Balreed's accountability and service set precedent for international law firm

The expertise in litigation and dispute resolution have helped secure the status of this international law firm as one of the top 50 firms in the UK with a number of prestigious awards to its name. The firm’s clients include major organisations in the insurance, healthcare, construction, employment and rail sectors among others. In addition the firm have an active company and commercial practice specialising in dispute resolution, banking and finance, contracts, corporate recovery, property, procurement and regulation.

The Company
A previous recipient of the prestigious ‘Law Firm of the Year’ award, our client is one of the fastest growing firms in the country.

During the last 3 years the firm has experienced rapid change, establishing new operations and acquiring competitive businesses around the UK and managing an ever-increasing headcount.

Providing and maintaining an infrastructure to support the organisation through this growth continues to be an incredible challenge but one the firms Facilities Director has savoured meeting.

“Ours is a very agile firm, we’re not weighed down with bureaucracy, so although the change has been reasonably dramatic we’ve been able to provide a continuous quality of service to all staff across the firm.”

The Problem
“Three years ago we decided to rationalise all the London operations into a new building which is now our Head Office. Back then we had clear expectations of the quality and style of the working environment we wanted to establish for the firm, and as part of the project we investigated what the best infrastructure would be for staff to produce and manage documents.

“At the time we had over 300 printers and other devices across the firm, a ratio of almost 1 device to every member of staff which was simply unacceptable. The estate had developed organically at each of the individual offices and we decided it was the right time to take control of it nationally and manage it just as we do with any other shared infrastructure.

“We reviewed potential partners to work with. My priorities were that we have deliberately good quality equipment we could rely upon, that would deliver high performance and functionality. As we were to change the ratio of devices to staff maximising uptime and quality was going to be key, as was the quality of account management and service.

“I had previously worked with Balreed and had been very impressed with the quality of their service across the board. The technology they provide, their servicing and the support their account managers had provided had been excellent so I had no hesitation in relying on them to deliver what we needed for the new London site and all our requirements since.

The Solution
“The move to the new London office went very, very well. One of Balreed’s strengths is that they are very good at just getting things done. Once we agreed what devices we wanted that was it, the equipment was ordered quickly, set up, delivered and installed without a hitch. The installation itself was very smooth, since the equipment was pre-configured each device was up and running with full functionality including scanning on the day it was delivered.

“The training Balreed have provided to our staff has been very good. They have completed several days, rotating sessions with groups of staff at a time so that everyone has a chance to learn about the new equipment without disrupting the working day and feedback on the quality of training has been good.

“The Balreed service is very good, there’s no noise from staff and consumables are delivered just in time so we have them before the machine runs out. It stops us having to store them all on site, so provides us with quite a lot more space which in our city offices can be quite a saving.

“Since completing the opening we have expanded rapidly, opening 6 new offices. We’ve relied on Balreed throughout and through them we now have the same consistent quality of product and support across all our UK operations. Wherever our staff work they experience the same familiar equipment in a quality environment.

“We have a great relationship with Balreed. The key contacts we have, especially our account management, are very responsive and the attitude from Balreed is one of accountability. When any issues arise they immediately respond and fix it without debate or delay and that is crucial when I have a national estate to look after. Printing and copying is a significant expenditure for any large firm; with Balreed as our partner I’m confident we have the very best facilities in place.”