investment home, or simply a home from home in France. To this end they have built up multi-lingual teams that specialise in dealing with overseas buyers and their unique financial, legal and expectational needs.
However, as the organisation grew, winning industry award after industry award, behind the scenes their IT operations were being stretched to breaking point and the cracks were beginning to show, threatening to hold the business back from potential opportunities for growth.
Our Client’s Challenges
While the company had its own in-house IT team, by the time we were called in the challenges the organisation faced had grown to a point where more specialist help was needed – to augment their own communication and IT infrastructure management work, but also to determine the best solutions for the broader technological challenges faced by the business. Primary among these challenges were:
- No remote working capacity. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Leggett Immobilier’s communication and IT infrastructure had no capacity for remote or home working. This could have been disastrous for their company, as it was for many others. However, they were resilient and they made it through. It was this experience, and the lessons learned, that showed them just how important a proper remote working strategy could be, alongside the technology to support it.
- A phone system that was letting them down. Leggett Immobilier had an old on-site Alcatel telephone system, which became an antique overnight because of its inflexibility when it came to remote working. The phone infrastructure and technology were simply not up to the task and had to be completely replaced.
- Localisation failures. The business had an excellent reputation for its friendly, local service. But in one area in particular it was being let down by its technology. All the company’s adverts had the agency’s head office number on them, as calls were picked up by the central customer support team before being redirected to the relevant local agent. Sometimes the advertised properties were hundreds of miles from the head office, and the false impression that those in charge of its sale were a long way away undoubtedly limited the number of enquiries.
- No auto call direct. Leggett Immobilier had built specialist teams of multi-lingual staff to handle international buyer enquiries and sales, but they had no direct means of ensuring that when calls came in they would be answered by a member of this team. They were relying on the French-speaking customer support centre picking up the call and redirecting it to the multi-lingual team, an extra step that could put off prospective buyers.
Assembly’s Solutions
We developed a relationship with Leggett Immobilier at precisely the right time in the company’s evolution, so when the call came, we were ready to help.
- Step #1: Analysis. One of our directors travelled to France to conduct a detailed analysis of the organisation’s communication and IT infrastructure, including its technological capacities and weaknesses, its aspirations and strategy. This step was not only essential to solve their current issues, but to determine what was needed to better position Leggett Immobilier for further growth – so that their technology became an asset rather than a hindrance.
- Step #2: New networking structure. A couple of members of the Assembly team spent two weeks installing a completely new communications and IT infrastructure across the Leggett Immobilier organisation.
- From analogue to cloud. We removed all the outdated on-site equipment, freeing up space – along with the associated support and maintenance costs – to install a brand-new cloud-based VoIP system. This was like moving from a horse-drawn carriage to a sportscar, replacing a clunky and inflexible set up with an infinitely adaptive solution to the company’s immediate remote working challenges, helping to position it for future growth.
- New high-speed data and IT infrastructure. We installed new cabling, data switching, routers and high-speed, high-capacity Wi-Fi. Essentially, everything the company needed to ensure the most modern connected solution on the market, all on a managed IT services basis.
- Security improvements. New firewall protocols and clearer security policies were developed and shared internally with all staff to ensure the safer use and even more secure storage of data within the company’s updated technology infrastructure.
- Step #3: New voice systems and training. Out with the old analogue phones and in with new cloud-based voice systems, along with all the training needed for Leggett Immobilier’s IT team to understand how to get the most from their new comms system and to share this information with their hundreds of agents, all of whom could then work seamlessly connecting with HQ, vendors and buyers, wherever they may be.
- Fusion platform configuration. Assembly were partners in the development of the platform that provided Leggett Immobilier’s new cloud-based telecommunications service (VoIP), so we knew it would be a great starting point for the solution they needed. Although it’s a powerful stand-alone platform, it still required a significant amount of custom programming to ensure that it was set up for the specific needs of the business, including its connection with Leggett Immobilier’s new CRM system.
- Hosted telephony system. The new VoIP system we installed provided them with a completely new landscape of opportunity, including the creation of all the phone numbers and call routing they needed to return to their local service roots – ensuring that all property ads went out with local numbers, directing calls to precisely the team or individual responsible for that sale, improving enquiry numbers and brand perception.
- Seamless international routing. All international buyers can now be routed to the individuals who not only have the property knowledge they need, but the linguistic skills to communicate it to them. Finally, Leggett Immobilier was able to make the most of their multi-lingual teams to ensure their clients received the best customer care.
Results and Benefits
In a data-heavy sector like estate agency where safe storage, dependable security, rapid information access, and reliable communication are fundamental to the reputation and successful running of the organisation, having the right IT team by your side is not just important but vital to the company’s recovery. Had they not evolved it would have undoubtedly meant much lost business, redundancies, and a greater struggle. But as a result of our help and support we were able to put them on a very different path.
The primary benefits we brought to the table were:
- Remote working capacity. A brand new VoIP system and IT infrastructure that transformed how the business worked.
- No more missed calls. From struggling analogue to multi-line, auto redirecting, high-capacity perfection that ensured callers were always quickly connected with the right people.
- VoIP + CRM = WOW! Phone and database integration that means every incoming call from an existing contact is automatically accompanied by all the information on file for them, meaning Leggett Immobilier staff can hit the ground running in every conversation.
- Faster, more reliable Wi-Fi. We installed a state-of-the-art, fully managed, multi-site Internet connection to ensure rapid data access for any staff member, anywhere they choose to work.
- Substantial IT infrastructure upgrade. From straining legacy systems to agile modern business IT solutions, refined and tailored specifically for our client and accompanied by all the IT managed support services needed to maintain it at peak reliability.
- True localisation. Cloud-based voice systems allow for unlimited phone number personalisation and routing for local ads and language-specific international buyers.
“The elasticity of Assembly’s on-demand managed services and pay-per-use model gives us the ability to innovate and scale. This partnership has brought efficiencies in meeting our IT project objectives and speed business outcomes.”
Trevor Leggett, Founder
Leggett Immobilier
Contact Assembly_
If you would like to discuss a communication and technological upgrade for your organisation, to resolve current challenges or prepare your business for future growth, contact our team today on 020 3795 6880 or using our contact form.
