Category Archives: General

15th March 2018

Let’s talk about UNICORNS…

Yes, that’s correct… unicorns.

Or better still… mermaids and centaurs. Or for that matter, omniagents. Yes, omniagents; the most mythical creature of all. That one contact centre agent with the linguistic ability to be a gifted email writer, snappy Tweeter, capable call agent and vibrant video agent – all at the same time. You’d be correct in thinking they’re not just rare; they’re fictitious. And I’m afraid we’d have to agree.

Omnichannel has been a buzzword for a few years now, but in asking agents to do it all, we’re asking for the impossible – omniagents. We’re seeking unicorns. The reality is that contact centres need to evolve into customer experience hubs where no one agent is expected to do it all. Instead, specialised agents work together sharing data and insights, often remotely, to provide a more personalised 24-7 customer experience.

Here are our top five tips to ensure you’re not relying on a mythical workforce to deliver your omnichannel strategy:

1. Know your customers
2. Know your business
3. Know your agents
4. Be flexible
5. See the big picture

Continue reading →

OMNIAGENTS, UNICORNS AND OTHER FANTASTICAL BEASTS – Sesui talks omnichannel at the Call and Contact Centre Expo

Sesui, the bright British innovator of award winning cloud call management software, will attend the Call and Contact Centre Expo (London ExCel, March 21 to 22) to talk unicorns, along with that most mythical creature of all… omniagents.

Manveer Mangat, Sesui CTO explains: “Omnichannel’s been a buzzword for a few years now, but in asking each agent to do it all, we’re asking for the impossible… omniagents. That one contact centre agent with the linguistic ability to be a gifted email writer, snappy Tweeter, capable call agent and vibrant video agent – all at the same time. You’d be correct in thinking they’re not just rare; they’re fictitious. And I’m afraid we’d have to agree.”

Mr Mangat added: “The reality is that contact centres need to evolve into customer experience hubs where no one agent is expected to do it all. Instead, specialised agents work together sharing data and insights, often remotely, to provide a more personalised 24-7 customer experience.”

Pursuing a true omnichannel strategy involves more than just creating a long list of “contact us” options. Taking the stage on Wednesday 21st, theatre 8 at 15:30, Mr Mangat will discuss his Top 5 Tips for getting omnichannel right:

1. Know your customer – blend traditional with digital channels
2. Know your business – match your channels to your operation
3. Know your agent – try skills-based routing
4. Be flexible – run distributed contact centres and offer flexible working
5. See the big picture – use real time reporting

Continue reading →

8th March 2018

Let’s talk about the S word…

SNOW.
Or more appropriately, SNOWMAGEDDON.

Did you have to apologise to your customers, or were you prepared for The Beast from the East? How many snow days did your employees need to take because the weather was bad, public transport wasn’t working or it just took forever to get in? Or like us, did you choose to close the office? Now, for a moment, consider how that affected your organisation?

Many of the big Banks tried to manage customer expectations around waiting times by sending SMS’ explaining how The Beast From The East was affecting their resourcing levels. They had the safety of their colleagues at heart. And they weren’t the only ones. Countless organisations were in the same boat, costing the UK economy an estimated £1bn. But did they even need to be in the boat at all?

If you’re running a manufacturing plant, or you can’t get your High Street shop open, or the delivery guys just can’t get through, chances are you are in the boat. Sorry. But in vast parts of the service sector and in contact centres… a little flexibility goes a long way.

Continue reading →

1st March 2018

Jai Medical to add 5,000 extra patient appointments a year thanks to the cloud

We’ve been banging the drum for our healthcare campaign that explores how cloud communications is helping GPs and clinicians to work remotely, whilst joining up primary care providers to deliver integrated care. Based on our research with UK doctors, as well as input from GPs, our clients and experts from across the NHS (including NHS England), the campaign included:

• A Special Report exploring flexible working through the cloud
• A vodcast roundtable and 1-2-1 interviews
• Coverage of our research across key media
• Endorsements from experts in the field including Dr Simon Abrams, Chair of Urgent Health UK and Mr Ian Sharp, CEO of Digital Health Enterprise Zone

A key story to emerge from the campaign is our work with Jai Medical Centre in the last decade. The brief from Jai Medical was to:
1. Help its five surgeries join up more effectively as “one team” with the installation of 50 VoIP phones across 5 sites
2. Empower its GPs to work remotely, offering patients extended hours
3. Help it answer patient calls even faster, striving to meet rigorous QR8 targets set for out-of-hours and emergency providers
You can read the full case study here. But if you’re short on time, here’s how the story goes… Continue reading →

20th February 2018

Our Special Report – what the experts say…

Our Special Report on ‘Flexible Working for a 24/7 NHS’ is flying off the virtual shelf thanks to endorsements from across UK healthcare, as well as coverage in the press.

You can download your copy for free at www.sesui.com/healthcare where the experts lend their view on how remote working through the cloud could help tackle pressures on GPs and clinicians. There are real world examples from GP practices, 111 providers, and GP-led federations on how the cloud is empowering their clinical workforce to manage the load.

Dr Simon Abrams, Chair of Urgent Health UK said: “I recommend colleagues across primary and urgent care spend some time exploring the report findings. It resonated with my views on how technology can make a difference in the NHS, especially now when we need it most. The report goes into detail on how cloud technology can help urgent care providers meet the NHS Five Year View for integrated urgent care. I found its focus on home working and the governance of secure connections, as well as access to records and voice recordings, admirable. And the thinking around designing systems that match the national and international changes to the way ordinary people connect with new technology is something we should all be considering.”

While Mr Ian Sharp, CEO of the Digital Health Enterprise (DHEZ) added: “We believe that we’ve only just scratched the surface when it comes to digital health innovations. To that point it’s been inspiring to read Sesui’s Special Report into ‘Flexible working for a 24/7 NHS’ and to explore how cloud communications can bring about an important step-change in managing pressures across the system. It’s a must read for any clinician wanting to take back control and deliver even better patient care. We’re certainly recommending the report to our network of health professionals, researchers and businesses so that together we can bring about real and lasting change in the NHS.”

Over in the press, Digital Health Age and Digital Health picked up on our research that shows 43% of doctors said remote working would ultimately allow them to spend longer with their patients, while 48% said being able to take patient calls outside of the office would lead to more personalised care. See the report for the full results or take a peek at our infographic for the headlines.

16th February 2018

Tune into Sesui’s Video Library

And that’s a wrap! Our video library has now launched, with a 10-minute roundtable where experts from across the NHS, joined ITN reporter Emma Walden to explore how to tackle the chronic GP shortage and motivate talented doctors to stay in the NHS. The answer? Flexible working through the cloud.

Tune into www.sesui.com/videos to see Dr Simon Abrams, GP and Chair of Urgent Health UK; Dr Taz Aldawoud, GP and creator of the new DocAbode® platform; Dr Sam Shah, Director of Digital Development at NHS England; and our very own MD Lee Bryant.

We’ve also uploaded in-depth 1-2-1 interviews where the experts provide their unique insights into the pressures on A&E and across the system, and how to change patient behaviour to enable greater uptake of a 24/7 digital health service.

So fix yourself a cuppa and tune into our video library. And if you want the long read, head over to www.sesui.com/healthcare to download our special report on this very subject.

17th January 2018

Guest blog from Dr Simon Abrams on cloud technology for integrated urgent care

I recently met with a number of senior NHS and business figures to discuss how cloud technology should be part of the solution to tackling NHS pressures, offering greater gains in communication between clinicians and the patients, and between clinicians and other health and social care professionals. Such technology is one of the essential pillars for the necessary and effective integration of health and social care services. You can watch the full roundtable discussion by clicking here.

The reason for our discussion was the launch of a Special Report produced by Sesui cloud communications – ‘Flexible working for a 24/7 NHS’. Having read this report, I recommend colleagues across primary and urgent care spend some time exploring its findings. It resonated with my views on how technology can make a difference in the NHS, especially now when we need it most. The report goes into detail on how cloud technology contributes to how urgent care providers can meet the NHS Five Year View for integrated urgent care. I found its focus on home working and the governance of secure connections, access to records and voice recording admirable. And the thinking around designing systems that match the national and international changes to the way ordinary people connect with new technology is something we should all be considering.

Continue reading →

15th January 2018

NHS experts recommend flexible working through the cloud to reduce NHS pressures

The “winter crisis” is once again front-page news. But for all the heart wrenching stories – the reams and reams of bad news – our hardworking NHS teams still get out of bed every day and head to work. Into that pressure cooker environment that’s at best described as “unprecedented”, at worst, like a “warzone”. We can’t all do what our NHS teams do, but we can all recognise them and show our appreciation. And that’s why hashtags like #thanksnhsstaff are gaining momentum. But even more than saying thanks, at Sesui we also want to be part of the solution.

We’ve spent the best part of 14 years working with teams across the NHS to explore how cloud technology can transform ways of working and ultimately provide a better patient journey. As part of this work, last Wednesday we were very fortunate to be joined by a number of senior NHS figures to discuss how the cloud could help alleviate current pressures and be a catalyst for real and lasting change. You can tune into the roundtable discussion hosted by former London Tonight report Emma Walden with NHS Director of Digital Development Dr Sam Shah, GP and founder of the DocAbode platform Dr Taz Aldawoud, Chair of Urgent Health UK Dr Simon Abrams, our very own MD Mr Lee Bryant at www.sesui.com/healthcare. We were also fortunate to have contributions on the day from CEO of Digital Health Enterprise Zone Mr Ian Sharp and advisor on urgent healthcare Mr Mark Cockerton.

Continue reading →

9th January 2018

UK Doctors Call for Flexible Working through the Cloud

One in five UK doctors feel their current work life balance is poor, and almost half (49%) believe current demands are unsustainable, according to new research from cloud communications provider Sesui.

The research – released today by Sesui, a Queen’s Award winner for Enterprise in Innovation – is detailed in a special report exploring how remote working through the cloud could help tackle the chronic GP shortage.

Based on research with 100+ UK doctors, and in-depth interviews with thought leaders across the NHS, the paper discusses how to make work, work for GPs in the face of rising workloads and mounting reforms for a 24/7 NHS. It outlines the transformative role of cloud communications: in enabling GPs and clinicians to work remotely, and in joining-up primary care providers to deliver integrated care.
Continue reading →

6th November 2017

Sesui appoints Oli White as Head of Marketing and Strategy to drive growth trajectory

Sesui, British innovator of award winning call management software, has welcomed Oli White as Head of Marketing and Strategy. The appointment will support Sesui’s growth and business development amidst the rapidly growing demand for cloud communications solutions in the public and private sectors.

Oli joins from leading PaaS video capability TokBox, where he held the position of Marketing Vice President between offices in London and Silicon Valley with the primary goal of generating qualified leads for a growing global sales team. With 20 years’ experience within the telecommunications industry, working for companies including O2, Telefónica and Cable & Wireless, Oli is well placed to drive Sesui through its next phase of development with innovative, technology-based marketing. Continue reading →