Switchboard Services Manager

Shoosmiths - UK Law Firm of the Year Winner at the Legal Week British Legal Awards 2015.

A leading UK law firm with a network of offices from the South Coast to Scotland, working together as one national team. An innovative practice and the first top 100 law firm to achieve “Gold Standard” Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm. The lack of barriers between departments, a real lack of hierarchy, zero tolerance for arrogance and pomposity makes Shoosmiths a fantastic place to work.

Estates Management is the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities. This encompasses multi-disciplinary activities within the built environment and the management of their impact upon people and the workplace. Effective estates management, combining resources and activities, is vital to the success of any organisation. At a corporate level, it contributes to the delivery of strategic and operational objectives. On a day-to day level, effective estates management provides a safe and efficient working environment, which is essential to the performance of any business – whatever its size and scope.  Responsibilities of this team include property strategy, space management and communications infrastructure to building maintenance, administration and contract management.

The Switchboard Services Manager will be responsible for delivering an exceptional national telephony service to all clients (internal and external).  You will lead, motivate and maximise the performance of the team and to be a visible presence within the wider national team.  Furthermore, you will develop relationships with key staff around the firm and proactively keep up to date on all new clients, team changes and information. 

Service level

• All calls to be answered within three rings
• To announce all calls in a professional manner
• To respond to all inbound emails within half an hour
• Be aware and follow the firm’s complaints procedure
• Record out of hours office messages on a national basis to ensure consistency
• Provide BCP support to any office that requires it
• Agree procedure with the business on dealing with cold calls and sales calls
• Develop help sheets to aid the understanding of new client enquires and firms products
• Ensure “right first time delivery" of every incoming call
• To answer all calls, with politeness, proficiency and professionalism at all times
• To report switchboard faults and seek prompt resolution
• Ensure voicemail is checked daily and ensure correct first time delivery of message in person/via email
• Update telephone lists, manage firmwide legal adviser reference allocation and any other administrative tasks as required
• To liaise with local reception teams to share departmental information and staff whereabouts
• To lead by example in all areas of performance and to continuously demonstrate the firms brand values
• Endeavour to protect the brand image for the Firm

Main responsibilities

• Liaise with Practice Group Heads/Department Heads for team and legal information
• Take a proactive approach to manage and consistently deliver solutions for staffing
• To communicate to the working team on a daily basis focusing on - company and legal information, feedback on individual performance, ad hoc observation and feedback of performance especially in the areas of call handling and customer management skills and ensure understanding at team level.
• To produce a summary report on call handling stats on a monthly basis to line manager and give the Estates Management an executive summary on a six monthly basis.
• To attend on a regular basis all local monthly and six monthly national management meetings
• To hold a 1-2-1 with every team member on a regular basis
• To spend sufficient time coaching each team member as and when required
• To spend 2-4 hours per quarter or as required with local reception teams on the Firms legal products, good customer service techniques and any relevant training as required
• To provide training aligning service delivery with brand values - people, relationships and results.
• To focus on the skills and knowledge development of the team, working with the Estates Manager in the delivery of new starter training, further training development and refresher training
• To manage holiday and absence cover within the team
• To provide Saturday Switchboard on a rota basis in the absence of Saturday switchboard operative
• To provide cover until 6pm on a rota basis to cover holiday/sickness
• Undertake any other duties deemed reasonable in order to manage the team
• Complete all administrative tasks as requested by Line Manager

• Ability to work with minimum supervision
• A minimum of 2 years' experience of managing a customer services team
• Proactive and inquisitive approach in order to build a good knowledge of the firm's legal products and services
• Ability to train and coach team members on the switchboard team, as well as reception colleagues
• To be dynamic with strong leadership and motivational skills
• Must be enthusiastic and have a pro-active, innovative approach to getting things done
• Have a passion for providing high standard of customer service
• A team player with the ability to remain calm during busy periods
• Able to work under pressure to meet challenging deadlines and achieve agreed targets
• Have the ability to use your initiative, prioritise workloads and make effective decisions
• Possess excellent interpersonal skills, strong organisational skills and ability to demonstrate ownership

Benefits package

Shoosmiths has an outstanding benefits package; we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm. These can include:

• A pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5.5%
• Generous life assurance cover for peace of mind, up to 8 times salary
• Up to 23 paid working days holiday per annum with the option to buy up to 8 additional days. You can choose to 'flex' twice a year - January and July
• 'Happy Birthday!' - have a free day off to celebrate and a £50 voucher to spend! (We won't take it from your annual entitlement)
• Childcare vouchers which are not subject to tax or NI
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Staff introduction bonus scheme
• Corporate discounts on a wide variety of products and services
• Discounted conveyancing and legal advice, for instance for wills and family trusts

The application process

If successful, you will be contacted by a member of our recruitment team to attend an interview at our Northampton office.

Shoosmiths is a committed Equal Opportunities employer promoting equality of opportunity. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.