Foodservice Cateys 2018: Front of House Team of the Year – Private Site – Rapport Guest Services at Omnicom

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Omnicom is a large advertising organisation made up of 37 creative agencies with clients such as the UK government, John Lewis and Apple. The Rapport team of 18 staff across the three sites are the first point of contact for new occupants within Omnicom.

With the agencies under the Omnicom umbrella competing for business, it is vital that Rapport strategically manages visitors and events to ensure that clients are not aware of any competitors in the building, while always providing a warm and personalised welcome.

Rapport offers a highly professional service, welcoming more than 7,000 visitors each month and ensuring that the bespoke style in which clients are greeted as requested by 3,800 staff is met. When Rapport recently suggested a new training course to enhance its service, Omnicom replied: “I don’t believe the team can get any better than it already is, but if you can beat perfection, then I’m happy to see it.”

Rapport aligns its service to that of a five-star hotel. A daily brief outlines the events, busy periods, special request of guests and VIPs expected each day, while monthly workshops identify possible improvements. For instance, the team has recently launched a local area guide which, via the introduction of a QR code, is linked to a smartphone app.

Each month, two team members undertake a “Walk in the guest’s shoes” exercise, in which they visit leading hotels, restaurant and retail outlets to observe and experience how they welcome their guests.

The team achieved the highest number of external and internal Wow! award nominations â€" 131 â€" for the second time across all Rapport contracts during the 12 months to April 2018 and won a total of 15 individual awards. Wow! is an external, independent organisation that recognises excellent service based on direct customer feedback.

Rapport works with MarketForce to carry out quarterly mystery visits to the Omnicom buildings to assess technical skills and measure how the service makes guests feel. While the ‘good’ benchmark is 85%, the Rapport team has consistently achieved more than 95% in its audits, with one of the most recent assessments from MarketForce stating: “I can truly say I have never felt so welcome in any building before. The genuine warmth and familiarity made me feel like I had come home.”

It was as a direct result of Rapport’s service at the first two Omnicom buildings that the team was asked to take over a third early this year. The hard work and dedication of the team were key in the expansion of the contract.

The Foodservice Front of House Team of the Year (private site) award is deservedly the latest accolade to be won by the team at Omnicom, which earlier this year carried off the Team of the Year and Innovative Spirit awards at Rapport’s internal event.

What the judges said
“The members of the winning team are genuine and enthusiastic in their attitude and performance.”
Marc Rust, operations direction, Restaurant Associates

“This is a team that benchmarks itself against the best in the industry and delivers quarterly mystery visits to keep the team focused.”
Bill Toner, chief executive, CH&Co Group

Shortlist
BaxterStorey at St Cross College
BaxterStorey at Nationwide
Rapport Guest Services at Omnicom
Vacherin at CBRE

Past winners
This award was split into two categories in 2016 to reflect the advance of private and public sites
2017 Gather & Gather at Vodafone
2016 BaxterStorey at Burges Salmon
2015 BaxterStorey at Clyde & Co
2014 Rapport at Tower 42
2013 Rapport at KPMG

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