FACILITIES MANAGEMENT JOURNAL JOBS
Modern businesses grow by
creating strong relationships
and partnerships, both
with their customers, and their
employees. Strong relationships,
combined with the highest quality
service tailored to a clients’ precise
needs, are central to success.
At Acuity, our mission is to deliver a
five-star front-of-house and reception
experience. To achieve that, we require
a dedicated team of customer service
professionals that are fully committed
to providing the highest level of
service. Best-in-class customer service
professionals, however, need to be
supported with ongoing training and
support. They need to be able to develop
as individuals, as well as employees, to
achieve their own personal goals and
ambitions.
Success in the world of customer
service should not be about your
background or where you come from. It
should be about your appetite to learn
and grow. It was with this in mind that
last year we started talking to Jane James
Consultancy (JJC) about its ‘Growing
Talent’ initiative, to see how we could
work together to help those in need. This
might be, for example, because they
have recently been made redundant or
have overcome other challenges and
hardships, or simply that that have not
been able to land a stable role.
GROWING TALENT
Growing Talent focuses on furthering
social mobility through employment, as
part of a programme to o‚ er full-time
job opportunities to people struggling to
find work.
The process gives opportunities
to people who really need it –
predominately young people and
especially those who may not have the
necessary qualifications. Upon selection,
applicants are given a provisional job
o‚ er for a permanent role. Candidates
learn all areas of the business and the
role they are to fulfil.
The training is not only task-related.
Midway through the process a week is
spent in London working on wider lifeskills
including personal finance, fitness,
nutrition and wellbeing. Candidates are
also given the two-day global Mental
Health First Aid course resulting in
qualification as a Mental Health First
Aider. These bespoke workshops and
sessions are designed to help applicants
grow as people and not just employees.
THE PROCESS
Joining the Growing Talent network was
simple and easy, and the process was
very rewarding, enabling us to see the
personality and character of candidates
as well as their long-term potential.
I observed the first stage of the
process, which takes the form of
speed dating-style meetings with all
applicants. The shorter, more informal
meetings allow candidates to feel
more comfortable and display their
personality. Shortlisted candidates are
then invited to attend a one-to-one
on-site meeting to learn more about the
responsibilities and skills required to be
successful in that position.
The next step of the process involves
three weeks full-time on-the-job training
including a weekly appraisal. This
crucially acts as a mutual ‘test drive’ for
both the applicant and the employer.
Following the holistic spent developing
important life skills, candidates have
a final week of on-site training before
moving into permanent employment.
PROVEN SUCCESS
The first employee to have gone through
the process is Mohammed Ismail, who
had previously been working in multiple
jobs to make up the hours and wages
he needed, but he did not see a future
or long-term career in any of the jobs he
was doing. He was initially employed in
Acuity’s SELECT team providing highquality
holiday and sickness cover to
Acuity’s suite of high-profile clients. He
has now been given a permanent role as
the Acuity Corporate Receptionist at one
of the company’s he provided cover for.
When we first met Mohammed at
the employer speed dating event,
what really struck me was his
confidence, positive outlook and
his professionalism. Even without
specific front-of-house experience,
he demonstrated a well-established
understanding of customer service and
what the five-star welcome entails.
During his three months in the
Growing Talent programme, Mohammed
demonstrated his flexibility, determination
and adaptability. Since then, he has
exceeded expectations and proved to
be a fantastic addition to the Acuity
team. Working closely with JJC, we hope
to unearth similar success stories and
talented individuals like Mohammed again
in the future through Growing Talent.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Chiara Di Rienzo, Director of Acuity, Axis Group’s front-of-house division, discusses
the company’s involvement and partnership with Growing Talent, an initiative that
focuses on furthering social mobility through employment, as part of a programme
to oƚ er fXlltiPe MoE opportXnities to people strXggling to fi nG ZorN.
SOCIAL MOBILITY IN CATERING
Food and support services provider Compass Group
UK & Ireland, recently partnered with industry
charity Springboard, One Housing Group and Your
Story to host a UK Hospitality and Department for
Work and Pensions (DWP) Hospitality Works event to
provide support for unemployed people in London.
The event, saw nearly 40 people who are currently
seeking work attend, not only to learn more about
how a career in hospitality could work for them, but
to be provided with support in skills development
workshops, gain access to industry experts and have
discussions around current vacancies that exist within
Compass.
The DWP Hospitality Works 2019 campaign,
#JobsWithASmile, was launched earlier this year in a
continued bid to attract more workers into the sector
and raise aspirations. The successful initiative has
created over 8,500 placements across the industry since
its creation in 2015.
The London event was part of a wider three-week
Hospitality Works programme.
Jonathan Foot, Head of Apprenticeships & Early
Careers, Compass Group UK & Ireland approached
Springboard last year to see how Compass could get
involved in the campaign:
“Compass is a people powered business. We work at
over 10,000 sites in the UK, covering a wide range of sectors
including healthcare, defence, education, sports and leisure
to name a few, providing many di’ erent opportunities for
a role within our business. We recognise the need to invest
and train our people and have 16 di’ erent apprenticeships
available to help people learn on the job and develop a
career with Compass. It was great to have the opportunity
to work with Springboard, Your Story and One Housing to
support people back into work.”
Anne Pierce, CEO, Springboard says: "I am delighted
to see our partnership with Compass continue to go
from strength to strength. Compass has a dedicated
team focused on developing talent within their business,
and together with our joint commitment to creating
opportunities that enable people to achieve their potential
and nurture unemployed people of any age into work
means we can provide a broad range of exciting and
relevant programmes which help people develop and
progress their careers. Our partnership demonstrates the
benefits of investing in the future workforce and diversifying
recruitment pathways to the Hospitality sector."
Andy Woodcock from DWP was delighted with the
event: “We’ve built on the success of the Hospitality Works
programme year-on-year and this has been the best one
yet. We hope that as a result of these events, we’ll see many
of the candidates find work within hospitality and get the
opportunity to climb up the ladder.”
APRIL 2019 55
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