FEATURE
PERSONALITY POWER
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURE : TOM BANKS
New employees – Some of VAS Group ’ s more recent recruits
VAS Group says its close-knit team is the key to success
“
You can train somebody a process but you can ’ t train a personality .”
And that , in a nutshell , is how thriving property valuation and panel management firm VAS Group approaches its recruitment process .
Step into its spacious premises in Stephenson House , on Middlesbrough ’ s Riverside Park , and you can tell this is no stuffy , target-obsessed organisation .
There ’ s a buzz around the place , as its largely young team sets about helping lenders negotiate the property valuation minefield .
And that buzz is what helps VAS Group thrive – to the extent it is again looking to expand its team .
Founded in Wilmslow five years ago as Valuation Audit Services ( hence VAS ), it began its Teesside life in Redcar , before switching to Riverside Park last year .
Its main components are VAS Panel - a full valuation and project monitoring panel management service for lenders - and sister company VAS Audit , a dedicated valuation auditing and assurance business .
During the preceding 12 months to December 2021 , VAS arranged circa £ 5bn worth of valuations for its lender clients .
It now has a 30-strong , largely female , staff , with most in administration , analyst , auditing and customer service roles .
But VAS Panel MD Graham Moore says they all have one thing in common – “ personality ”.
He said : “ If someone is coming to VAS , they have to fit the team and not be afraid to share that personality . And it ’ s about passion . It doesn ’ t matter if you ’ re not from a financial , legal or valuer ’ s background – as long as you ’ ve the drive and passion to want to help customers .
“ It ’ s all about customer service – you ’ ve got to be passionate about looking after your customer and they all care out there in that room .”
You ’ d expect a boss to say that , of course – but VAS is happy to let its staff speak for themselves . And chatting to seven of the newer recruits – all female , from the North-East , ranging in age from 18 to 30 and with four months to a year ’ s service under their belts – it ’ s clear there ’ s a great team spirit .
Most candidly admit they weren ’ t really sure what VAS was about when they applied for their roles . But after an initial two weeks of training , and by helping each other , they ’ ve quickly learned the ropes .
They have varied work histories – quotes executive Eloise O ’ Brien , 30 , from Thornaby , for example , worked at Asda , facilities executive Jenny Kitching , 22 , of Hartlepool , was formerly at the Santander call centre in Thornaby , while services executive Sammy- Jo Wright , 25 , was a supervisor at Nando ’ s .
Alanna Dark , 18 , from Coulby Newham , is the youngest recruit , while three other facilities executives all have very different
For information about potentially working at VAS Group , email info @ vas-group . co . uk work backgrounds - Maria Azam , 25 , from Linthorpe , used to manage Brow Revolution in Top Shop but came to VAS on the government ’ s Kickstart programme , Danielle Stockdale , 23 , worked at the Mill in Stokesley for four years before lockdown hit and Emily Wilkinson , 20 , from Peterlee , was an estate agent in Hartlepool .
But all have one thing in common – they genuinely enjoy working at VAS Group .
Danielle , who ’ s expecting her first baby in April but fully intends to return , summed it up . She said : “ You know when people have Sunday anxiety about work ? I don ’ t get that . I sit and watch telly thinking , ‘ It ’ s work tomorrow , that ’ s fine ’.”
Emily agrees . She said : “ When people talk about work , they talk about their ridiculously long day and how they hate their job most of the time . Here , it ’ s not like that at all . I don ’ t drive to work thinking , ‘ Oh no ...’”
And had he been in the room , that surely would have been music to VAS Panel MD Graham ’ s ears .
On his return , he tells Tees Business : “ It ’ s people with technology here , not technology with people . The tech is to drive the efficiencies but not at the expense of human beings getting involved .
“ Without our people , we ’ re nothing . They ’ re the critical part of our business .”
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