Parker & Associates is a 12-person recruitment agency in Leeds. They specialise in placing finance professionals — accountants, CFOs, financial controllers. Their business runs on phone calls.
In January 2026, they switched from a traditional BT phone system to DialPhone. By June, their placement rate had doubled.
Here is what changed and why.
Before: The Old System
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly phone cost | £890 |
| Recruiters | 8 |
| Admin/support | 4 |
| Calls per recruiter per day | 45 |
| Answer rate (inbound) | 61% |
| Calls logged in CRM (Bullhorn) | 35% (manual) |
| Mobile access | None (desk phones only) |
| Placements per month | 6-8 |
The core problem: recruiters spend 40% of their day on the phone. With desk-only phones, every client meeting, lunch break, or bathroom visit meant missed calls. And with manual CRM logging, 65% of call activity was invisible to management.
The Switch
DialPhone deployment took one day:
- 8 softphone licences for recruiters (desktop + mobile app)
- 4 desk phones for admin team
- Bullhorn CRM integration activated
- Ring groups: sales team, admin team, management
- Call recording: all calls, 12-month retention
Monthly cost: 12 users × £24 = £288. Down from £890.
After: 6 Months of Data
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly phone cost | £890 | £288 | -68% |
| Answer rate (inbound) | 61% | 94% | +54% |
| Calls logged in Bullhorn | 35% | 100% | +186% |
| Calls per recruiter per day | 45 | 62 | +38% |
| Callback time (missed calls) | 3.2 hours | 12 minutes | -94% |
| Placements per month | 6-8 | 14-16 | +100% |
| Revenue per month | £42,000 | £98,000 | +133% |
What Caused the Doubling
Factor 1: Mobile App = Never Miss a Candidate Callback (+33% more answered calls)
Recruiters sent candidates to interviews. Candidates called back with updates from the interview car park. With desk phones, those calls went to voicemail. With the mobile app, recruiters answered instantly — while at lunch, in the car, at another client meeting.
The mobile app alone increased answer rate from 61% to 82%. Ring groups pushed it to 94%.
Factor 2: CRM Auto-Logging = Complete Pipeline Visibility (+186% logging)
Before: recruiter makes 45 calls. Logs 16 in Bullhorn. Manager sees 16 activities. 29 calls are invisible.
After: recruiter makes 62 calls. All 62 auto-logged with timestamp, duration, and recording link. Manager sees every interaction. Stalled candidates are flagged automatically.
The MD said: "For the first time, I can see what is actually happening in my business. We were leaving money on the table because we could not see the pipeline."
Factor 3: Click-to-Dial = More Calls Per Day (+38% outbound)
Old process: find number in Bullhorn, pick up phone, dial 11 digits, wait. Average time per dial: 45 seconds.
New process: click the number in Bullhorn. Call connects. Average time: 3 seconds.
42 seconds saved per call × 45 calls/day × 8 recruiters = 252 minutes/day saved. That is 4.2 hours of freed recruiter time — enough for 17 additional calls per recruiter per day.
Factor 4: Call Recording = Better Candidate Prep
Recruiters now re-listen to client briefing calls before sending candidates. They catch requirements they missed in their notes. Candidates are better prepared. Clients are happier. More placements.
The ROI
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly cost saving | £602 |
| Monthly revenue increase | £56,000 |
| Phone system annual cost | £3,456 |
| Annual revenue increase | £672,000 |
| ROI | 19,435% |
The phone system is the highest-ROI investment Parker & Associates has ever made. Not because DialPhone is magic — but because a reliable phone system with CRM integration and a working mobile app removes the friction that was silently killing their business.
