Centrick Property Case Study

Background

Centrick Property was established in 2005 with a single goal: to provide a more accessible and efficient service than other property management companies.

This approach has been highly successful, with the company expanding by approximately 30% each year for the past five years. Today, Centrick is a leading estate management company, with divisions covering residential sales, lettings, and property maintenance. The company now manages property assets worth over £½ billion nationwide.

"Anyone can deliver an outsourced contact centre service, but we wanted something very different. We needed a service where our calls were answered by people who really understood our business – and, therefore, our customers’ needs."

James Ackrill, Group Chairman, Centrick Property

Providing fast, informed support for tenants

Following previous experiences with less sophisticated outsourcing providers, Centrick recognised that agents answering customer calls must have a strong understanding of the business.

A smarter approach to tenant support.

Centrick Property needed a smarter, more consistent approach to handling tenant enquiries. Their key challenges included:

• Urgent tenant issues – Tenants typically call when they need immediate assistance, making fast, informed responses essential.
• Access to real-time updates – Agents needed visibility of ongoing issues, such as multiple tenants reporting the same water outage, to provide accurate information.
• Consistency in service quality – Previous outsourcing providers lacked specialisation, with some agents handling only a few Centrick-related calls per year.
• Scalability and efficiency – As Centrick grew, they required a solution that maintained high service levels without increasing in-house workload.

Delivering higher quality service through intelligent outsourcing

Answer4u worked closely with Centrick Property to develop a tailored contact management strategy. The team built a specialist training programme, ensuring that agents understood Centrick’s service expectations, processes, and brand values.

Additionally, Answer4u’s contact centre technology was configured to integrate Centrick’s business rules and customer data into the call-handling system. This allowed agents to provide a seamless, efficient service while ensuring all support and service level expectations were met.

Fine-tuning service delivery

Answer4u helped Centrick Property to fine-tune its service delivery, adjusting operations as needed. One such enhancement was the introduction of a Lone Worker Support system, helping Centrick meet its duty of care obligations for remote staff.

Centrick Property's estate management business includes facilities with onsite caretakers, some of whom work alone at night. Ensuring their safety and well-being is a top priority.

To support this, Answer4u implemented a Lone Worker Support system, requiring employees working alone to check in every two hours. If a check-in was missed, the system automatically sent a reminder text. If there was still no response, an Answer4u agent followed up with a call. If further escalation was necessary, the matter was referred to management for immediate action.

A flexible approach that supported growth

The outsourcing solution designed for Centrick Property was both scalable and adaptable, supporting the company’s consistent expansion. Since partnering with Answer4u, total call volumes have increased by over 50%. At the same time, the business has grown significantly, with more complex service needs.

Benefits:

• Scalable, cost-effective growth – Answer4u ensured consistent service delivery while accommodating up to a 50% increase in call volumes.
• Integrated contact centre technology – Agents had real-time access to tenant and property data, enabling faster issue resolution.
• Lone worker support functionality – Helped Centrick comply with duty-of-care regulations, ensuring the safety of remote staff.
• flexible and customisable service delivery – Centrick could continually refine customer scripts to improve service quality.
• 100% call recording – Provided a full audit trail, ensuring service compliance and quality assurance.

This solution became a seamless extension of Centrick Property’s out-of-hours support service, demonstrating Answer4u’s ability to adapt to the company’s evolving operational needs.