In a Q&A with Amanda Vlietstra, Oliver Hiner, Director of Operations at guest services experts Portico, reflects on the changes the company has observed in the workplace – and explains how the human touch remains as important as ever.
You can read this article and more on PFM’s website.
Q: What are the main advantages for clients for outsourcing their guest services – and why would they choose Portico?
A: One of the first things I always ask when I meet a client is “what are your priorities?” It varies so much from client to client, and from year to year as well. Our founding client has worked with us for 20 years this year, and their priorities have changed as time has gone on. Really, it’s all about understanding where they’re at in their organisation and how we can help them meet their priorities.
In terms of outsourcing, the biggest benefit is they’re contracting with an expert in that field. When I look at our client base, we’ve got lawyers, bankers, insurance, media, fintech and event visitor attractions. They’re focused on what they do, not focused on reception. Yes, they can employ a receptionist or cleaner or a security guard, but that’s not their bread and butter. Do they know where they can find the best candidates? Are they going to be offering them the right learning and development? We’re absolutely specialised in what we do; we find the best people, we engage them in L&D, we help them build a network so they can grow professionally and personally. All of that helps them deliver a better level of service.
Consistency of service is also a reason why clients come to us. They often have a problem, like losing team members. What we promise is that there will always be someone that’s trained on your desk in your workplace. There’s a commercial piece, too, as economies of scale through contracting with us can lead to commercial savings.
How much input do you have as a front-of-house service provider into how your clients use their workspace?
An increasing amount. Portico was founded 20 years ago as a reception service; we were at that door, at that turnstile, triaging people into the workplace. We’re very much beyond the turnstile now. Our clients are coming to us for that whole workplace journey – add other roles, place making, community champions, floor ambassadors, AV technicians. We even run a commuter cycle park. We often take clients to different client sites and share what other people are doing in terms of office layout and makeup– we have some fantastic clients we’re lucky to work with. We do a lot of engagement plans and event plans – things we can do to make the workplace full of life and enjoyment.
Do you think there’s an expectation from clients that you’ll offer that full service?
The fact that we’re providing a great guest services host in uniform who knows what they’re doing is a prerequisite. Competition is stiff out there, and where we’re seeing real interest is where we can add value. Clients want to know what else we can provide for them, how we can make a difference to them and their workspace.
Working as Operations Director for a front-of-house company, you’re in a strong position to see the changes that are happening across the workplace. What trends have you observed?
There’s a huge focus around the welfare and wellbeing of teams. One of the responsibilities of FM is to ensure that workplaces are offering something to everybody. The amenity spaces, the breakout spaces that were maybe tucked away in the office design two years ago are now very much at the forefront. And I know we’ve been talking about this for a while, but workplaces are very much a place of collaboration now, rather than a place to sit at your desk and work all day – those are things we’re doing at home. Instead, we’re going into the office to meet with colleagues and talk about things and socialise as well as work.
Hybrid work is an ongoing conversation – not just for facilities managers, who have to facilitate it, but in the workplace generally. How are you finding it from your perspective?
Flexibility is the key. It’s difficult to broad brushstroke all of our client base, but it’s clear that Fridays are quieter. A number of our clients have implemented compressed hours. Their teams are coming in on Monday to Thursday and working longer hours. Sometimes it’s a nine-day fortnight, so they have every other Friday off. But you can see from the data that’s out there that offices are still getting busier, and people are coming back. I think it’s the case that for some people, working from home suits them, but the vast majority of people do really want that in-person engagement. Teams calls and Google meets are all very well but they don’t necessarily tick that that box of face-to-face interaction that we all need.
The big piece is around technology. We’ve been helping a lot of our clients with rolling out new technologies in the meeting room suites. Whereas before [the pandemic and the rollout of hybrid working], you might have the video conference room, now it’s every room. There’s been a big investment piece in technology and there’s a lot of choices out there.
Has technology been transformational to Portico?
In terms of how our teams work, technology has been an enabler to help them provide better customer service. Everything is now automated to help facilitate the user journey. And as an organisation, we’re much more digital as well. But the importance of being together is as strong as it ever has been.
How important is the human element to Portico?
The human element is that bridge between what has become a very technological world, and that element is more important than ever now, making a workplace truly inclusive. Sometimes you just need someone to help. With a number of our clients, we have Ambassadors on the workplace floors who are literally there to help people. It can be helping with very simple things to do with their tech or their equipment. It might be helping them to find things within the office – people might not be familiar with the office layout, or how everything works in the meeting room. or what times the restaurant open for lunch. Having someone around who can answer all those sorts of questions is really helpful.
We have also done a lot of work around EDI to ensure everyone is involved. In 2023 we launched ‘Second Nature’, our ESG strategy. In putting together Second Nature we did a lot of background work in surveying the EDI landscape within the company. Included in this was the work we did with Flair impact who helped us understand bias within the organisation. We also undertook exercises such as a SWOT analysis in order to understand the trends, risks, opportunities and priorities for us. This then led to us assessing existing work practices to allow us to dig deeper in what areas needed addressing whilst being able to link this to the broader commercial objectives of the business and meeting the expectations of all stakeholders (clients, colleagues, partners, suppliers and teams).
One of the Second Nature pillars is focused on Inclusion. As part of this strategy pillar, we have introduced a “gender decoder” in our job adverts, to ensure recruitment practices are inclusive across all levels within the organisation – a software to check each job spec to ensure no discriminatory language has been used. Last year, we created Enlight diversity committee with focus on 5 employee network groups: Gender Equality, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Race & Ethnicity.
By fostering an inclusive environment, people feel more valued and respected and it is that emotional connection at work that boosts overall engagement as well as trust in talking about all topics and understanding that representation matters at all levels.
You mentioned L&D earlier. What kind of training do Portico staff receive?
Our learning development academy is called the Hive. This was set up before I joined the company, about over 10 years ago now. We’ve got three trainers and the head of L&D, who deliver learning and development pathways for our people, and we have some guest trainers come in as well. Anyone who joins us first of all goes through our service essentials, which starts with the welcome to Portico. We have a whole day which is all about “why us?” Why do clients choose to work with Portico? What are our values, our vision, what do we stand for? That sets the groundwork for a good partnership, a new employee, and everybody who joins our business does that as part of their onboarding. Add these We now offer 77 types of L&D courses and 43 apprenticeship modules
In response to employee feedback, we’ve became an Approved Centre with the ILM, the qualification arm of the Institute of Leadership. We now deliver the ILM Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management and the ILM Level 4 Award in Managing Equality and Diversity in an Organisation. As of April 2024, 60+ of employees are registered for, or working towards an ILM qualification.
You must have to work closely with FMs on a daily basis. Is there a lot of managing relationships that goes on in your role?
I often say to people, my role is quite simple – all I have to do is talk to people all day! That stakeholder management is really, really critical. We promise our clients that they will see their Operations Manager every week – that’s really important. And we love a social! We try and get our clients to get together fairly frequently and engage, talk and build those relationships.