A day in the life: meet our Greenway Business Centre Manager, Carole Rice 

What’s your first day back at work like after a well-earnt break? We asked our Greenway Business Centre Manager, Carole Rice, to keep ‘a day in the life diary’ following her recent return from annual leave. Her log reveals just how many similarities there are between her role and the balancing acts faced by so many of our customers in terms of keeping long-term plates spinning while dealing with immediate challenges and opportunities. It also gives an insight into how the centre staff co-ordinate and support one another to ensure the best possible experience for both new and established customers.  

Introducing Carole Rice   

Carole Rice is the Business Centre Manager at Greenway Business Centre, part of Capital Space’s network of serviced offices across the Southeast. Taking on the role at Harlow earlier this year after being Deputy Centre Manager for six years. She also looks after Loughton Seedbed Centre too – so is constantly spinning lots of plates!  

8:30am: what’s on the agenda for Carole? 

“I’m just back from annual leave. It’s a Monday morning, so I’m looking forward to getting back in and catching up with the team. Monday mornings can be busy.  

“We have an external training company booked into our meeting room – they’ve been using our rooms for many years, so it’s good to check in with them. Our Business Support Co-ordinators do an amazing job ensuring they have everything they need. (I can smell the coffee already brewing for them in the kitchen!). 

“Next, we have our Monday morning fire alarm check, much to the disdain of customers arriving on site, but all goes well and the checks are logged.  

“Ithen sit down and have a quick meeting with our Deputy Centre Manager, Michelle, so I can catch up on the past week and start to prioritise actions for the rest of the day.” 

10:30am check in 

“The email inbox is looking full, so I take the time out to check through anything that requires my urgent attention. I’m delighted to see we have a potential customer requesting a viewing on one of our workshops this afternoon, so I confirm the visit and email directions.  

“As soon as I can, I take the opportunity to have a walk around the centre. It’s a lovely sunny morning and many of our customers have their doors open so it’s a good chance to say hello. I note, as I walk around, how clean and tidy the centre is looking, a great advantage of having a Facilities Handyperson on site and I make a mental note to email our landscaper to thank him for his hard work in keeping the shrubs and plants neat and tidy.  

“Next stop is to pop in and see our new customers Paulo and Kevin who have just moved into one of our workshops. This is the best part of the job for me – it’s great to see them happy and settled so quickly. They have taken a VoIP phone with us, which means they don’t have to sign up to a lengthy contract. They confirm how happy they are with the set up and it’s been configured in just the way they need it. Our Deputy Centre Manager does a great job in liaising with new customers to ensure the phones are set up exactly to their individual requirements.” 

12:30pm check in 

“Back at my desk, I do some general admin by signing off invoices and raising purchase orders. One thing that amazed me when I started at Capital Space was the amount of work we carry out within the centres. It can range from upgrade work in a unit, such as new LED lights or carpets, to general maintenance such as drainage, external painting or communal area upgrades.  

“We are about to have new boilers installed in our main reception block and I email our Property Manager, Tim, to understand the timelines and any impact it will have on customers. His knowledge and support are invaluable too.” 

2:30pm check in 

“After a walk outside to recharge I’m feeling ready to get some more things ticked off my list. Before I get started it’s great to see a friendly face in reception. Tyrone has dropped in to make arrangements for his office move at the end of August. Having a rolling monthly licence means our customers can upsize or down size very easily, and we do everything we can to make the process as simple as possible. I organise for Tyrone to have his new unit keys early so his team can start moving across during any business downtime. 

“Our enquiring customer has arrived and I introduce him to the team before taking him out to our D block workshop block. The viewing goes well; the customer is looking for a workshop space for stockholding and some light manufacturing, and they were impressed with the centre in general and the unit and roller shutter access.  

“We are fortunate to have a spacious centre with lots of parking, which makes it attractive for incoming customers. As a team we are very proud of our centre. I am following up the viewing with an email with all the details and a clear guide to the sign-up process.” 

4:30pm check in  

“The day is progressing well and I have a meeting now with our customer Sigma Networks who are organising our fixed wire electrical testing at the centre. This involves testing every electrical circuit throughout the centre and is carried out every five years. Gary from Sigma takes me through the plan and timelines so that we can schedule the work in and let all customers know in advance.  

“Sigma has been customer at Greenway since it opened over 20 years ago so. As well as a valued customer, they are a much-trusted contractor. 

5:30pm check in 

“It’s time to check in with the team now and see if there is anything we need to follow up on ahead of tomorrow. We look at meeting room bookings for the next day and check if any contractors are due on site for maintenance work. We then start to check facilities ready for the evening lock up and ready to go again tomorrow. 

“All in all, it’s been a good day. The best part of the job is every day is different, and the variety brings interest as well as the odd challenge. After a good workshop viewing I look forward to hearing back from the enquiring customer and I feel we’ve made progress in planning some of the larger project work at the centre. 

“Lastly my large email inbox has been significantly reduced – which is always a very positive way to end the day.” 

Carole’s ability to combine truly personal customer service and swift responses to immediate challenges while maintaining momentum on long-term projects to ensure consistently excellent and safe facilities is what makes Greenway Business Centre a great place for SMEs to thrive and grow. 

If you’re looking for office space from a provider that wants to support your business success, get in touch.