A compliance consultancy with offices in Monmouthshire has obtained an award for its innovation over the past year.

Penarth Management has won the Zokit Innovator Award at a recent presentation evening after impressing the judging panel with the firms’ novelapproach to changing their business model.

Last year saw Penarth Management Limited relocate from its traditional base of 40 years in Penarth to offices in Rogiet and Cardiff.

The new arrangement reflects the fact that more members of the consultancy team than ever before work remotely from various client locations around the UK.

Advances in technology enabled the company to introduce cloud-based systems for customer relationship management, accounts and project management systems, thus reducing the need for onsite access to computer systems, and improving the methodology for effective communications between clients and their consultants.

The change means that staff now spend more time either on client sites or working from home, offering a greater degree of flexibility in the working day, and reducing the need for unnecessary travel. The relocation has also been supported by the use of outsourcing some activities to dedicated professional service providers (eg telephone answering and marketing).

Managing director Jodie Read said: “The new systems also increase our business resilience, as we are no longer so reliant upon physical office premises. The systems we have implemented allow all members of the team to work from anywhere, provided they have an internet connection. The changes have also helped to reduce our business mileage tremendously, which links in well with our ISO14001 Environmental Management System”

Judging panel member Neil Lloyd, who runs networking groups in Newport and Monmouthshire, said: ‘‘The Zokit Innovator Award 2015 was awarded to Penarth Management for its approach in implementing new ways of working to support the growth of the business and to and provide service excellence.

“The innovative approaches included pioneering collaborative working models to leverage expertise and create enhanced solutions, exploring flexible working and role development innovations that inspire team members and designing practices and processes that simultaneously increase productivity and reduce environmental impact."