5 minute read
Dye & Durham’s Commitment to Serving the BC Legal Community Well
Andrew Putnam
Over the years, I’ve always welcomed opportunities to discuss and support my colleagues throughout the BC Notary Community on the everchanging landscape in which we work.
And, as we now emerge from the COVID pandemic, I’ve been reflecting on why I embrace this role so enthusiastically, a role that is part business-advisor, part coach, and part sounding-board. It comes down to two of my key principles • providing exceptional service, and • strengthening communities. From the time I spent as a boy helping customers at my family’s office-supply store through to 6 years’ operating in the Royal Canadian Navy, my focus has always been on serving people well. That has allowed me to develop a genuine appreciation for people’s aspirations and a commitment to finding ways of helping them break down their barriers to success.
In fact, I’ve always chosen to work at organizations that are as passionate about helping people succeed as I am. For instance, at DoProcess, I led a team whose sole purpose was to help legal professionals streamline their practices so they could serve their clients better. That shared commitment was felt throughout the company and led DoProcess to earn a 97 per cent customer-satisfaction score while handling more than 65,000 customer requests per year.
When Dye & Durham acquired DoProcess in 2020, there were some who were unsure whether an international, public, growthfocused company would be as focused on serving customers as much as DoProcess. It turns out, however, that providing relevant, timely, and personal customer service permeates all of Dye & Durham.
Constantly improving customer service and every customer’s experience is an essential part of the company’s balanced scorecard. That means everyone at Dye & Durham has some responsibility for ensuring customers are served well. There is recognition across all regions, departments, and groups that exceptional customer service is the lifeblood of any company that truly wants to lead. That means we only succeed when the people we serve are truly successful.
Now, I lead a team of more than 60 talented Dye & Durham professionals responsible for aligning customer service, customer training, customer
communications, and customer onboarding—all with the single goal of ensuring the success of every customer.
I find it personally and professionally rewarding to work closely with BC Notaries because of the passion they have in serving their customers. Whenever I meet with members of the BC Notaries Association, I’m inspired by their commitment to help people navigate through—what is arguably the most important financial transaction of their lives.
After all, buying and selling real estate is increasingly complex and the stakes are high for their customers. That means Notaries contend with tight timelines, rapidly evolving technologies, shifting regulations, and increasingly higher customer expectations for transparency, speed, and accuracy.
BC Notaries are truly on the frontline when it comes to facing the full range of emotions felt by their customers. Whether that’s joy, excitement, frustration, apprehension, or anger, Notaries must take it all in stride. As a result, they develop uniquely strong, meaningful connections with their customers. It is that special bond that makes BC Notaries so effective at helping their customers succeed.
I make it a priority to spend time with Notaries to keep up to date on how they work. My team and I are inspired when we transform their insights into product and service enhancements that will truly improve their work lives and the lives of their customers. For instance, listening extensively to Notaries, we’re investing millions of dollars to bring our flagship product, Unity, to BC.
Unity is the most comprehensive real estate conveyancing software available; it has been developed and will continue to evolve with the singular goal of making the dayto-day lives of legal support professionals, such as Notaries, better.
Our recent investment of $500,000,000 to acquire Telus Financial Services will enable us to seamlessly integrate payout statements, discharges, bill payment, and funds movement into Unity.
In essence, Unity keeps the Notary at the centre of the property buying and purchasing process. They become the ultimate facilitator, managing with ease the flood of sensitive and complex documents among all the relevant stakeholders. That translates into buyers and sellers who are fully informed and feel confident in the Notary—and the transaction itself.
I believe it’s critical to listen to the communities of legal professionals because it ensures we innovate in ways that matter most, and move forward together.
In that same spirit, Dye & Durham has proudly reinforced our commitment to Notaries with a new partnership that helps ensure the financial stability of the BC Notaries Association.
Strategic partnering is something that is deeply rooted in how we operate at Dye & Durham. As I see it, working closely with the community is essential when it comes to helping Notaries address their most pressing challenges, such as • dealing with the increasing complexity of transactions— while managing customers’ rapidly evolving expectations for work to be completed faster; • finding new and compelling services for their customers that comply with an ever-growing list of regulatory restrictions; and • finding ways to best present the profession so it sustains and builds on its strong reputation with colleagues, business partners, and customers. By working directly with BC Notaries, we’re helping to tackle all those challenges. By extension, we’re also fulfilling the everevolving needs of their customers, for example, BC residents buying and selling their homes—and supporting local communities in the process. At the same time, by helping legal professionals across Canada, we strengthen communities from coast to coast.
It is an exciting time for the Notary profession. At Dye & Durham, we consider ourselves fortunate to be working in such a dynamic sector. Our commitment to community and service means we will continue to succeed and certainly aligns with my core values. s For 20+ years, Andrew Putnam has optimized customer service, as Regional Account Manager at Teranet, National Sales Manager at DoProcess, and now as Vice President, Customer Success, Support and Growth at Dye & Durham.
