This year we welcomed Helen Bartlett into her new role as Managing Director at Paramount. We recently sat down with Helen to take a look back at the last 12 months and discuss the forecast for 2023.
How was 2022 for Paramount?
“Post Covid saw huge challenges for our industry and the general business landscape. The positive news however is that whilst some businesses have looked to downsize their workplace, this has still created movement within the market, thus creating opportunities for the likes of ourselves.
What people want out of a workspace has also changed. Businesses who have remained at their current premises have realised that in order to encourage teams back into the workplace, they have needed to upgrade the environment and provide facilities that wouldn’t necessarily have been considered as essential in the past.
Towards the back end of 2021, we decided to invest in our own destination workspace. This new office in Bristol would reaffirm and strengthen our presence across the rapidly expanding South West marketplace. Earlier this year we started to develop the concept for the aesthetic with the vision that Dock House would become the perfect location for our new HQ – great transport links, excellent local amenities, a totally renovated building with stunning views overlooking the river on historic Welsh Back.
Fast forward to late Summer 2022 and our new space was complete – and has already proven to be a worthwhile commitment. It truly is a space where our staff want to be and empowers choice amongst our teams, with a flexible, modern working style for our people to connect and thrive in.”
What lessons did you learn from the last 12 months?
“The biggest learning curve is in respect of being agile enough to adapt to the changes in the market whilst also being able to predict and respond to fluctuations. That said, none of us have a crystal ball, but cost certainty for us and our clients has been a priority.
This has been an unprecedented year regarding the volatility in raw material costs with some of our suppliers having had an increase up to five times – and this continues to rise – with further increases anticipated across the board in January 2023.
As a result, we’ve learnt that there needs to be an element of added risk equated into schemes to protect both ourselves and our customers whilst also being aware of maintaining a competitive edge.
On a personal note, we’ve also been sadly reminded that life can be too short. We lost a highly respected member of the team to cancer this year and we miss him every day”.
What is the focus for Paramount over the next 12 months?
“To support our growth strategy our focus will be to expand our visibility mainly within the South West and Midlands areas, whilst also maintaining a strong presence across South Wales.
Our staff are our biggest asset, and it is vital they feel supported which in turn creates the best experience for our customers, key sub-contractors and suppliers. We’ll look to further strengthen and invest in our in-house expertise whilst continually reviewing processes to ensure we maintain a high level of customer service that Paramount are known for.
We’ll also be expanding our core range of services – and look forward to launching this area of our business very soon!”
