Parseq Case Study

Workspace to support a functional office for specific customer needs

Yorkshire based financial services organisation Parseq, operates on a national scale from its Head Office in Rotherham. However, its acquired credit control team operate as an independent function from the business and have their own operational office based at WorkWell’s Carrwood Park.

From its Leeds office the Parseq credit control team service one main customer – UK brewers, Asahi Group. Having worked with credit manager, Elaine Stevens, and her team in Leeds since 2008, Asahi were keen to retain them when they became part of Parseq.

Elaine and her team have always worked and lived in Leeds and, following the Parseq acquisition, felt relocation to the Head Office in Rotherham wasn’t right for them. If they were to retain their function at Parseq, they required an office close to Leeds from which to service their client.

Their customer, Asahi, was instrumental in retaining the team’s presence in Leeds. Over the last 14 years, Elaine and the credit control team have worked hard to build a strong, trust-based relationship with their client and staying in Leeds meant that relationship could continue.

Relocating to WorkWell in 2018 has ensured that Parseq’s credit control team have been able to continue delivering the high standard of client service that they are renowned for. Location, and the flexibility WorkWell provide, has proven invaluable to them over the years.

We talk here to credit manager, Elaine Stevens, about why office location is so important to them, how the credit control function operates within the organisation, the value of the team and its location to its customer and how WorkWell has helped support their ongoing function.

Location, and why it's important

"The happiness of the team is what our customer cares about"

When Elaine Stevens’s previous company was acquired by Parseq, part of the agreement to retain one of its most profitable clients, Asahi, was that she and her team, who at the time worked and lived in Leeds, would be provided with a separate office close to the city, rather than relocating to Parseq’s Head Office in Rotherham.

Location for Elaine and her team was incredibly important, it directly influenced their performance and impacted their overall job satisfaction.

Having established a strong working relationship with Elaine and her team, Asahi recognised the importance of a quality working environment and wanted to ensure they were settled and happy in how and where they were working.

Elaine said: “Asahi’s main concern is that they retain the team, that we are happy and delivering the same level of service. For Asahi, it’s the team that’s important, we could be based anywhere in the country - it just so happened that we were based in Leeds.

“For us as a team, we’ve always worked and lived in Leeds and a move to Rotherham would have been problematic. Asahi knew that and were incredibly supportive in helping us set up a functional office which works independently from the rest of the Parseq organisation.

Working as an independent function to Head Office

"We've been able to open up the space to our sales team to deliver team meetings."

Although Elaine’s team work as an independent function from the Parseq team in Rotherham, being based at WorkWell’s Carrwood Park has opened up the opportunity to extend the firms presence in Leeds. The meeting space and functionality on offer at WorkWell provides Parseq with additional space in which to hold meetings and training should they need to do so.

Elaine said: “Having the additional meeting space available to us, as and when we need it, means we’ve been able to open it up to the sales team who now have the option to come on site to deliver their meetings. It’s not a function we’ve been able to fully utilise yet, due to the pandemic, but having that option available to us is a huge benefit to the business and helps maintain our connection with Head Office."

Importance of customer support in retaining separate function

"Asahi's support is one of the main reason's we're at WorkWell"

Without Ashai as a customer, Parseq would not have a credit control function. The organisation has no other credit control clients so the function in Leeds is somewhat unique.

And although they are employed by Parseq, Elaine and her team get the majority of their support from Asahi. Elaine said: “Asahi has always supported us, they set our objectives and KPI’s and Parseq have very little involvement. Asahi also help keep the team motivated – and whatever we want they are more than happy to provide.”

Asahi’s backing has been integral over the last few years, most notably in helping secure an office environment in which Elaine and her team enjoy working and also in supporting the team’s growth.

Elaine added: “Asahi’s support is one of the main reasons we’re at WorkWell. We weren’t happy in our previous office and in 2018 I approached Asahi to request that we move to a new office. They came up to visit, didn’t like the outlook and immediately helped us secure a new space. At that time, we were only a team of three and we found the perfect office at WorkWell. Although Asahi have never been to visit, I have sent them photos of the setting and the outlook which I know they like and also reflects their brand and values.

“They are a very supportive organisation, they look after their employee’s health and well-being and I know it’s important for them to know that, although we’re a third-party supplier, we are happy where we are.”

How WorkWell supports the function

Asahi place great value on its outsourced credit control team and understand that the environment in which they work can impact the service they deliver.

Since moving to WorkWell 2018, Elaine has seen a notable difference in her team’s performance. The team has also doubled in size following an increase in work, resulting in the team moving to a larger office. None of this, Elaine said, would have happened without the support provided by WorkWell.

She said: “Not long after moving to WorkWell, Asahi increased our workload which meant we needed to recruit for three new members of staff. At the time, we were in an office just big enough for three people, so I approached Asahi and said that we needed more space. Although we hadn’t been at WorkWell long, moving to a bigger office was incredibly seamless. Once I had the backing from Asahi, I spoke to the WorkWell team and within weeks we had moved to a bigger office, in the same building, which meant we had space to accommodate the staff we needed.

“Having that flexibility is one of the things that drew me to WorkWell initially, along with the great location and outlook. There are times when Asahi want to give us more work and do ask whether there is the option to expand, should we need to, and with WorkWell there is. Should we need more space in the next year, I know I can approach the WorkWell team and discuss the options available. That just wouldn’t have been possible where we were previously.”

Elaine said: “We bounce off each other, we bounce ideas off each other and that’s how we work well as a team, and how our office space is laid out is important to ensure it promotes that. When we moved to a bigger office just over a year ago, we found that having more space enabled us to move equipment around more easily and we were still able to interact, that for me is so important.”

Team interaction is very much at the heart of what the Parseq team members enjoy about being in an office environment. As they expand, WorkWell will be able to work with them to create a hybrid workspace, which promotes interaction and collaboration as well as project focused space.

Case Study:
Parseq

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Case Study:Parseq

Case Study:
Parseq