Foodservice Cateys 2019: Front of House Team of the Year - Rapport Guest Services at Broadgate

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With Broadgate in the City of London covering 12 main buildings on a 32-acre site, the front of house team at Rapport Guest Services has a phenomenal challenge on its hands providing a seamless welcome to customers who walk through the door.

The judges were impressed that the team had overcome the difficulties of operating within a tricky location by greeting nearly 450,000 people over a 12-month period with great efficiency and polish.

It is the responsibility of Rapport to make each guest experience is unique from arrival at reception through to being directed to a meeting,while also running events and organising pop-up experiences to enhance the engagement of visitors and the 68 client tenants, including banks, law firms and flexible working space companies. The team also manages the Broadgate Welcome Centre and estate management office, where it co-ordinates seven meeting areas.

A focus on the highest standards of customer service is only possible as the result of a commitment to a strong training programme, which sees every one of the 28-strong team attending at least two classroom-based training sessions each quarter. Topics covered include ‘creating happiness: small acts, big impact’; ‘guests with disabilities’; and ‘five ways to listen better’.

All receptionists are cross-trained to ensure consistent service across each building within the estate. Exceptional service delivered by an empowered team is recognised through the externally accredited WOW! awards programme.

Meanwhile, company experience company Market Force audits the team on a quarterly basis to ensure that it operates at the top of its game, with service given an additional boost by World Host training, which has resulted in World Host Accreditation.

Clear communication is vital when operating across a multi-site venue such as Broadgate. Rapport achieves this through a weekly senior meeting and a group chat on an internal engagement platform that allows the team to share urgent information. The communication, however, has to be far more widespread than within the Rapport team, as its members have to also liaise daily with the 68 internal reception teams, as well as the facility management team, in order to anticipate and enhance customer needs.

Rapport strives to bring Broadgate’s values of Connecting, Engaging and Surprising to life through a series of events. These have included seasonal-based raffles; bi-monthly pop-ups in which companies are invited into the reception lobbies to sell food and drink, art, books, cosmetics and clothes; and a series of wellbeing initiatives.

External auditing, where mystery auditors assess the service provided by Rapport, has highlighted that the team consistently excels and, against a benchmark of 80%, scores in the mid to high 90% range. This is a team that deserves to be recognised and celebrated for its commitment to the highest standard of service.

###The shortlist

Gather & Gather at LinkedIn

Portico at Deutsche Bank

Portico at News UK

Rapport Guest Services at Broadgate

###Past winners

This award was split into two categories in 2016 to reflect the advance of private and public sites

Private sites

2018 Rapport Guest Services at Omnicom

2017 Gather & Gather at Vodafone

2016 BaxterStorey at Burges Salmon

Public sites

2018 Searcys at the Gherkin

2017 Restaurant Associates at Roux at Parliament Square

2016 Levy Restaurants at Leicester City FC

Combined sites

2015 BaxterStorey at Clyde & Co

2014 Rapport at Tower 42

2013 Rapport at KPM