Gemma Noonan - our secret weapon in the fight for great customer service

We are extremely lucky to have enticed Gemma Noonan to join our team at the Giggs Group.

Gemma, whose background involves more than 18 years experience in corporate HR environments, has arrived at what could possibly be one of the most testing times for our business since it was founded seven years ago.

COVID-19 has brought with it some huge challenges for estate agents and business generally, and we are touched by that as much as anyone. However, with Gemma at Matt Giggs’ side it is beginning to look as if quite a lot of good could come from it too.

As Matt says, ‘Gemma has a calmness about her that makes even the most stressful situation bearable, and she is a consummate professional - I know that I can trust her with any aspect of my team’s needs.’

Even before the lockdown measures were introduced we were starting to look at what would happen next at Giggs and Company to take it to the next level in terms of customer experience and local market share.

We have been the local market leaders in St Neots estate agency for seven years, and have won lots of awards in that time - but it’s not enough.

There have been tough times while we sort out how to survive the current measures, with team members having to be furloughed and new systems introduced to work from home. But we are fast learning that a lot of what is happening can inform our decisions about the future of the business, and Gemma has been key in identifying those areas.

‘We want to be ready for the next generation of house buyers and sellers and I’m perfectly positioned to support the Giggs Group in achieving that goal. My absolute focus is on customer service, which makes a perfect fit with Matt’s goals for his team, and I’m really excited about what we can do that will make a positive difference for our clients.’

Nothing is off the table in terms of our next steps - having to adapt to new ways of working, with videos and virtual communications - has helped us see that we can offer a much more efficient service and that we can be there to listen to our clients’ needs a lot more regularly than we previously thought. We are seeing that every client’s requirements and choices about how we interact with them is different, and that we should be ready to incorporate that into how we do business.

With Gemma steering the process we can find new systems, offer tailored training to our team, and, ultimately, reach our goal - which is to move away from our clients feeling ‘sold to’ and towards them feeling that we have ‘supported’ them in making the best decision they can.

‘I’ve always believed that helping others is at the heart of being an estate agent and Gemma is all about that,’ says Matt. ‘It’s been a massive leap for her to join our team, especially right now in these extraordinary times, but with her firm direction I really feel we can approach the future with comfort and clarity.’

It couldn’t have been a more challenging introduction to your new job, but welcome Gemma, and best of luck!