With a development programme set to deliver more than 2,500 homes over the next five years, Cross Keys Homes are committed to building quality, affordable homes that people want to live in throughout the east of England. That’s an approach that secured them the title of Development Programme of the Year at the 2018 UK Housing Awards. As a proud provider of affordable homes, they are also committed to providing excellent housing and landlord services to all their customers in existing homes. They offer a wide range of community support services, ranging from volunteering opportunities to regular work clubs, and actively encourage residents to have a say in the future of their communities.
In 2013 they established Cross Keys Care to deliver outstanding care in the community, designed to help people live independently at home for longer. Their LifeLine service offers peace of mind to anyone who needs it and for those who need a little more support, they have two extra care facilities in Peterborough as well as 27 retirement living schemes and five short-stay accommodation schemes for people facing homelessness.
After successfully adopting hybrid working post-pandemic, for the 200 employees across the head and satellite offices, Cross Keys Homes were looking to streamline their printing network, whilst still giving remote workers the access they needed. John Griffiths, Facilities, Health & Safety Manager, talked about the requirements to print across the company, “Whilst we have a strategy to reduce print as much as possible, there are areas of the business where we are still reliant, for example, case notes for neighbourhood managers, hand-over documentation for the development team and service user related documentation for our care provision teams and scheme managers. These personnel need to be able to retrieve their documentation as and when they need it. We had an estate of 54 printers and although we were roughly printing the same amount year on year since 2020, it was clear that some of the printers were under-utilised. We hoped that we could scale down the network using a print hub model to reduce the overall numbers.”
As part of the PfH framework, prior to the renewal of their existing lease, Toshiba contacted Cross Keys Homes with a view to auditing the estate and make recommendations to reduce costs. David Seymour, Business Development Manager, commented on the Toshiba approach, “It is critical for us to fully understand each customers individual requirements before recommending a print solution that will be a fit for their business. Cross Keys Homes had clear objectives to rationalise their estate and significantly lower annual costs, whilst giving their employees secure easy access to printing. They also wanted to engage all stakeholders within the organisation, so they could ensure that everyone’s needs were met.”
After a thorough audit and discovery phase the Toshiba team were able to recommend a reduction to 15 printers across the sites, with a massive annual saving on their existing contract of £100k. Employees would benefit from the latest high-speed print and scan technology, with access to devices at head office or a local hub, via secure fob authentication. Toshiba also put forward a detailed proof of concept for two machines to be trialled at head office, before a full roll out across the business. John spoke about how impressed the directors were with the Toshiba proposal, “When I took the call from Toshiba, I was expecting the hard sell which is so common in this environment, but their approach was so different. They took the time to engage and listen to what we wanted to do, coming up with ideas and recommendations. Our directors found the audit summary to be very clear and concise, and the option of a proof of concept offered no risk to us should we decide not to go ahead with the contract. Being part of the PfH framework had the added benefit to our finance team of a direct award, should we decide to proceed.”
Cross Keys Homes took the decision to progress with the Toshiba proof of concept, ensuring that all stakeholders had the opportunity to use, review and provide feedback on the devices. Following a successful period of trial, directors awarded Toshiba the managed print contract to be rolled out across all sites, and the Toshiba team worked with key personnel to ensure a seamless transition to the new technology.
High-speed Toshiba devices have now been installed across head office and key sites, allowing employees to securely print via follow me printing, what they need when they need it. Combined with PaperCut software, this gives the management team full visibility to see print volumes enabling them to track usage and potentially make decisions in the future to further manage costs. John concluded on the project, “We now have a fully managed print service that works perfectly for the requirements of our teams and has enabled us to save a staggering £100k per year. The Toshiba printers are easy to use, really quick to scan and print, and the software gives us a future proofed platform to look at additional cost reductions. The Toshiba team had the right approach from the start, listening, understanding and have been helpful, open and professional throughout the whole process. The proof of concept was a bit of a game changer, allowing us to trial the kit, but with no risk to the business and it made the installation phase as seamless as it possibly could be. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the products and the whole Toshiba team to anyone looking to renew their MPS.”
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