1st Locate are one of the UK's largest outsourcing resources for debt resolution and payment processing for utility sector companies such as British Gas, BT and Scottish Power.

The company, which deals with millions of pounds of transactions every month, has developed some of the UK's most advanced contact centre technology with access to more than 400 million data points for UK customers, combined with government-compliant levels of data security and processing.

Working in a challenging environment, the empathy of its staff towards those in debt is a crucial part of its success. Company culture decrees that behind every account in arrears is a person with a story that requires a sympathetic ear and what First Locate wants to achieve is helping individuals towards a debt-free future. Staff are trained to be positive and not to be judgmental and to understand that individual goals and effort all contribute to the failure or success of the company in difficult times.

With the transition to home working, an Accredited Counsellor has been appointed to help employees cope with isolation from colleagues and other mental health problems. A structure has been put in place to provide professional and confidential meetings in a safe space.