SPECIAL FEATURE: Helping conveyancers get ahead with call-handling – Moneypenny

SPECIAL FEATURE: Moneypenny has written an article on the subject of Helping conveyancers get ahead with call-handling.

With the last two years being some of the busiest on record, the conveyancing industry has been feeling the pinch. Working long hours and managing heavy caseloads – conveyancers are simply trying to get the job done, while simultaneously reassuring increasingly anxious clients and providing the care they expect.

It’s no easy feat and even though the property market is forecasted to cool, conveyancers are still incredibly busy. One of the biggest trends we’ve seen over the last year is that call durations are increasing – largely as clients have more complex needs. We’ve also seen out of hours calls increase by 9% year-on-year which means conveyancers are increasingly starting the day with a ‘to do’ list of calls to return and action. Both factors will almost certainly add to the pressures they’re feeling.

For firms trying to get on the front foot with customer communications, it’s often the simplest measures and changes to call handling practices that can really add value – but it can also prompt some wider operational changes, in order to benefit the customer experience.

Here are four strategic considerations that can shape and improve the customer journey and the efficiency of your operations:

1. Managing expectations and offering signposts to information:

The main reasons people call conveyancers is for quotes and then subsequently updates about the progress of their case. Where client expectations are managed proactively, call volumes often reduce and customer satisfaction improves.

It pays to think about what information could be provided during your new client onboarding process to let them know how you work – this might include details of your call handling promise (we return all calls within 24 hours), signposting people to information on line that might help (perhaps explaining terminology, walking people through the buying and selling process as a whole, having downloadable forms) and how to log-in to your shared client portal. When clients are informed and know what to expect they feel empowered and valued. 

2. Ensuring empathy:

Buying and selling property is billed as the one of the most stressful events we can experience and with gazumping affecting  39% of sales during 2021, it’s easy to see why. Needless to say, calls to conveyancers are often from stressed, anxious and concerned clients. Actively listening and displaying empathy puts nervous, worried or vulnerable buyers and sellers at ease and can also offer valuable insights that can be used to shape future service delivery and the customer journey.  Empathy shapes client experience. It underpins how we connect with others and has the power to transform reputation.

Empathy can be shown by how well a call handler takes a detailed message and captures the nuance of a client’s needs, or from the conveyancer themselves as they really listen to a client’s concerns before explaining the next steps. The pandemic has changed the relationships we have with each other – our peers, colleagues, and clients – and it’s made real human connection more appreciated than ever.

3. Maximising expertise and improving the customer journey:

One of the biggest obstacles to efficiency is not maximising people’s expertise. A prime example is having premium skilled conveyancers chipping in to answer phones. In light of increasing call durations, this can be even more disruptive and damaging to productivity – not to mention staff retention. Make sure that your conveyancers are given the space to focus on their primary work by putting appropriate levels of resource in place for call handling. Call handling is an important skill in itself, so to guarantee empathy and consistent customer care, it needs to be delivered by those whose priority it is. If internal resource is lacking, outsourced support could be useful – especially for overflow and out of hours.

4. Thinking about efficiency more broadly:

Efficiency is far-reaching consideration. While it certainly includes handling client enquiries promptly, it should also include a wider look at how efficiency is built into the client journey as a whole. Where can processes be streamlined and pain-points identified? Is there a firm-wide view on which issues require call-backs and which can be dealt with by front-line call staff? 

For example, if clients call with questions about how to fill a form in, could call handlers have some FAQs and answers at their disposal instead of it needing the input of a conveyancer? Could front-line reception staff take responsibility for managing ID checks and recording the information, instead of involving a conveyancer. Perhaps you could even use outsourced support to help with outbound calls in order to speed up gathering information and anticipating questions.

Within this, it can be useful to consider the other communications channels at your disposal too – could websites work harder to answer questions and collate information? Tools such as live chat can help to keep volume away from the phones will still triaging enquiries in real time. The broader the view of your operations and efficiency, the better your approach to customer care will be.

When outsourcing makes sense

The conveyancing sector is experiencing the perfect storm of issues – high demand for its expertise and serious staff recruitment and retention challenges. Set against this backdrop, it’s no easy feat to ensure the most efficient and positive client journey. For conveyancers keen to really ride the wave, it’s crucial to recognise that how every call is answered marks the start of the client journey and that every call thereafter is an opportunity to make that client feel valued. 

Most firms don’t have adequate in-house resource to make client handling a truly strategic consideration and it’s one of the reasons why outsourcing is so effective. Whether it’s outsourcing all call handling or simply to provide overflow or out of hours support, it provides the most efficient way to ensure the very highest calibre caller experience and to leave your conveyancers to do what they do best.

Bernadette Bennet (Credit: Ginger Pixie Photography)

Written by Bernadette Bennett, head of the legal sector at leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny, which handles more than 2 million legal calls and live chats each year for more than 1,000 legal firms in the UK, including 60 of the Top 200, thanks to its dedicated team of 60 legal Pas.

Kindly shared by Moneypenny

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay