The start of a new chapter…

Ten years ago I sat with my father in our study searching for inspiration on a name for our new business venture. “Propertyserve sounds quite good, is it available?”

Last week was a week of reflection for the Propertyserve team as, following a decade of continuous growth, a sunny Monday in July saw us take the next step in our development – moving offices. Three key lessons have been learned this week. Firstly, the sheer amount of work involved in moving offices is all too easily underestimated. Secondly, the internet is incredibly fast when you have your own dedicated fibre optic connection direct to the exchange. Thirdly, BT are extremely annoying when you run a 24/7 helpdesk and they can’t offer you an exact time to divert phones…

Leaving the BT thing to one side, the move went well and there was no break in service to our clients. It also provided us with an opportunity to reflect on the attributes of our business that have allowed us to come out of the recession bigger and stronger, as well as what we can do to improve and facilitate continued growth and ever-improving service delivery to our clients.

During a recent presentation for an industry award, my Managing Director and I were asked to state the one part of our business that makes us a success. We took one quick glance at each other before simultaneously spouting the word ‘people’. We can put as many processes and procedures in place as we like but when a receptionist calls to say that water is cascading into their reception area, the impression of us as a company is entirely in the hands of the people we employ and the contractors that we work with. By using the training we provide as their tools, we trust and empower our operators to portray a considerate, calming yet concerned approach to handling such situations.

The next important step is to ensure the problem is dealt with on site as quickly and professionally as possible with damage limitation to the property and its occupants as the primary concern. People are what make our business a success. One of the most rewarding elements for us as a management team is to see our people progress as we grow and use the knowledge they have gained to manage their own teams and come to us with ideas.

Looking to the future, we have an obligation to the people in our business to continue to improve, allowing them to continue their development and progression. We will continue to hold focus groups with our clients to identify how the system and service can work more effectively for them. We will get continue to develop relationships with our fabric repair partners to ensure we are delivering a first class service. We will continue to employ a high calibre of staff who we are proud to represent us as a business. We will strive to ensure that in an industry where helpdesks are generally acknowledged as unhelpful, we are the one company bucking the trend…

Ian Robertson, Director at Propertyserve UK