Volker Beckers, CEO, cuts a tape at the official opening

Northern Rock paid £60m, but never moved into the building

Nearly 800 people have registered to use the gym

Energy company opens one of the UK’s biggest call centres

NPOWER has opened one of the UK’s biggest call centres.  It brings together staff from regional offices in a £60m building at Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, which was built for Northern Rock but never occupied by the bank.

It comprises 229,000 sq ft and houses 2,000 staff, including 640 call centre agents, 22 per cent of whom are part time.  Among the facilities: a gym, with a professional trainer, which is used by 90 people a day; dance studios; a restaurant which can seat 300 people; and a deli bar serving locally produced produce

Npower says the new site – on Cygnet Way, Rainton Bridge Business Park -- will be the template for all of its future developments.  It was the largest property deal in the north east for a decade.

It is close to Doxford International Business Park where several other call centres – including EDF, Barclays and T-Mobile – are based.

The company, which claims 6.5m electricity and gas customers in the UK, has 9,500 staff and is headquartered in Swindon.  It is owned by a German company, RWE, which was founded in 1898.

Julie Jaglowski, npower’s customer service director, has been with the company for seven years, during which it has integrated the three regional energy companies which make up npower and the consolidation of different billing systems.

She said of the new opening: “…having a well motivated workforce is not only good for them but also for our customers.

“The office is the first line in a new chapter for npower’s customer services; the beginning of a radical overhaul of how we engage with, and service, our customers’ needs. To build on this, in 2011 a new £200m IT system will be introduced to greatly improve customer communications and billing systems.”

The CEO of RWE npower, Volker Beckers, who officially opened the building, said: “I see achieving great customer service as having many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – by slotting all the pieces together in the right place, we will ensure that npower is second to none in making our customers happy.

“Stephen Sondheim, the famous composer, once said, ‘The nice thing about doing a puzzle is that you know there is a solution.’  And I’m very pleased to say that the npower jigsaw is coming along very well indeed.

Clean lines: inside the building

The restaurant can seat 300 people

“Rainton really is the pinnacle of modern office environments – in fact, I’d really like to come and work here myself! By bringing 2,000 of our people together under one roof, I know that our new office will improve teamwork and communication, which will ultimately lead to better customer service.”

And Mr Beckers is reported as saying: “When I first saw this building, I couldn’t believe that it was ours.  I wouldn’t say we got a bargain from Northern Rock, but let’s say it was a deal that suited all parties.”

Others at the opening included the MP for Houghton and Sunderland, Bridget Phillipson, and a motivational coach, Steve Black, who coached more than 100 npower team managers.

Among the features of the building: 74 meeting rooms; 859 car park spaces, 155 of which are for car sharers; racks for 90 bicycles; 11 toilet blocks; 300 stairs, six passenger lifts and three goods lifts; no bins: waste must be taken to disposal areas on each floor where it is segregated for disposal.

Football crazy

Npower sponsors the Football League and supports the FA's Back the Bid 2018 campaign. As a result, it has decorated all of its sites with football-related material – including a mini Astroturf pitch at its Sheffield call centre.

It has an intranet site which allows employees to follow their favourite teams and/or apply for a free pair of tickets and enter into ad hoc competitions. In addition, the company took the Championship Trophy to its main sites where staff could be photographed with it.