Factsand FiguRes 4,200 staff


individual propertiesmanagednationwide 2011 turnover


200,000 £74.85


Janet Entwistle: confident in her business expertise


rightand youshouldbeabletodeliver the rightservices to customers”.Janet had“no preconceptions” aboutwhat she would find when shestarted to delvealittledeeperbut has been“pleasantly surprised” bywhat she hasfound.“Beinginadministrationispretty horribleforemployees. It is badfor morale andnoplanning is possible.But despitethat therearemany very well qualifiedpeopleat Peverelandmany of theworkpractices are runalong thesamelines as thoseinlarger organisations. Staff arewelltrained andtheir work ismonitored and assessed against their job descriptions on aregular basis,”she says. The internal structuremay be a good


So for the first sixmonths at Peverel, Janet


worked hands-on with themanagersofeach aspectofthe business to findout exactly wherethe strengthsand weaknesses lie, howcommunication canbeimprovedand what customerswantfrom theirproperty managers.The newCEO admits that her knowledge of leasehold was initially limited “althoughthatischangingevery day”. However, sheisquick to explain thatwhen you are running a business, the principle is thesamewhether youaremanaging property or sellingwidgets.“Iamveryconfident in mybusiness expertisebut youmusthavethe humility to keep on asking questions,” she says.“If theexpertise is thereatthe workface, getthe structureand workingpractices


Flat Living Issue 13, Winter


one, but howwill Janet build on this to improvethe servicetocustomers?When shetookonher newrole, theCEO waswell awareofthe badpublicity that Peverel had previously attractedand is determined to rebuild the company’s reputation by bringing its customers back on board. “It was clearly a business that had service and financial issues and there was a level of distrust andspeculationfuelled by an information vacuumandlackofcommunication,” she says. The other aspect of Peverel’s business that has set it up forcriticismhas been the fact that the Group is divided into a number of different businesseswhichfeed into the propertymanagement side of theoperation, such as insuranceand security systems. This has ledtoaccusations of preferential tendering for ‘in-house’ services and overchargingofcustomers. AccordingtoJanet,thistoo is an issue of


trust. “These problemsarisewhen people don’ttrust youtoworkintheir best interests,” shesays-it’sall abouttransparency. “It’s


Restoringtrust in anybrand takes time


million


notinappropriate to have thoseadd-on businesses in place but theremust be a real choice forresidents.Tenderingmust be fair andseentobefair. Iunderstandwhy thereare concerns over commissions andI know thehistory.Myanswer is that those businesses have to deliverahighquality serviceatacompetitive priceinatransparent environment. If we are achieving that, I amquitecomfortable with therelationship betweenour companies”. In response to allthese issues, oneof


Janet’sfirst taskshas beentoproduce acustomercharter thatmakesfive key


promises: nWewill give youexcellent customer service nWewill be open and transparent nWewill demonstrate valueformoney nWewill be easy to deal with nWewill consult with you


TheCharter also setsout anumberof


clearcommitments,backedupbyspecific milestoneswhichwillbemeasured andprogress againstthemreportedto customers. Thecharter demonstratesJanet’s commitmenttoculturalchangewithinthe business andtocreatingaclear focuson theneedsofits customers. Howevershe is well awarethatrestoringtrust in anybrand takes time. “I’m realistic,” she says.“When you’re trying to improveareputationyou have arealtimelagwhileyou tell people they are getting a better service and – even moreimportant –deliver that service effectively”. Janetisagreat believer in not changing anything for change’s sake. “If you’re trying to improveservice delivery, youget theremoreeffectivelybydoing it in averylogical way–you can’timprove anything overnight”.Withastrongservice background Peverel’s newCEO knowsthat everything the Group doesmust be judged throughthe eyes of thecustomer: “I have strength in this area,Iloveworking with peopleand have proved over theyears that Iamverycustomer-focused”.Previous successesstand as testamenttoher words. Butcan shedothe sameat Peverel?Asthe old song goes, the times they are a changing andJanet is confident that,for Peverel residents, they areabout to changefor the better.●


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