Ones to Watch: Sarah Nagnshineh
Sarah Naghshineh,
RCP Parking
As part of Family Business Week 2024 we are profiling a series of future family business leaders who are ‘Ones to Watch’.
Sarah Naghshineh
RCP Parking
“There really is a negative perception of the parking industry” says Sarah Naghshineh, Director of RCP Parking “but I am proud to be part of this industry and I am working hard to change this image.”
Sarah is 2nd generation at RCP Parking, a company founded by her father Shapoor, and her uncle, in 1994. Shapoor Naghshineh, who Sarah describes as having a ‘have a nice day’ philosophy, learned the parking business working in Texas and California, where there was a big emphasis on customer service.
“I believe we have an ethical approach to parking. We go above and beyond the rules set out by our regulator when it comes to customer service, something I think we have scope to do as a family business. I regularly call on others in the parking industry to raise their game. I have letters from customers where we’ve managed to settle their complaints quickly. I don’t think you get that level of service from a non-family organisation.”
Sarah joined RCP parking in 2009 working as a car park attendant, progressing through the business to become Director in 2019. Her commitment to the family ethos and drive to improve staff engagement has seen the company recognised as a “Great Place to Work” and the best small company in the UK in the transportation category. In addition, Sarah’s commitment to environmental and social issues has seen RCP Parking pick up “Best Business” and acknowledged as finalists for “Best Large Business” by the Eastern Daily Press.
These awards come, in part, from Sarah’s dedication to RCP becoming a living wage employer. “I don’t think you can call yourself a people-first business if you aren’t prepared to invest in people, treat them well and reward them properly.” Her commitment to the living wage extends beyond RCP and Sarah has had a big impact on wage fairness across Norfolk, where RCP is based.
That commitment to investing in people shows in staff retention at RCP Parking where half the staff have been with the company for more than 10 years. “When people join our business, they join our family” says Sarah.
In addition to her leadership role in RCP Parking, Sarah is engaged with several social impact initiatives. An issue close to Sarah’s heart is working to encourage more women to enter the parking industry. “When I started, the parking industry was very heavily male dominated. But we’re changing that through our sponsorship of an initiative to get more women into the sector.”
More broadly, Sarah is deeply engaged with a charity that helps women get into the workplace, back into work after taking a break and even helping women from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed in work by helping them to buy clothes that they perhaps can’t afford.
And, Sarah’s support for impactful causes also extends to supporting people experiencing homelessness. She has helped more than 100 individuals gain employment and secure housing. Sarah believes it is the unique model of family business that allows this “I believe that because we are a family business we have the freedom to go further than others do in giving back. We are agile, we care and we can do things that others can’t.
“When someone’s struggling or we want to help or there’s a cause we really care about, it’s no big Board decision we just go and do it. It just comes so naturally and what a beautiful thing that is.”
Read more from about our ‘Ones to Watch’ here.