Aspire Housing Builds Digital Workplace with 8×8 to Stay Ahead of Evolving Colleague and Customer Needs

Housing Association Group Deploys 8×8 to Provide Enriched Services to Customers and Equip Employees to Operate from Anywhere on a Single Global Cloud-based Platform

8×8, Inc., a leading integrated cloud communications platform provider, announced that housing association group, Aspire Housing, has deployed 8×8 X Series to create an agile workplace for its employees, and to continue providing customers with vital support.

Aspire Housing, which manages around 9,000 homes in Staffordshire and Cheshire, recognised that its outdated PBX and contact centre systems were limiting its ability to offer colleagues a more agile and flexible workplace. The housing provider required a cloud-based communications solution that could meet their compliance and infrastructure demands of today, and help meet the changing needs of the community and customers it serves into the future.

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With expert guidance from Alysium Consulting, Aspire formed a partnership with 8×8 and Social Telecoms CIC, the number one ranked supplier on the PfH Telecommunications Framework, Aspire selected the 8×8 Open Communications Platform™. Investing in a powerful combination of voice, team chat, meetings, and contact centre solutions, all fueled by shared intelligent services like AI-driven expert routing and predictive analytics, enabled Aspire to create a cloud-first digital workplace.

With the project underway earlier in the year, Aspire was able to quickly transition its colleagues to working from the safety of their homes in response to the global health crisis. The solution was rolled out faster than anticipated – moving overnight from desk phones to softphones to support remote working with little or no training needed. Since the initial solution deployment, engagement has increased by 10 percent, while communication with customers has been effectively streamlined.

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The creation of Aspire’s digital workplace will future-proof operations, and allow them to adapt their services to address a wider set of requirements for both colleagues and customers. Thanks to 8×8 Contact Centre, agents can now handle customer calls and chats remotely, as well as communicate and collaborate with colleagues through a single platform. Phase two of deployment will focus on rolling out a number of advanced, AI-assisted self-service features, such as chatbots and SMS messaging, to enhance customer communications.

“We made the decision to embrace our Cloud-First strategy late last year for many reasons, from creating a more agile workplace to using data analytics to open up more opportunities for our community,” shares Grant Sharman, Group Director of Information and Innovation at Aspire Housing.

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“Partnering with 8×8, Alysium Consulting and Social Telecoms has enabled us to streamline and consolidate our communications systems and processes onto a single platform, capture deeper customer insights using 8×8 Speech Analytics, and offer a more flexible working environment for our contact centre colleagues. Through collaborative remote partnership working, we were able to prioritise the safety of our colleagues as an immediate response to the Covid pandemic, creating and implementing a solution that’s transformed the way we’re able to support customers. We look forward to continuing our digital transformation with the help of 8×8 and our partners.”

Jamie Snaddon, Managing Director, EMEA at 8×8 said, “We’re delighted to be working with Aspire Housing to help them execute their digital workplace strategy and enable them to operate from anywhere, while at the same time enrich customer services. The service they provide is truly inspirational and we look forward to helping them enrich the lives of community members.”

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