Business South September 2022

62 | T Kim Newth Paramount Services in the spotlight Paramount Services won the Supreme Award for Franchise System of the Year in 2018 and in two previous years and has also shone over the years at the Westpac Franchise Awards and CleanSweep Awards. The 2021 Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards, held online earlier this year, highlighted the excellence of commercial cleaning franchise Paramount Services whose nationwide team helped keep the country safe during the pandemic. At the awards, Paramount Christchurch’s Gary and Kirsten Camoin were named Westpac Supreme Franchisee of the Year. Last year’s lockdowns saw the 2021 awards postponed to this year but for Gary and Kirsten – and Paramount Services wider franchisee community – the final result more than made up for the delay. “It was so exciting to see Gary and Kirsten win the Business-to-Business Franchisee of the Year and then go on to win the Supreme title,” says Stella Blake, Paramount Services National Franchise and Health and Safety Manager. Paramount’s Amy Chen and Min Cao, and Rajan Patel were also named as finalists, respectively, in the Small Business Franchisee of the Year and Field Manager of the Year categories. Their success adds to the franchise company’s proud award-winning tradition and track record of providing excellent customer service. Paramount Services won the Supreme Award for Franchise System of the Year in 2018 and in two previous years and has also shone over the years at the Westpac Franchise Awards and CleanSweep Awards. After emigrating to New Zealand in 2012, Gary and Kirsten first settled in Auckland where Gary worked as a manager for Bridgestone Tyres. After learning about Paramount Services and the opportunities it offered, the couple decided to move south and take up a Paramount franchise in Leeston, southwest of Christchurch. Today, they have 15 staff servicing multiple sites including bank branches, shopping malls and government offices. With Gary leading day-to-day management and ex-teacher Kirsten managing admin and payroll, the couple have established solid foundations for continued success as well as a good work-life balance for their family of three. The couple’s success reflects well on the training, management and customer service systems that Paramount has honed over the past four decades to support their franchisees and ensure delivery of the best possible commercial cleaning service. That includes providing specialist cleaning services for managing Covid-19 and other potential infectious disease risks. “We have developed an online learning platform for both franchisees and staff called Totallane that enables them to learn how we do things at Paramount and what our expectations are for customer services, methods and health and safety,” Stella explains. “We give all our franchisees start-up management training, plus practical cleaning training from a certified and registered Careerforce assessor on how to use our cleaning products.” Customer relationships are backed by Paramount account managers – including key account managers for clients with large-scale complexes - and their 24/7 Customer Services Centre. Most of Paramount Services’ franchisees are in the Auckland area but there are opportunities throughout New Zealand. In recruiting, Paramount looks for hard workers who can provide excellent customer service and communication and uphold the proven Paramount Services franchise system. All franchisees and staff must have a clear criminal conviction history. “We’re currently looking for people who may be wanting a change of lifestyle away CONTRACTING Paramount Services from city traffic and high house prices and interested in starting afresh with a new cleaning business in one of our attractive provincial centres.” Stella says Paramount Services is a pioneer of sustainability in commercial cleaning, with systems to collect paper and glass for recycling, and food waste for composting. ‘Paramount Care’ cleaning products are Palm Oil free and carry the Environmental Choice tick of approval. Their latest sustainability initiative is a ‘Brush No Flush’ toilet bowl cleaner, with trials indicating the potential to save large clients millions of litres of water a year. Key areas of demand in 2022 include schools, early learning centres, university halls of residence, shopping centres, major industrial sites, embassies and government premises. “We have also just won a major contract with a government organisation to provide day-time domestic cleaning services.” 0800-119-686 HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING? LET US QUOTE YOU ECO-FRIENDLY OPTIONS LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS Don’t stress about high prices for cleaning and paper products. Now based in the Lower South Island hygiene Cleaning & Washroom Solutions “We have developed an online learning platform for both franchisees and staff that enables them to learn how we do things at Paramount.” Stella Blake

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