Boots on the ground in your local area

Lauren Matthew, Winter Maintenance Sales and Retention Manager introduces her team of regional managers who use their local know-how to keep clients safe and confident in the winter season

When winter comes and clients start to worry more about keeping their sites safe, having a strong, trusting relationship comes into its own. And when the weather starts to get bad, knowing there is someone close by adds an extra level of reassurance.

That’s why we’ve always had local field teams that carry out our gritting and snow clearance services and why we are constantly bringing more on board to increase our capacity. And it’s one of the reasons we have a team of Winter Maintenance Regional Managers.

Each of our regions – Scotland and Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, Northeast, East of England, Midlands, Southwest, London, and the Southeast has a dedicated Winter Maintenance Regional Manager who is local to that area. Their main role is to grow existing clients and find new ones, but they also interact and engage with our field teams, look after clients if there’s an escalation, and carry out audits to ensure we’re still delivering a high-quality service.

Primarily, it’s a great way of ensuring we have ‘boots on the ground’ in winter and a point of contact who can deal with any issues on-site and make sure they are resolved. But the fact we’re able to build relationships better at a local level because of this structure is already paying dividends.

It helps if we get to know prospective clients better when we’re tendering for new business. We are already seeing new requests for quotes as a direct result of our Winter Maintenance Regional Managers taking the time to meet facilities managers. Our South West Winter Maintenance Regional Manager has brought in several new clients thanks to being more visible in his area, while a client in Central Scotland has told us they will be recommending Ground Control to all their contacts thanks to the relationship our Regional Manager has established with them.

It helps keep our local field teams’ spirits up too. In the past, the potential for field teams to feel siloed and cut off from the rest of the company was quite high, especially in more remote areas. Now we’re able to engage with them much more at a local level to make sure they’re supported, which is essential in maintaining morale at a busy time of the year.

But the main benefits are for clients. Having this structure in place dispels the myth we’re a national company that doesn’t know what it’s like in all the regions. While our helpdesk number is still an Essex one, if there’s a need for a new quote or if anything needs escalating, that will come to the regional managers, who have a much better view of their areas and can ensure things happen quicker and smoother.

Ground Control has the resources and reach of a national company with local teams that carry out the work. Having an extra layer of regional oversight adds another level of reassurance that, when the going gets tough, we’re there to help.

Meet the regional winter managers

Shelly Ralph, Scotland Northern Ireland

Shelley is based in Inverness, Scotland liaising with customers who need winter services across any sites in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Typically one of the coldest regions, Shelley has in-depth knowledge of the climate and geography and has a proven track record of responding to customer needs with agility and speed, particularly during harsh weather events. 

Shelley works with facilities management providers and end users to ensure their gritting and maintenance plans are fit for purpose.  Typical sites include distilleries, NHS medical and healthcare estates, industrial manufacturing plants, education facilities, and retail parks.

Geoff Lewis, Yorkshire

Geoff lives in Leeds, Yorkshire, and is responsible for winter resilience and safety across one of the UK's largest counties. Located in the north of England, Geoff's portfolio of customers ranges from urban towns to remote, rural, and hilly locations.  Understanding the access points for customer sites is key to locating the best gritting team that can reach the site on time. In partnership with facilities management companies and end users, Geoff looks after, blue light emergency services, hospitals, schools, universities, and retail sites across the region.

Geoff is no stranger to night visits in and outside of the gritting season. In his spare time, he is a lover of wild camping, so when Geoff is on a night visit, you are in safe hands.

James Donnelly, London, Southwest

James serves sites from the southwest of England to London and Wales. Some of James's key clients include utility companies such as Welsh Water and Severn Trent, health care facilities, supermarkets, retail sites, and tourist attractions.

James enjoys open water swimming and hiking on the heathland where he searches for frogspawn and arthropods. He also collects bones and fungi.

Mark Lindsey, Northeast, East of England

Mark is from Newcastle, Northumberland, and serves the North East and the East of England with winter gritting requirements. Before joining Ground Control Gritting, he managed NCP car parks, so Mark is incredibly experienced in car park maintenance for the retail industry.  In addition to shopping centre car parks and retail sites, Mark looks after many industrial yards and estates.

Mark enjoys grassroots football and coaching American football.

Emily O'Keeffe, The Midlands, Manchester, North Wales, Lake District

Emily covers some locations of contrast, predominantly from the midlands to the north of England and Wales.

Typical clients range from facilities management providers to site managers across urban and rural locations such as retail parks, commercial office buildings, NHS healthcare facilities, education providers, and industrial yards.  

Emily is a fitness fanatic who enjoys rock climbing, gym training, and walking her dog.

Make contact

For local knowledge and support, please complete the form below and ask to speak to your regional manager. 

If your site requires other services, outside the gritting season such as pothole repairs, sweeping, drain works, or surface repairs, your regional manager can also help sort this for you.