Office Concierge appointment at Gherkin

Office Concierge, leading provider of very high quality reception management services, is working with the Property Management Team of 30 St Mary's Axe - better known as the Gherkin.

How the front-of-house experience helps market The Gherkin to new tenants.

Office Concierge, the leading provider of very high quality reception management services for major businesses throughout the City and West End, is working with the Property Management Team of 30 St Mary's Axe - better known as the Gherkin - as part of an ongoing drive to further enhance the building's visitor/tenant experience.

The decision to outsource reception and concierge responsibilities was taken by Richard Stead, Property Services Director of 30 St Mary Axe Management Services , and his colleagues in the Property Management Team, Jimmy Demetriou and Steve Browne.

"The Gherkin is an iconic building, and the UK head office of Swiss Re Reinsurance Company, which remains the dominant tenant in a multi-tenanted building," Richard explains.

"A building of such stature, demands the very highest levels of delivery from all of its service providers, and the 'experience' starts with those at the front desk".

"It is they who set the tone for the occupiers and their visitors".

"Tenants in a building such as 30 St Mary Axe know what they want and anything short of 5-star service is just not good enough".

A review of reception management services was undertaken following Richard's arrival approximately two years ago.

At that time, the incumbent reception team was provided by the building's former management company, and seemed to lack the support and training that a specialist reception management business could bring.

With a new brief to 'get back to basics', a tender process was held, and the contract awarded to Office Concierge".

"We had previous experience of Office Concierge and knew the level of support and the calibre of staff they could provide, this was benchmarked against what else was available in the market".

"The existing employees were offered the opportunity of transferring under TUPE which they took, and as part of the process Office Concierge invited the team off-site to its Training Academy in London".

"This helped induct them into the Office Concierge 'way', and gave them a greater sense of belonging that has considerably helped in the service that they now provide".

"I wanted a much softer, warmer environment for visitors that was more welcoming whilst not compromising on security.

This is something that the Directors of Office Concierge - who have a background in guarding services - clearly understood.

At that time only a small number of the floors had been let, and creating a new environment most definitely helped with the marketing of the building to new tenants.

Jimmy adds: "From the day we made the change, we wanted our tenants to actually 'see' the difference".

"The team had a new uniform, a new attitude and a new bearing that was a vast improvement on what went before".

The Gherkin has c2000 visitors through its doors each week.

Every visitor is logged via a Visitor Management System; the main reception team also liaise with the tenants' own reception teams according to their specific requirements which may mean allowing visitors straight up (having first passed through the building's x-ray technology), or waiting to be escorted.

A particular innovation, devised between Richard's team and Office Concierge in consultation with the tenants, is a 'Broker Desk' to allow brokers to be 'Fast-tracked' through security".

"Insurance is still about face-to-face transactions, so easy access/egress is essential," Richard explains".

"Certainly we need to maintain the integrity and security of the building, but we also need to accommodate our tenants' businesses and not overcomplicate matters".

"To this end we have created a 'Broker Desk' where individuals can be 'Fast-tracked' to the relevant offices without delay".

"This service has been particularly well received".

As well as the core reception management duties and manning the 'Broker Desk', Office Concierge staff also assist by operating the 'Help Desk'.

This is the main conduit for day-to-day enquiries from tenants to be processed, and again ensures enhanced communication between all of the relevant parties.

Richard concludes: "Before the appointment of Office Concierge, at our regular tenant liaison meetings there were always complaints about the reception staff".

"Now those complaints seem to have stopped which is a sure sign of success.".

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