Regus is a global name in the provision of serviced office space to businesses. In addition to both short and long-term office leasing, the organisation provides a host of other facilities to its clients from telephone and internet lines through to meeting room hire and virtual receptionist services.
The Challenge
In 2014, the company was looking to implement Office 365 throughout its UK business centres with the specific aim of introducing a shared mailbox system. Having previously run a pilot project which never came to fruition, Regus was looking for a second opinion when it commissioned Westfiled Networks to conduct a feasibility study and produce a set of recommendations.
The Solution
Westfield consultants visited three separate Regus business centres to observe the ways in which inbound email was being handled by receptionist staff. It soon became clear that differences in staffing levels and email volumes had led to a variety of working practices throughout the centres. So Westfield set about identifying the best examples of a collaborative use of shared mailboxes, establishing the key stages of the process and considering how best Regus could mirror these practices within an Office 365 environment.
Westfield produced a detailed analysis of its findings, comparing the email flows it had seen in each of the three centres. The key stages were identified as being 'first response', 'delegation', 'event scheduling' and 'archiving'. The final report provided a snap shot of what was currently happening in the centres and what challenges might exist to introducing a policy of one single shared mailbox per office. A system of email rules and colour categorisation was proposed to help users take ownership of messages and then delegate or escalate to their colleagues when necessary. A quick reference guide for users which would be laminated and placed under each keyboard was also designed.
"At Regus, we have our own internal IT resources but we sometimes call on the help of outside consultants like Westfield where specialist knowledge or a wider pool of experience is required. The team at Westfield are professional, knowledgeable and have been a pleasure to work with."