What an exciting month June has been for all the team here at Paycare, as we’ve celebrated 30 years since moving into our purpose-built office on George Street – a location which has enabled us to flourish!
With our roots in the City Centre dating back to 1874, we moved from our former headquarters at Alan House to the four storey Paycare House on 8th June 1989 – an incredible landmark anniversary for all of us, especially for those who were actually there on that very day!
Our CEO, Kevin Rogers, explained: “Paycare is proud to call Wolverhampton our home and although we date right back to the 1800s, we’ve seen some of the biggest developments within our organisation over the last three decades.
“We rebranded from Patients Aid Association to Paycare in 2005, and we were the first Health Cash Plan provider in the UK to offer BACS as a payment method in 1994 – a move which made it much more accessible and easier for our Policyholders to use our services.”
Some fantastic milestones of our move on the 8th June 1989 include our Paycare House being unveiled by Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Billy Wright CBE, and Saranjit Nagra, Compliance Manager of Paycare, being pregnant at the time of the move – meaning she will also be celebrating her daughter Kimberley’s 30th birthday later this month – how amazing!
That’s not all – we have also gathered some fun and interesting facts from our time here so far:
- Paycare House being built on the grounds of the old convent for business growth and so that we could own our own offices
- We had a water leak underneath the first floor sink last year, which saw our CEO Kevin get absolutely soaked, and he had to go home wearing just a Mac!
- We originally used the ground and first floor of Paycare House, but later moved to the top floor so that all of our team could work together
- Various guests and staff attended our opening in 1989, with a drinks reception and nibbles provided, and they even wore matching suits!
- Saranjit Nagra, Compliance Manager, and Clare Jarvis, Customer Support Manager, have worked at Paycare for over 30 years and were both present at the office move. In fact, Saranjit, who was pregnant at the time, will be celebrating her daughter Kimberley’s 30th birthday this month too!
- When our Gold Plan was introduced in 2001, the first ever Policyholder of that plan was a relative of an employee
- In 1999, at our 125th anniversary celebrations, we donated a total of five mini buses to various charities
- Our lovely cobbled street outside our office was created as part of St. Johns ‘Urban Village Project’ in Wolverhampton, and we subsequently had fire exits and a disabled ramp added to the building
Our team consists of almost 30 members of staff who service our Policyholders across the length and breadth of the UK, with teams in Customer Service, Administration, Business Development and IT Support – we’ve got it all!
Previous CEOs of Paycare have continued to push the boundaries and lead by example with charitable giving, with the CEO of Paycare in 1999 – who preceded Kevin – taking part in an abseil down Paycare House to raise funds for Derby Mountain Charity, and Kevin himself taking part in a stand-up comedy gig for Stand Up to Cancer!
We also support and donate rent-free office space within our Paycare House to five other not-for-profit organisations, including Project GIVE and the Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Support Project.
Kevin added: “I’ve been at the helm of Paycare since 2013 and as Operations Director for four years before that, and I can honestly say it’s been the most rewarding role of my entire career. Not only do we make a genuine difference to the health and wellbeing of so many across the region and beyond, but we’re in the incredibly fortunate position to have a team which shares our vision and are committed to giving back to the communities that we all serve. Here’s to another 30 years!”
Wow, what incredible memories – we even had a rummage through our old archived files and found these photos of the newly-built Paycare House 30 years ago. What a throwback!
