Remote Working: Bridging the Communications Gap

CLAN Cancer Support is a well-established charity providing emotional and practical support to people affected by cancer across north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. The charity offers a relaxed, welcoming and caring environment both at CLAN House, its purpose-built support and wellbeing centre in Aberdeen, and within additional community bases.

Over the last 35 years, CLAN has developed specialist knowledge and understanding of how a diagnosis of cancer impacts not only on the person diagnosed but their wider circle of family and friends. Their range of person-centred services are delivered using qualified and experienced counsellors and therapists and support volunteers focused on the general wellbeing of  clients.

 Challenges

With 26 members of CLAN staff relying on mobile phone technology, many working in remote areas including Orkney and Shetland, it was often a challenge to guarantee a strong signal. As CLAN’s contracts approached renewal, James Will, Facilities Manager was recommended to include GoodCall in his tender list.

James said, “We have a core team of staff who rely very heavily on their phones from the senior management team based in Aberdeen to our area managers, as well as our child and family services team who are out visiting schools and homes.  Many are working remotely and in areas not typically associated with a strong signal, like Orkney, Shetland and parts of Deeside so we were keen to give them the very best support to allow them to get on with their jobs, which are tough enough without their phones breaking up during important conversations or web-based working.”

 Assessment and Recommendation

GoodCall examined CLAN’s data usage and carried out significant analysis which included a thorough audit of CLAN’s usage, and from this, GoodCall were able to identify all costs allowing then to create the right tariff for their future needs, providing enough room for growth without over committing to unnecessary costs.

James said, “GoodCall came back with a very comprehensive report on what we actually used over the last six months but also what we needed going forwards – their report and analysis was without doubt the most detailed we received from everyone on our tender list. They totally understood that it’s not as simple as just moving us to one service provider, as we work in some very remote areas. They looked at that finer detail and were the only organisation to do that.”

As a result, GoodCall provided 26 new handsets with lines connected in September 2019.  Now, through two different suppliers, staff can enjoy the very best signal regardless of where and how they work.

The Benefits

Switching to GoodCall has saved CLAN over £2000.

James continued, “We have made significant savings through GoodCall and of course, the fact they’re a social enterprise who don’t make any profit from their operations makes a huge difference to us. Essentially, 100% of the savings come back to us, meaning we can reinvest them back into our core business, providing the very best, tailored cancer support services for those who need them while also supporting our staff as best we can.

“We’ve also been impressed that they don’t just do the job and disappear once the contract’s signed. Any time I phone or email, they’re very responsive – their ongoing customer service has been excellent, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to other charities.”

You can read more about the work of CLAN Cancer Support and the services they provide on their website.