Case Studies – Scarborough Building Society

Scarborough Building Society may be more than 150 years old, but its flagship headquarters are based very much on the future.

The modern purpose built premises on the outskirts of the popular North Yorkshire seaside resort, boast spectacular views across a local nature reserve and were designed with staff welfare as a very high priority – as emphasised by a gym and well equipped restaurant.

It’s ironic that workers who are employed by the UK's 18th largest building society do not have to carry any cash since all 300 employees have been issued with individual smart cards that are used to access the facilities on site and make purchases such as food, refreshments, newspapers and magazines.

Staff build up an 'electronic purse' after loading money from wall mounted revaluation terminals on their cards, which also incorporate photo ID and access control credentials.

The system was introduced by leading cashless technology specialist VMC, and was an instrumental component of the overall blueprint when the three-storey building opened in 2003.

“Our old head office was on the north side of Scarborough but we outgrew that and went into two other buildings in the local area, however everything became a bit fragmented so we wanted to bring ourselves all under one roof again, explained the site's Facilities Manager, Mike Winterflood.

“We have changed the working culture since moving here, for example there is a relaxed dress code and flexi-time in operation. Previously everyone had to be dressed in a shirt and tie, and whilst there are still standards to maintain, people appreciate the more modern approach, he explained.

There's potential to expand the showpiece development at Eastfield much further, almost doubling capacity, as the building society extends its operations and attracts high calibre staff from across the region.

Mike revealed: “A high quality building like this undoubtedly plays a part in attracting skilled staff from areas such as York and Leeds, as well as ensuring existing staff are happy with their working conditions.”

He continued: “The cashless system works very well both from a staff, management and third party catering perspective. Back office management software allows the monitoring of which meals are selling well and which are not, so we can cut down on wastage. There’s also much improved accuracy because there’s no money in the tills that needs counting each day.”

The restaurant and vending facilities are proving popular with staff with the highest number of sales per day recently recorded as part of 'gradually rising' purchase trends. The percentage of staff using the restaurant is well above the national average, despite competition from a nearby supermarket and fast food outlet.

“Staff welfare was one of the most important priorities when we started this project. We wanted to provide good restaurant facilities as part of an overall ethos of being modern and forward thinking and the cashless technology fits in perfectly, said Mike.

“We have been very impressed by VMC as a company, any teething problems that arose with the system – and most were not their fault – were dealt with quickly, by people who were keen to resolve them and happy to help.”

Peak lunch time restaurant usage is between 12-2pm but according to Mike there are rarely any delays in queuing.

He explained: “Due to the flexi-time arrangement, people sometimes only take half an hour for their lunch and because there are no big queues it can easily be achieved. People want to get their lunch, get served and then just eat it. Cashless enhances and speeds up that process.”

“It’s much faster to purchase a meal with the card than by using cash. The card loaders can be used at any time during the day, so everything runs smoothly and is very efficient.”

“The ‘one card does it all’ approach is the best scenario – if cards have a cash value on them people will respect and look after them far more. We did not want people going around with three cards for obvious reasons. It makes more sense to just have the one.”

The spacious restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch but closes at 4pm, with vending providing a back-up refreshment service, as part of a flexible working day that runs until after 7pm for some staff. There are card loaders conveniently located on each floor where drink and confectionery machines can also be found.

So impressed is Mike by VMC’s Metro cashless system that he recently recommended a local school to implement the technology when he conducted an on-site demonstration.

He concluded: “I had seen cashless systems in operation elsewhere even though I hadn’t used one myself and discovered how easy they were, so I knew the benefits and certainly as a company we are very happy with the decision we took. It would be a huge backward step to revert to a cash system because there are so many advantages that cashless delivers.”

“By amalgamating the three previous sites, there are up to three times as many people using the same facilities now, so you could imagine how much cash would be flying around and we just did not want to get involved with that. The VMC cashless system is clean, fast, efficient and works very well.”

This case study is available for download (PDF)