Recruitment specialists Austin Fraser enlist Sennheiser to provide headsets for office-wide revamp

Choosing Sennheiser has given Austin Fraser employees the freedom and flexibility to be truly mobile

Marlow, United Kingdom, 5th July 2016 – Sennheiser, a leading provider of premium headset and speakerphone solutions, has been chosen by Austin Fraser to supply a range of headsets to its office-based staff as part of a complete refit of the organisation.

Austin Fraser is a forward-thinking consultancy company recognised by ‘The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ for four years running. Based in Reading, with offices in Munich, Germany and Austin, Texas, USA, their specialist staff carry out technical recruitment within a range of sectors, including Engineering, IT and Life Sciences.

Sennheiser was selected as a partner due to the premium quality and reliability of its devices as a cost-effective alternative to its previous models, and importantly, due to the comfort and flexibility required by the recruitment team to carry out their jobs efficiently.

The Challenge:
Austin Fraser required contemporary headsets to replace its existing, outdated products, and which would complement a rollout of new Apple computers and equipment. As such, the devices would need to reflect the premium feel of the new equipment, but importantly offer a number of key benefits:

+ Wireless functionality - Following frustration with tangled cables and the restrictive nature of the previous wired models, which saw consultants being tied to desks, wireless models became a necessary requirement.

+ Effective noise cancellation - An office refurbishment, combined with a completely open plan office, meant the levels of background noise began to have a detrimental effect on both sales consultants, their clients and candidates. Strong and effective noise cancellation capabilities became a priority.

+ Premium user experience - Austin Fraser had recently replaced adding traditional PBX with a modern VoIP solution, and required ‘future proof’ desk equipment to offer consultants a premium user experience and allow them to move around freely.

Its ultimate aim was to improve the efficiency of its people and comfort when dealing with customers across a range of platforms without being desk bound.

The Solution:
Austin Fraser chose Sennheiser’s DW Office wireless DECT headset along with the MB Pro 1 Bluetooth headset. The headsets were primarily chosen for the high quality audio and wireless capabilities, allowing users to move anywhere in the office while on a call and keep their hands free to use the computer. Austin Fraser staff use headsets to call clients and candidates, which would include video calls through Skype or Google Hangouts, and also required something that offered clear and high quality audio for listening to videos such as webinars and online training programmes.

“The typical communication requirements for our office – taking job specs from clients, offering a hiring solution to managers and describing position details to candidates, all require attention to detail and therefore the audio quality of the headset is extremely important” said Karl Penhale, Consultant. “Sennheiser’s headsets certainly tick these boxes, and allow you to clearly hear what information is being relayed – they are light, reliable and very easy to use.”

Austin Fraser often speaks to contacts that are on the road or out of the office, and with their own office environment a factor, effective noise cancelling was important. Sennheiser’s headsets offer the latest in noise cancelling technology to filter out background noise and ensure audio quality is maintained.

Another key requirement was mobility. Many of Austin Fraser’s staff commented on the comfortable, flexible nature of the DW Office in allowing them to perform multiple tasks, some of which may be away from their desk, while remaining on the phone. Wireless freedom from the DW Office extends in a typical office to a radius of up to 55 meters, and up to 180 meters with line of sight. One consultant commented “you can walk anywhere within the office without compromising call quality or losing connection”. Combined with the lightweight, comfortable design, it represented the ideal solution for modern workers.

A key factor in this mobility, and one that was also praised by staff, is battery life. ‘Full day talk time’ of 8 hours, and up to 12 hours in narrowband sound mode, combines with fast charging that offers a recharge rate of 50% in just 20 minutes, making the DW Office a true ‘set and forget’ solution.

“Choosing Sennheiser has given Austin Fraser employees the freedom and flexibility to be truly mobile (transformational when coupled with our stand-up/sit-down desks) and to experience the premium quality of engineering and product design that the Sennheiser brand is known for” said Mitchell Bailey, IT Manager.

“Being on the phone is the lifeblood of our business and when we've experienced issues, Sennheiser have not let us down. The product support teams in Denmark and UK have been quick to help out and resolve some small set-up details we experienced post deployment.”

“Our staff and in particular our recruitment consultants love using their Sennheiser headsets. Clients who visit comment on the energy and activity they see in our office in part due to the freedom Sennheiser's wireless solution affords. I would consider Sennheiser to be one of, if not the most successful technology choice we've made in the past 2 years.”

Other comments from staff:
“Simply having a strong connection has enabled me to help manage my time on the telephone more effectively” – Natasha Teskey, Head of Internal Recruitment

“Being able to use a multitude of communication tools at once, such as 3CX, Hangouts and Skype, without having to change or switch inputs, is great” –Matthew Hollands, Desktop Support Analyst

“I’d recommend them simply for the solid performance and high quality of the audio” – Sam Walters, Senior Consultant

“The DW Office is excellent to use being very light, comfortable and reliable. You trust the product to fulfil the high expectations you expect from Sennheiser brand" – Lewis Hester, Consultant.

About Austin Fraser:
Austin Fraser provides a technical recruitment service for candidates and clients in the Engineering, IT and Life Sciences sectors, delivering a full 360 degree package to take the stress and headache out of hiring. It has been nominated for four years running in the ‘The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ list. It has grown rapidly from a two person operation to over 100 staff in over three countries, operating under one key ethos: “Bring in great people and offer them all of the tools, support and training they need to become truly excellent market specialists.”

The Sennheiser headsets:

DW Office USB
The DW Office USB is a premium wireless DECT headset with natural high-definition sound for superb clarity alongside dedicated technology to work with a softphone. Its noise-cancelling microphone makes it ideal for busy office environments where background noise can be a distraction, and includes an intuitive user interface with built-in call handling for full control when moving around an office.

MB Pro 1
The MB Pro 1 is a premium Bluetooth headset for business professional who demand the ultimate in wireless communication freedom. It offers seamless switching between Bluetooth devices from a single headset and is crafted to ensure all-day comfort. Advanced high definition sound delivers a more comfortable and natural sound experience with dedicated audio profiles for both communications and multimedia/music.

About Sennheiser:
Audio specialist Sennheiser is one of the world's leading manufacturers of headphones, microphones and wireless transmission systems. Based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, Sennheiser operates its own production facilities in Germany, Ireland and the USA and is active in more than 50 countries. With 19 sales subsidiaries and long-established trading partners, the company supplies innovative products and cutting-edge audio solutions that are optimally tailored to its customers' needs. Sennheiser is a family owned company that was founded in 1945 and which today has 2,750 employees around the world that share a passion for audio technology. Since 2013, Sennheiser has been managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, the third generation of the family to run the company. As part of the Sennheiser Group, the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S is specialized in wireless and wired headsets and speakerphones for contact centers, offices and Unified Communications environments as well as headsets for gaming and mobile devices. In 2015, the Sennheiser Group had sales totaling €682 million. www.sennheiser.com


For more information on our professional headset and speakerphone solutions, please visit

www.sennheiser.com/cco or contact:

Michelle Cross
The PR Room
Email: Michelle.cross@theprroom.co.uk
Tel: 0845 094 2902


[ENDS]