Leavesden Park welcomes Watford MP

 Leavesden Park played host to Watford MP Richard Harrington in June, who came along to answer questions from the local business community in a lunch time event organised by business forum biz4Biz.

“It is vital that business leaders have the opportunity to direct their questions to a sitting MP and it was great that Richard Harrington MP took the time to attend the meeting held at the MEPC, Leavesden where we cater for a huge variety of successful companies,” said Leavesden Park Head of Business Development Roz Bird.

This event was chaired by biz4Biz Co-Founder and Chairman, Adrian Hawkins with fellow Directors Simon George and Tim Baugh attending. Questions on Britain’s relationship with Europe and about the current Skills shortage were directed to Richard Harrington, MP for Watford, who took time to provide an update on each subject. Richard Harrington said that “It was great to see such a collection of local business people and really enjoyed the frank discussions we had, good to know my 26 years of business experience came in useful for once!”

In addition to supporting the professional, biz4Biz provides a coherent voice for businesses in Hertfordshire and aim to influence and shape policymaking and encourage investment in Hertfordshire by engaging with local and central government, relevant public sector bodies and local organisations to promote the county of Hertfordshire as a great place to live and do business.

Sitel named global leader in the social media services

Nelson Hall’s latest research report “Targeting Social Media Services” has named Leavesden Park's Sitel as a leading provider of global social media services with a 9.5% market share.
Sitel was also named as a leader in providing “customer experience enhancement” through social media.  An area which, the report reveals, has grown significantly over the last 12 months and is beginning to develop as the dominant sector within the market.  Sitel is also credited with offering a wide range of social services such as social media monitoring, interaction, sales programmes, analytics and reporting and multichannel integration.

The report states demand for outsourced social media services is being driven by organisations which need to monitor and respond to posts on social channels.

Mike Cook from Nelson Hall comments; “Sitel is delivering a suite of offerings and platforms that give it a competitive advantage within the social media market. They are offering social media as a valuable add-on to current CMS contracts and market social media to companies which have a diverse geographic mix.  One key benefit is their capability to standardise otherwise separate customer engagement operations across language barriers, and have a single point of management, which helps coordinate management of new product launches, sales campaigns and customer services issues.”

Joe Doyle, Vice President Global Marketing, comments; “We are delighted to be leading the way with our global social media services and have our efforts recognised by Nelson Hall. We are seeing great results in enhancing customer experience and optimising revenues for our clients.  As the report states these are predicted to be the fastest growing social media services segments over the next 5 years.”

Sitel UK wins place on Government Procurement Services Framework

Leavesden Park based Sitel UK, experts in outsourced customer contact solutions, has been awarded a place on a new Government framework established to govern the procurement of contact centre services by government and public sector bodies.

Sitel UK, a wholly owned affiliate of Sitel Worldwide Corporation, employs over 2100 people in its nationwide network of contact centres, and is a trusted partner for many of today’s leading brands and Government Departments including DWP, as a supplier under the Framework agreement, and providing the Equality Advisory and Support Service on behalf of the Government Equality Office.

The Creative Solutions Execution and Related Services Framework agreement, introduced by the Government Procurement Service (GPS), has been developed to allow central government departments, along with the wider public sector agencies, including local authorities and health trusts, to procure contact centre services on a national basis.

One of only four contact centre providers that have been awarded a Framework Agreement, Sitel UK, has been rigorously vetted by GPS to allow public sector organisations to buy with confidence and reduce the time and cost  associated with procurement of contact centre services.

The GPS is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office.  Its role is to provide procurement savings for the government and the UK public sector, including health, local government, devolved administrations, education and not-for-profit organisations.


Joe Doyle, Marketing Director of Sitel UK comments;   “It is important that that the Government has contact centres that are able to support a large number of sensitive and varied transactions at all times.  We have considerable expertise and experience to offer from being a world leader in customer care outsourcing, working with Government departments and some of today’s leading brands.  We are delighted to have been selected to join this framework and look forward to drawing on this expertise to deliver high-quality contact centre solutions.”

Business Excellence Awards website goes live

The website for the Business Excellence Awards, of which Leavesden Park is a sponsor, is now live.
Businesses across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, North and North West London are invited to enter the Awards, which include Large, Medium and Small Businesses of the year, an award for International Trade &Export and Success through People, for companies maximising staff engagement to deliver business performance.  Two further awards, Entrepreneur of the Year and Business of the Year, will be selected from the finalists of the other five categories.
The awards were launched at Leavesden Park last month and fellow sponsor HSBC will be hosting an event on 25 April for companies to meet sponsors and judges and find out more about the awards. This takes place at HSBC’s offices, First Floor, Sunningdale, The Belfry Business Park, Colonial Way, Watford WD24 4LG from 6 to 7pm. To book a place contact Fern Evans fern.evans@hsbc.com 08455 844187.
The Awards are being supported by the Watford Observer and, along with Leavesden Park HSBC, are being sponsored by BDO, , SA Law and Alliotts, who will also form members of the judging panel.
There are a series of events being held throughout the region over the coming months where businesses can find out more about the Awards, culminating in a spectacular gala dinner for the finalists on 27 September at Shendish Manor which will be hosted by Michael Portillo.
To find out more or to enter visit the website .

Sitel to create up to 200 jobs

Offices To Let Watford

Leavesden Park company Sitel UK has announced the expansion of two of its UK contact centre sites following a number of new contract wins.
Sitel UK, experts in outsourced customer contact solutions, has announced the expansion of two of its contact centre sites in Leavesden Park (Watford) and Stratford upon Avon following a number of new contract wins.

One recent new campaign providing multi-channel customer service will require 80 staff, with the total of new business wins expected to create up to 200 jobs.

Sitel UK, part of the SITEL Worldwide Corporation, employ 2100 people in its nationwide network of contact centres.  Joe Doyle, Marketing Director of Sitel UK, says; “We are seeing significant growth from businesses across all sectors as they look to differentiate themselves through customer service excellence and innovation.  It’s no longer just about cost savings and operational efficiencies.”

Sitel UK, a trusted partner for many of today’s leading brands and Government Departments, was last year appointed to the DWP framework and provides leading technical support and multi-lingual solutions that in some cases cater for up to 12 different languages.

Ovum’s recent forecast (CRM Outsourcing Forecast: EMEA), projected that the rate of annual growth in UK contact centre outsourcing will significantly outpace that of France, Germany, and Spain. It states that, in addition, UK enterprises are much more willing than their counterparts in continental Europe to outsource work to third-parties. Thus, for CRM outsourcers, the UK appears to be among the most attractive markets in Europe.

Three new franchise partners for Rosemary Bookkeeping

Leavesden Park based Rosemary Bookkeeping has announced three new franchise partners – in Redditch, Chelmsford and Sutton Coldfield - who are offering free initial bookkeeping health checks to small businesses.
Fiona O’Mahony in Redditch, Chereen McCarthy in Chelmsford and Jon Lewis in Sutton Coldfield  hope to bring an altogether friendly and new bookkeeping experience to clients, by utilising the unique Rosemary System® and taking the hassle away from the business owner of doing the bookkeeping.  They will also work in harmony with the business owner’s accountant and provide them with exactly what they need, in the format they want, saving everyone time and money!

With Fiona’s two children in full-time education she decided that now was the right time to become her own boss. Having spent most of her career in the financial sector and being a qualified Accounting Technician she decided that she would utilise her skills and experience to start a bookkeeping business to provide an invaluable service to local business owners.

Fiona is looking forward to growing her Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise “I enjoy bookkeeping work and know what is involved in meeting deadlines and ‘getting the job done! I am able to produce businesses’ accounts in an intelligently, detailed and understandable format using the unique Rosemary System®.”

Chereen has a Degree in Business with Human Resources and Marketing, and used this to pursue a career in Investment Banking, gaining 12 years of valuable business experience.  She is now really looking forward to running her own Franchise Business and using her experience in the financial sector to help local businesses run smoothly. “I believe I can offer a great service to local small businesses by taking the stress out of their bookkeeping in a friendly but professional way”.

Having worked in the military for the majority of his working career, the organisation and diligence skills Jon Lewis developed in this time will be put to good use when dealing with the bookkeeping needs for his clients. Jon says: “I am here so that you don’t have to concentrate valuable time & effort on your books, time and effort that for you could be better invested in your core business elements”.

Unlike other bookkeepers, Rosemary Bookkeeping only charge for each transaction processed and not for the time spent.  Starting at only 21p a transaction, outsourcing your bookkeeping isn’t as expensive as you may think.  They also provide a detailed analysis with every invoice so you always know what you are paying for and just to be really helpful, they even standardise the paperwork to ensure you and your accountant receive it in the same way.  If you hate preparing your VAT return and could be making more money if you were not doing your books then Fiona can help you.

Demand for an efficient bookkeeping service for small businesses is as high as ever as Rosemary Bookkeeping, explains:  “By law, all businesses in the UK are required to keep records of their transactions which later are used by an accountant to file for tax.  Managing these transactions through bookkeeping is often the biggest headache to the small business owner and a task that is left at the bottom of the pile.”

A Happy New Year for New Arrivals at Leavesden Park

A positive end to 2012 for Leavesden Park is being followed by very happy new year, with two new companies moving in and much interest being shown in the available office suites.

New companies to move to the park are Jelly Software and PTD Group. The team of four at Jelly Software, which specialises in business software packages, has moved to Building 6 at the business park. The company chose Leavesden Park because of its location close to good road and rail links and also the standard of the offices.

“Building 6 is modern, clean, bright and well maintained and the help that the team gave us before we moved in was invaluable,” said Director Leah Nash. “The cafe is perfect for informal meetings (and the coffee is great) and the free, regular bus service from Watford Junction enables us to attract new employees from a wider geographical area.” The company is hoping to grow its team at the park. “The suite could take six to eight people so we have room to grow without moving and, when we need to expand in the future, there’s the option of moving to a larger office with minimal disruption to our business.”

PTD Group offers a consulting and advisory service for its parent company, a technology conglomerate based in Beijing, and hopes to expand to a team of 12 to 15 at Leavesden Park by the end of the year. It will be working with clients including ARUP, Network Rail, ABB, Continental Corporation, BT, Warner Bros and Aramco. PTD Group says it chose Leavesden Park because of its great location and superb facilities. Says the company’s Adam Kramer: “Visitors from the UK or overseas can reach us very easily, there are so many nice attractions in Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas and the environment and atmosphere is exceptionally good for business. In addition, everyone who works here is really friendly and professional. We aim to grow a successful business at Leavesden Park and help to provide support for the local community.”

Says Roz Bird, Head of Business Development at Leavesden Park: “We’re delighted to welcome Jelly Software and PTD Group to Leavesden Park. Both are great examples of fast growing companies that can take advantage of the facilities usually only available to larger companies, such as the café and on-site management team, and also have the opportunity to expand within the park as their businesses grow.”

Office suites of between 300 and 5000 sq ft are currently available to let at Leavesden Park, which is based in Watford, close to six motorway junctions and Watford Junction station. It offers a diverse range of high quality office suites, a dedicated and customer focused on-site management team and amenities including a café.