This small, busy law firm was experiencing poor service and high costs in their self-staffed office services center.  They considered looking at outsourcing this function.  But as a small firm, they valued their “family atmosphere”, and were concerned about the ability of a service provider to assimilate well into their culture. 

They were sending too many jobs out for copying and finishing, raising confidentiality concerns and paying more than they should for simple jobs.  Mistakes on behalf of the vendors resulted in wasted , “mission-critical” time.  In-house black-and-white jobs were being done on desktop printers, resulting in high consumables costs, and heavy-duty print cycles on light-duty printers.  The firm was relying on secretaries for mail room duties and they weren’t well versed in efficient and cost-effective shipping methods.

They knew a professional outsourcer could streamline things for them.  But as a small firm, would it be cost effective?  And would the people fit in?

This client had heard of ARO and called us in to discuss their challenges.  After meeting with us, they felt confident that we would improve efficiency, lower costs, and fit in with their “small-firm” atmosphere.

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

ARO’s analysis discovered many areas for improvement, such as:

• Large copy jobs were being sent to outside vendors, which was costly, time-consuming and prone to problems.  Using outside vendors was also a confientiality issue, as it always is for legal work
• Many of the client’s off-site vendors classified simple copy/print jobs at a more complex level and pricing schedule.  There was no consistent pricing for work done off-site
• The firm did too much printing on high-cost, low-volume desk-top printers
• As a small firm, access to national pricing for office equipment and supplies was unavailable to them
• Poor processes and lack of documentation lead to undue time being spent on simple tasks, such as faxing or producing basic copies
• Lack of cross-training resulted in occasional reliance on untrained temps
• No reporting was available on job volumes and costs

The client was looking forward to having solutions in place to address these issues, but had trepidation about outsourcing.  “Fitting in” was as big an issue to them as their other current problems.

ARO/Customer Solution: 

One of the first things we did was to conduct “CTQ” (Critical to Quality) meetings with the firm’s administrators and partners.  This was a time for getting to know the client, their culture, and  their specific needs.  Among other things, we wanted to establish expectations such as: hours of operation, mail-run schedules, daily task schedules… guidelines for virtually every duty to be performed by ARO’s staff on behalf of the client.

ARO spent a great deal of time with the customer, mutually establishing how the new office services function would work, and detailing the duties we would be responsible for which are:

• Install, and use going forward, two mid-volume production network printers to eliminate the reliance on small-volume, high-cost desktop printers
• Install, and use going forward, off-line bindery/finishing equipment to improve the level of service and reduce costs.
• Bring all copy/print work in-house to reduce costs, improve quality and turn-around times, and ensure document security
• Manage incoming and outgoing mail, shipping and faxing, saving costs wherever possible
• Manage supplies, ordering for maximum savings, maintain supplies storage area
• Provide records management support, including creation of DVD’s
• Provide hospitality services including conference room set up/clean up
• Produce standardized reporting on production, quality, and cost savings data for all above areas

We agreed that ARO would staff all of these functions, and the client couldn’t be happier with how our employees work within the established culture, while going the “extra mile” to ensure quality in all of their duties.  Every client is different, so it is critical to get to know a firm’s culture and expectations prior to installation.  ARO works very hard to recruit employees who, not only have the proper level of skills and experience, but also match the personalities and philosophies of the customers we serve.

One goal we established with the client at the outset, was to send out almost NO copy/print/bind/finish jobs.  The client has now come to rely on, and to trust ARO with this critical, confidential work.  Everything gets done right, on time, and at a lower cost than before.

Prior to ARO’s commencement of services the firm had no way to track basic volume activity, let alone cost saving measures, quality of service or value-add opportunities.  ARO worked with the customer to design the format, content, and frequency of standardized reporting on all of our contracted services. 

Taking all these extra steps prior to installation is a critical component of ARO’s success.  A seamless installation is important to the successful launch of a new partnership between ARO and each customer.  ARO prides itself on the time and resources we commit to the installation process.  This level of commitment to our customers prior to our first contracted day on-site lays the foundation for the long-term relationships we have with so many of our customers.

Case Study End Results: 

Our well-trained staff is getting work done faster, better and at a lower cost than ever before.  In fact, the client has been so happy with our partnership that they expanded our duties to include both managing the file room and scanning documents from closed files into a virtual storage system.  This computerized system reduces the firms’ reliance on off-site storage of documents, and the associated costs. 

One of ARO’s hallmarks is saving our clients money!  We “pull out all the stops” in looking for waste and inefficiency.  In just our first year, we managed to save this small firm thousands of dollars in areas ranging from office supplies to labor savings.  In our second year, we tripled their savings in supplies costs alone.  The firm is thrilled to be able to pass these cost savings along to their clients.

The lawyers have expressed to us that, due to our efficiency and professionalism in managing their basic office functions, they have more time to spend on their own clients.  In fact, shortly after implementation, one of the named partners asked, “How come you weren’t here [providing services] on the day we opened the firm?”            

We work hard to fit in to each individual customer’s culture.  This customer is delighted with the way our staff integrated into their environment, while exceeding their expectations.  ARO is “like family” to them, which is just how they wanted it.

This national paper manufacturer had a contract with a large outsourcing company to manage some of their central office functions.  Among the contracted services were: mailroom and shipping, legal copy/print center and payroll/check distribution.  With no warning, the incumbent provider decided to exit the customer’s geographic region and sent a letter of contract cancellation to the customer.  The company had less than 30 days to get a solution in place.  Having experienced ARO’s exceptional service at one of their other offices, they turned to us for help.

ARO understood the urgency of this challenge – the client needed immediate response to their problem.  ARO’s expert personnel promptly flew out to meet with the customer.  We presented ideas for improving the department, right-sizing the contracted headcount, maintaining most of the current employee base (it was important to the customer to keep the existing employees) and analyzing where cost savings might be accomplished.

ARO approached the business professionally and with sound ideas for cost savings, process improvements and employee support.  In less than three weeks, we had a contract in place.  The client was able to keep the people they wanted, have them managed professionally, and save substantial money. 

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

ARO’s expert analysts quickly identified many areas where efficiency could be improved, and costs cut.  Among them were:

Contractual: The customer had to find a solution quickly when they received the cancellation notice from their vendor.  They wanted a true relationship with a vendor who would react flexibly to their changing needs and value their business over the long term. 

Financial:  The outgoing vendor hadn’t focused on keeping the client’s costs down.  We worked with the client to establish a five-figure savings goal in the the first year.

Staff and Training: The previous vendor’s staff was supported poorly by the incumbent outsourcer.  There was little effort to support the on-site team’s ideas for improvement, provide value-added services, or promote existing services.  The client was pleased with the current staff, but they also felt that head-count could be reduced without affecting the level of service.

The customer valued these employees, and the work they provided, but they were frustrated by lack of management support from the exiting vendor.  They were experiencing relatively high turnover and the previous vendor relied for weeks (or even months) on poorly-trained temporary personnel to provide coverage.

Management: The outgoing vendor’s off-site management was often unavailable to the staff, forcing them to do the best they could with whatever resources and information they had available to them.

Procedural: Many processes were manual and highly inefficient.  For example, incoming mail was tracked using paper logs.  When a packaged needed to be traced internally, it was a labor-intensive process to sort through pages and pages of logs to determine who had signed for the package, and when they signed for it.

Internal Marketing: ARO found that the previous service provider did little to assist their on-site staff with internal marketing efforts.  Some clients were unaware that an office services center even existed, much less what the center could do for them.

ARO/Customer Solution: 

Contractual: ARO worked with the customer to develop a flexible, easy-to-navigate contract which met the customer’s needs for a changing business environment.  The customer quickly came to realize how willing ARO is to adapt and adjust everything from headcount to service level agreements.

Financial: In the first year on site ARO exceeded the targeted savings goal by over 30%!  Some of the areas where we produced cost savings include:  reducing the initial headcount to meet existing service levels and volumes, consolidating external courier runs, and replacing third-party couriers and other service providers with lower cost, higher quality alternatives.

The client was originally thrilled with our five-figure savings target, but even happier when our results exceeded it.  ARO is committed to identifying cost savings initiatives for all clients and implementing solutions hand-in-hand with our customers.

Staff and Training: We hired most of the prior vendor’s staff, and gave them a welcoming orientation to ARO.  They were very pleased with ARO’s National Standards Orientation Training, and the career potential ARO provides.  These employees realized that ARO’s management listens to their staff, supports them, and implements their ideas where appropriate.

ARO worked with the customer to design a far more effective and service-oriented approach to address recruiting needs when they occurred.  This eliminated the need for long reliance on untrained temps.

Management: ARO prides itself on making off-site management resources highly available to the on-site staff.  The on-site staff no longer has to go to the client for answers, freeing up the client’s time for their own job functions.  And, as the front-line staff, their improvement ideas are always taken into consideration by ARO’s management.  The staff feels well-trained and appreciated. 

Procedural: Using AROworks™, ARO’s Custom Administration Software Suite, we automated manual processes.  Package tracking is now an easy, on-line process.  By automating mailroom procedures, we greatly improved efficiency and accountability.  Today when a package is “lost”, ARO’s employees can track it down in minutes.  We can show on-line precisely who it was delivered to, when it was delivered, and a proof-of-delivery signature.  For more information on our innovative software, click on any of the AROworks™ links in this case study.

Internal Marketing: ARO hosted an orientation event in the client’s lobby during our first week as their managed services provider.  Tables were set up showcasing each area for which the mailroom was responsible.  While everyone knew the mailroom was responsible for ingoing and outgoing mail, they also provide other services.  With the mailroom in the basement, not everyone on the other five floors knew that these services were also available:

• Copy/print, from small to high volume jobs
• Binding and Finishing
• Overnight and Local Courier Management
• Mass Mailings and Fulfillment (i.e. stuffing envelopes for large mailings)
• Supplies Management
• Other duties as assigned and approved

Our signature rubber ducks were given away at the event which received rave reviews from the client.  Many employees learned that they could off-load tasks and projects to the mailroom, allowing them more time to focus on their own core functions.  We continue to host these well received open-house events.

Case Study End Results:

ARO and the client mutually established a large, hard-dollar savings goal during the first year.  We exceeded that goal by 30%.  In addition to reducing costs, automating many tasks increased efficiency and improved service. 

By off-loading more tasks to our trained team, the client’s personnel can now spend more time on their core responsibilites.  This is a direct result of our internal marketing efforts, resulting in soft-dollar savings by increasing productivity.

Our initial review of staffing revealed that the customer was correct in their assessment of staffing levels.  We reduced headcount by two, lowering administrative costs without reducing service.  We revisit the client’s needs on a regular basis, and adjust our flexible SLA as a result, if needed.  Our regular review of needs ensures the customer pays for no more than they need, while always receiving the excellent service we pride ourselves on providing.

Our dedication to our employees, exhibited by our training and career programs, greatly enhanced the morale of the mailroom staff, who consistently score very high on customer satisfaction surveys.  Our customer satisfaction reports, designed specifically to be fed by our service surveys, now provide much needed insight into areas of excellence – and, on occasion, areas where improvements could be made.  The client can see that ARO consistently meets and/or exceeds their expectations.  Our latest customer satisfaction score was 4.8 out of 5.

The client was looking for a service provider who would be a true partner, valuing the customer and the mailroom staff, while keeping an eye on service and costs.  They chose ARO and remain today very satisfied with the results.

ARO’s relationship with this client, an international food consumer-goods company, in collaboration with the client’s property management company, has been an ongoing success story.  For several years, ARO and the property management company had provided service to the client in three of the four buildings at their headquarters campus.

When the client began to remodel and restructure their fourth building, they also decided to model its new mailroom on the results achieved elsewhere by ARO.  ARO was asked to review their internally-staffed operation in that building and provide lower cost/higher efficiency mailroom options.

Working closely with the customer and our property management partner, we evaluated the existing workflow, staff efficiency, cost management, performance, communication practices and quality standards.  The analysis uncovered many cracks in the existing system.  We also discovered that ARO’s solutions at the other locations on this campus could work well at this site.

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

ARO’s on-site analysis quickly revealed two primary objectives: reduce costs and improve service.  The staff was not sufficiently managed to meet the growing needs of the organization and the lack of efficient, effective processes led to an over-staffing of the environment.  The client’s employees in this location felt their internal mail team had become complacent and lacked the necessary customer care to execute their tasks competently.  ARO found that the mailroom had essentially become a “self service” operation for its users who received little support from their own mailroom staff. 

Specifically, ARO found problems in the following areas:

Financial: The financial impact of the operation was apparent in the day-to-day operation itself.  The staff worked to “get things” out but spent little time or effort to determine the most cost effective resources available to them.  From simple scheduling to supplies and suppliers, the staff seemed content to do things “the way they’ve always been done”.

Staffing: The staff’s performance was simply inconsistent and ineffective.  In the event of back-up or additional labor requirements, the operation would work short-staffed or rely on temporary services.  Turnover was high and little or no training was given to new or temporary staff.  The lack of consistent, quality services was compounded by the fact that the staff was not cross trained across the different service areas.

Because the client was in a growth mode, they did not have the resources to sufficiently manage the department.  The lack of tracking and/or reporting of the mailroom activities led to significant discrepancies and some controversy over staffing requirements. Some users perceived the department as understaffed and “too busy,” while contrasting opinions were voiced by users who felt the staff was too large and too complacent for their needs.

Process: One of this customer’s largest concerns was the mailroom’s inability to monitor incoming packages on a daily basis. Despite the existence of dedicated mailroom staff, once packages were received into the building no one was held accountable for delivering them, or even knowing where they were.  This shortcoming caused frequent company-wide searches for parcels.

Quality Control: Performance measurements had never been identified, much less implemented. The staff had not been trained to observe any type of quality assurance program or to monitor overall end-user satisfaction.  There was no log of compliments or complaints.  Consequently, there was no way for management to hold the staff accountable for their performance despite numerous, repetitive mistakes.

Communications & Feedback Loop: There was no structured communication method to make sure the mailroom staff was current with the company’s changing requirements and no training program to keep them current with changes in the mail industry.  Therefore there were no means to implement client-requested changes or industry-mandated adjustments.  Finally, there was no activity volume reporting, so no one could really manage the operation or hold it accountable for overall performance.

In summary, ARO found the client’s mailroom to be an ineffectual operation run by indifferent employees.

ARO/Customer Solution:

After the initial analysis and findings, ARO identified and documented a number of opportunities to reduce the overall size of the support staff, improve existing processes and procedures, and reduce expenses. Through implementation of ARO’s services, the client was able to:

Reduce the number of on-site staff while increasing the scope of services managed.  ARO accomplished this through the successful completion of a major undertaking: the implementation of standardized procedures and computerized tracking of incoming materials.

Automate manual processes with technologies such as AROworks™, improving accountability, measurability and increasing service response. Implementation of the AROworks™ Package Tracking Module resolved the lost package issue. All incoming overnight and local courier parcels are now electronically logged and tracked upon receipt in the mailroom through a standardized, centralized system with electronic signature proof of delivery.  AROworks™ is ARO’s Custom Administration Software Suite, which consists of web-based software modules designed to track your outsourced department’s efficiency in every process from beginning to end.  Click on any of the AROworks™ links for more information on this innovative software. 

Optimize staffing. During the move (and later for special events and company functions) the client relied on ARO’s Strategic Support Team (SST) for short term additional labor support. The SST is ARO’s team of full-time, highly trained personnel whose primary role is customer support of an operation at a moment’s notice.

Report on activity volumes for analysis of staffing needs, equipment needs, and service levels.  ARO’s staff tracks all volumes and meets with the client on a quarterly basis to review if any adjustments need to be made to improve efficiencies due to changing volumes.  One of the first things this reporting uncovered was that the client was using a larger postage meter than necessary.  We reduced the client’s costs by recommending they use a smaller meter with a lower rental fee.

Case Study End Results:

Cost Savings: ARO documented a savings of over $120,000 in annual staffing costs as compared to the previous mailroom operation.

Customer Care & Performance: The client experienced a dramatic and consistent increase in customer satisfaction after having ARO take over the operation.  Just like ARO’s existing operations, ARO’s newly added 4th campus building quickly attained a customer satisfaction scoring level of “Excellence”.  They also enjoy a greater degree of customer care focus and much more flexibility with ARO proactively adjusting to day-to-day operations.

Measurability & Reporting: The client has gained increased, measurable accountability for their streamlined processes.

ARO’s turn-key management provided a comprehensive solution for managing the facility the way the client wanted – efficiently and at a much lower cost.

This international leader in the automotive industry is known for their inspiring efforts in the areas of diversity in the workplace, corporate social responsibility and the environment.  ARO was already staffing and managing many of their non-core functions in their central U.S. office including: copy center, mail room, shipping and receiving, supplies management, switchboard and intra-office courier.  When a new challenge came along, to organize and centralize a critical business function, the customer turned to ARO for the solution.   

This customer wanted to centralize the process of delivering MCO’s (Manufacturer Certificate of Origin) to their dealers.  MCO’s are similar to an automobile title and transfers ownership of the vehicle from to the dealer to end buyer.  A unique MCO is generated for every vehicle built and they are required to be printed and shipped within 15 days of the sale in order to transfer legal ownership to the buyer.  When the client approached ARO, MCO’s were being printed and sent out from 16 different regional offices across the US.  There was little control over how they were printed, the envelopes being used or the method of shipment.  The client wanted all MCO activity brought to their central office and organized for efficiency and cost reductions.

The client issued a very general RFP and invited ARO to bid on it.  ARO’s consulting services arm had previously designed, documented and implemented processes for this customer’s copy/print center, mailroom, switchboard, supplies management and intra-office courier.  So the client felt we could be a natural fit for this challenge. 

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

Certificates were being printed and shipped by each of the different 16 offices, each with their own procedures, none well documented.   Misprints and bad addresses were causing problems.  There was no process in place to track and solve problems.  Since these were legal documents, required to be shipped on time, this was a mission-critical process to the client, and they needed to get it under control.

ARO did a thorough analysis which included speaking with the stakeholders of the client company to gain feedback and determine goals, and visited on-site existing operations to study their processes. We spent a week documenting the process (something that had never been done before).  Our purpose was to break down the process into discrete steps and identify how it could be centralized and optimally organized.  Once on site, ARO’s consultants found the following:

No standardization of processes among the 16 different regional offices:

• No instructions were available.
• There was no logging of inventory, errors, or amounts shipped.
• The lack of logs made it difficult for the national manager to know what problems were occurring or give accurate turn-around-time estimates.
• MCO’s and invoices needed to be matched for control, but were frequently out of order, wasting time in the matching process.
• The one control report the client did have turned out to be inaccurate.
• No procedures were in place for handling and tracking problem calls and emails.

No standardization of printers and no maintenance contracts:

• Not only were there different printers in use, they required varying operating systems.
• There were no maintenance contracts on the printers.  When they broke down, there was no standard response time, and service costs were high.

Shipping Issues:

• The client always shipped to the address on the invoice, but that wasn’t always the correct one.
• Each regional office used its own shipping methods.
• Within regional offices, shipping methods weren’t always standardized.
• A review of the envelopes revealed the design violated some United States Postal Service (USPS) rules, causing a high number of returned mail pieces.
• Database inaccuracies were causing documents to be sent to the wrong address.

Lack of personnel structure and training:

• No instruction manuals were available.
• Only 2 hours of training was given to personnel responsible for this duty.
• No one was dedicated to this function.  Employees with other primary duties were attempting to fit this into their day.
• Management had a lack of understanding regarding the complexity of the process causing them to short-staff it.

ARO/Customer Solution: 

ARO found that the customer’s problems basically fell into four solution categories: centralization and standardization, cost containment and tracking, error reduction, and end-customer service improvement.

We brought the MCO function into the client’s main office, centralizing and standardizing:

• Printers
• Stock and supplies
• Shipping preparation
• Shipping methods
• Point of origin
• Supervision and staff

We controlled costs by:

• Creating visibility into costs with regular reporting
• Ordering supplies in larger quantities, and shipping to one location
• Repurposing printers, rather than buying new ones
• Implementing printer service contracts

We reduced errors by:

• Improving training
• Creating work process manuals
• Cleaning up the address database
• Standardizing printers and operating systems
• Designing new envelopes to USPS standards

We increased service to the client’s end-customer by:

• Hiring and thoroughly training a dedicated staff
• Implementing logs to track who handled which MCO, and how it was shipped
• Shipping, whenever cost-effective, via FedEx to provide tracking numbers
• Monitoring and reporting to management, problems reported by customers via phone and/or email

Case Study End Results:

In the last two years, ARO’s management of this process has saved the customer well over $500,000 by, among other things:

• Reducing headcount
• Working with the client’s branding department to redesign envelopes so they could be produced at a lower cost
• Implementing inventory controls
• Ordering printed stock directly from the printer, eliminating the middle-man.

In addition, new reports gave the client better control, and the ability to forecast budgets for this area.  Process efficiency and accountability increased noticeably to all the parties served.  Accountable staff and package tracking reporting eased problem solving and communication with the client’s dealers.

Today ARO effectively manages this critical process with a documented 99.998% year-over-year accuracy rate.  The client’s Facilities Manager received a great deal of recognition from colleagues at all levels of the company for how well this function now runs.  Instead of 16 locations, it’s all in one.  The dedicated staff is well trained.  Processes and procedures are efficient and properly documented.  Shipping costs are down.  Activity and costs are logged and reported on.  What was once both a nightmare, and a legal exposure, is now a routine, largely error free process.

A trade show promotional item, a rubber duck, sparked significant operational change and cost savings for one ARO customer.  ARO’s signature rubber ducks are a play on our claim to “get all our clients’ ducks in A-R-O”.   On this occasion an ARO duck ended up in the hands of the Director of Operations & Property Management of a national marketing services company.

Her administrative support services departments were out of control.   Basic support functions such as copy/print; US Mail, overnight, and local courier management; supplies management; and other basic support functions were at best ineffective, at worst, a significant drain on the company’s resources and overall morale.

She was overwhelmed by the amount of problems that an incumbent services provider was causing: from a lack of reporting, to skyrocketing costs, from poor results to low overall morale.  Even worse, when the incumbent vendor was acquired by a property management firm the focus was mostly on physical plant management, not on services management.  Quite simply, on-site managed services were not core functions of the property management company.  As a result her own company and its employees were subjected to extremely high costs, lack of accountability and a vast array of other issues.  The final straw came when the incumbent vendor requested a contract termination in order to get re-hired as a new entity at higher unionized labor rates.

Her problems were following her home.  One night she suddenly realized she might be holding a solution in her hands as she bathed her toddler who was playing with an ARO duck.

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

The customer had recently acquired eight new locations scattered in seven different states.  The vendor in charge of overseeing these locations had little experience in labor management which caused problems in several mission critical areas identified by ARO during the program design phase:

Financial:  The incumbent vendor demonstrated no effort or commitment towards cost reduction.  Their invoices had no detail of the work completed or the cost of services.  The customer had no way to gauge the accuracy of the amounts charged.  And, a review of the market place revealed that the vendor’s rates far exceeded those of the current market place.

Program Management: The incumbent property management firm had acquired the prior vendor’s employees, who retained their original positions, duties, and overall compensation.  Yet there was no overall effort to welcome, orient or motivate them to their new employer.  As a result the employees felt abandoned and detached, causing attitude problems that were already aggravated by the fact that many felt they were stagnant in their positions with no hope for career advancement.  They became complacent and did the minimum necessary to get by. 

The Workspace Itself:  The physical work space itself was poorly laid out and as a result larger than necessary and generally inefficient.  For example, skids of paper were often delivered through common areas and cases of shipping supplies were kept on hand just to be sure “we don’t run out”.  Work areas were cluttered with personal effects, loud music blared, and despite high expenditures in general office supplies, nothing was ever on hand when it was needed.

Communication and Reporting:  Quite simply, there was no communication or reporting.   The vendor did not provide any sort of regular or ad hoc reports or updates on the operations or how to improve them.  There was no effort to provide status updates, cost savings data, or process initiatives.  All of this kept the client guessing as to what was being done, whether it was being done at all, and how much it all cost her.

(Lack of) Customer Service:  The staff received no management or direction with regard to a critical component of their overall job function:  customer service.  The vendor simply accounted for having ‘bodies’ on site with no regard to training, relationship building, providing added value to serviced areas or motivating the department with any career focused long-term vision.  To compensate for all of this the customer hired its own managers to try to obtain some sort of accountability from each location.  This only added to an already high cost of the operation and resulted in the new managers themselves struggling with not having a structure or training standards to manage the employees. 

Poor Results:  The service areas consistently missed deadlines or used unnecessary resources because of a lack of overall management and accountability.  Many offices developed a ‘print shop mentality’ where they would automatically add 10% of product to all orders in case someone wanted an extra copy at the last minute.  In shipping and receiving, all packages were sent out overnight via priority delivery with no regard for delivery timeframes or how much those priority services might cost.   The employee base had no faith in the administrative support function.

ARO/Customer Solution: 

Control Costs:  From the first day under contract, ARO demonstrated a commitment to cost containment and cost savings.   ARO worked with the customer to right-size the staff to meet the actual demands of the environment through reductions, reallocations, and reassignments.  All staff then received – and continues to receive – training to identify, implement, and document cost savings.

Staff Management:  ARO worked hard to make our new employees feel appreciated and to give them career options they wouldn’t have had through their previous employer.  At the most basic level this included cross training which many of the affected employees had never done.  Suddenly the mail center could support the copy center (and vice versa), all for the benefit of the client.  Employees went from “That’s not my job” to “How can I help you?”

Reorganization and Redesign:  One of the first things ARO addressed with the customer was the work environment itself.  The office service centers were redesigned to project a highly professional, organized and efficient image.  Beyond the aesthetics of the redesign, careful attention was paid to workflow.  In the new streamlined production environments, turnaround times improved and errors dropped.  Wherever possible ARO combined mail, copy/print and supply storage departments into one centralized area.  The efficiency of grouping these areas together made the department easy to find, accessible and inviting in its presentation for the end users.

Quality of Services:  ARO’s employees are taught from their first day of employment that their function, first and foremost, is customer service.  ARO worked with the customer to develop a schedule for customer satisfaction ratings tools.  These included surveys attached to every job and broader questionnaires that sought greater detail on the level of services provided.

Standardized Procedures:  ARO evaluated processes and streamlined them to increase efficiencies at all eight offices.  We created detailed instruction guides to provide the clients’ own employees with a reference to the services available to them on a local and a national scale.  These service guides also benefitted ARO’s employees.  They are available online for the on-site team to use as a hands-on reference and training guide.

Reporting:  One of ARO’s hallmarks is consistent, meaningful reporting on a scheduled and ad hoc basis.  This case was no exception.  ARO and the customer worked together to implement a reporting schedule, format and content designed specifically to capture costs and work volumes produced in mail services, production minutes, number of facilities calls, outgoing and incoming packages and mail, postage expenditures, and other service areas.  The standardized procedures detailed in the service guides were designed to feed easily and effortlessly into these new reports.   

ARO provides standardized as well as customized reporting capabilities to all of its clients.  Through this they are able to gain greater control and knowledge of their operation, and work in partnership with ARO in achieving the results they desire.

Case Study End Results:

Staff Management: Thanks to overall program management, cross training and staff reallocations, ARO was able to take on additional services without adding additional staff or their associated costs.   Some of the value added services included hospitality services, light office moves and conference room set ups.  Taken together these efforts allowed ARO to reduce the clients’ workforce cost by over 30%.  In addition the ARO staff was significantly more motivated and proactive given the career opportunities, training, communication and supervision of the ARO management team.

Quality and Standardized Procedures: Standardized procedures implemented by ARO decreased errors and turn-around time.  The strategic location of the new space also allowed for faster and more efficient deliveries and pick-ups.  After rearranging the physical space to adapt to the sequence of each process ARO was also able to give back unused space to the client for repurposing.

Reports:  Like clockwork, the client receives standardized and customized reports on a client-determined daily, weekly, monthly or requested ad-hoc basis that tracks such things as volume activity, job tracking, cost savings, customer satisfaction and anything else desired.  ARO’s reporting structure has helped the client visualize the ROI of their support departments and reduce overall operations costs while increasing quality through procedure monitoring.

The Bottom Line: ARO’s efforts saved this client $95,000 in the first year alone.  We lowered their costs, added services and greatly increased their satisfaction with administrative services support.  How can ARO help you?

ARO has provided on-site managed services in multiple locations across the United States for over fifteen years to this prestigious global professional services firm.  The client is nationally recognized as one of the top organizations for women in executive management positions among other national and international recognitions and awards.

In this particular case the customer’s need was very specific: they were selling two office practices in two different cities to two separate entities and needed to close those offices and transfer the appropriate files to the new buyers.  One of those offices was on the United States mainland, the other not.  By the time ARO was contacted, the sale was signed off, and a delivery date was already established.  The client could not provide a precise break down of the volumes of files in either location but the delivery date was set and ARO would have to work within the timeframe mandated by the client regardless of the volumes involved.

Customer Needs & ARO Findings:

Since the practices sold were of a consulting nature, the customer was legally required to keep all hard copies of their original files for many years.  The new practice owners also required the same documentation.  Since ARO already had many years’ experience supplying office support to this client, they naturally turned to us to help them figure out how to get this done.

ARO proposed digitizing all hard copies of the files and organizing them in a virtual filing system to avoid the burden of heavy paper copies that could easily get damaged or misfiled.  The client enthusiastically agreed.  ARO was asked to generate digital copies of three years’ worth of files for the new practice owners.  The client also wanted some of their older files scanned, boxed and shipped to storage.  For the first office this meant carefully reviewing and organizing 10 years’ worth of files.  For the second office, it was 50 years’ worth.

The timeframes were extremely tight.  ARO had five consecutive days to complete the first office and seven consecutive days to complete the second office.  These timeframes were based on the clients’ agreement with their buyers and as such they could not be extended for any reason.  ARO did not have an opportunity to review the files before the project began—there simply was not enough time

The two sites were over 3,000 miles apart from each other.  In order to keep centralized communication and oversight, standardize procedures and in general to contain costs, ARO assigned one project manager for both projects.  ARO’s project manager had worked on site in the client’s offices for almost ten years.  He had considerable direct experience with the customer and their files which proved to play a vital role in the successful completion of this project.

Upon arrival in each city, our project manager completed a walk-through at each site to evaluate the available space and physical areas where the equipment for the project was to be set up.  His initial walk through also required a careful yet rapid calculation of the amount of labor and equipment that would be required to complete the project in both locations.

ARO/Customer Solution:

This project was an exercise in speed, efficiency and organization. Although the client had some data relating to the volume of files in the first location, projected volumes provided by the client for the second location were underestimated by as much as 45%.  Despite the unexpected increase in volume, the deadlines for both cities were fixed and could not be changed.

ARO’s challenge in the second location was to outline a means to double the production with the limited amount of  physical space and scanners available.  Placing and utilizing more equipment was out of the question because of the extreme inaccessibility of the site’s location and the narrowing window for completion.  ARO, with the client’s approval, went to operating staff on two shifts - almost sixteen hours per day – to get the job completed in a timely manner without sacrificing the quality of the handling of the valuable hard copies.

Decisions and adjustments had to be justified and then implemented with full communication and approval of the client in less than forty-eight hours. Both projects were run for sequential days through the weekend.  ARO brought a dedicated project manager to this undertaking, who obtained the right staff, trained them extremely quickly, and got the job done on time.

Case Study End Results:

Immediate responsiveness:  ARO, at the request of the client, generated an initial project scope, project timeline and cost, and ramped up production within five days.  As the project evolved once ARO was on site, ARO provided the customer with ongoing revisions to the required labor and equipment resources, project timeline, and cost. 

Executive level skill and service:  ARO assigned one dedicated project manager to the task for both locations.  He personally planned, followed through and directly managed the project in both locations to assure proper training, supervision and quality for the job.  His experience and his active involvement provided the client with the assurance they needed that ARO could manage this project through to completion, on time, and without sacrificing quality.

Flexibility and speed:  Quickly configuring and ramping up a high production operation in two remote locations was the true heart of this project.  Fast-paced decisions were required to rapidly evaluate accuracy of tasks and revise as necessary the procedures to be followed.  ARO had to be nimble and focused: expediting shipments, moving and training personnel, solving problems as they came up and keeping the team and client informed of the project status.  This allowed the project to be completed in record time given the amount of work required.

Conclusion:  Despite a very tight deadline and a major change in the originally estimated volume requirements, ARO’s project management experience, ability to rapidly and flexibly respond to changes, and our practice of constant communication throughout projects, resulted in the job being done well, and on time.