Portico People

Tell us about your journey:

I joined Portico in 2013 as Team Leader at PwC to mobilise their newly refurbished Head Office. It was a wonderful two years working alongside my team where I adapted my hospitality skills from London’s leading hotels. From day one I knew Portico was the place for me as they invest in people through learning and development and truly care about everyone’s career aspirations

In 2015 our Managing Director asked me to help them mobilise a brand-new law firm. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and decided to pursue a career in Operations. I was given an opportunity to work in our Support Team as an Operations Manager to manage the portfolio of our clients.

In 2019 during my appraisal, I expressed my interest in progression. I knew I wanted to understand how a business truly operates. An opportunity to gain my dream executive MBA became true. In 2020 I started to attend Cranfield University along with my day-to-day role. My MBA gave me a great understanding of business units and language.

In 2022 I was promoted to a new role of Mobilisations and Project Manager to support our new clients, teams and projects. 10 years counting and I still thoroughly enjoy working at Portico. I look forward to working with you!

Portico Manager 

”Always be yourself in everything you do – it really shows in the service you provide.”

Tell us about your journey:

I started my career with Portico in 2016, after six years of flying around the world as cabin crew with British Airways. It was my first ‘office job’. I was nervous to say the least. Appointed as the Team Leader for a team of five at Shearman and Sterling, this was a new role and I had the chance to make it my own. With a fantastic mentor as a manager, I soon completed a succession plan, this meant when the time came and my manager moved on, I was ready to step into her shoes.

A couple of years later, I continued my Portico journey as an Interim Manager for another law firm. In 2020, Portico won a new business at 22 Bishopsgate: a brand-new team in a brand-new building! This was the opportunity of a lifetime. We mobilised the contract and helped our clients every step of the way. I went on to have a baby and now, with the support of our great Operations Managers and Directors, I have returned to work and I couldn’t feel more at home!”

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

“Welcome to the family! You are joining a high-profile business that celebrates the brilliance of every individual. Together we can achieve great things. If you want to advance, the sky’s the limit. Let’s do it!”

Tell us about your journey:

I began working for Portico as a receptionist and welcome host at Santander in November 2021. I worked hard to integrate myself within the community of the building and to build relationships with the internal employees outside of my Portico colleagues. It wasn’t too long before I was on a first name basis with key individuals in the building. I wanted to shine; I wanted Portico to shine.

My determination to create excellent service moments for every single person I engaged with led to my promotion to Business Centre Manager less than a year later. The extra responsibilities I have been given in this role have not only been invaluable in my understanding of the building’s mechanics but has also expanded my core skill set in the guest services sector about which I am very passionate. Asking questions, going above and beyond and truly listening are three qualities which I believe have helped me get to my position in my 18 months at Portico. Both my colleagues and managers have been so supportive in helping me to grow and progress.

From my interview to now, my admiration of Portico has only grown, and I am extremely excited about the possibilities that await the rest of my journey.

Tell us about your journey:

I started with Portico in 2018 as a Team Leader at Deutsche Bank. It was my first managerial role with three direct reports. I found my feet very quickly and with the mentoring and support of my line manager and the opportunity to attend different trainings to focus on my development, six months later I progressed into a supervisor position with greater responsibilities looking after a larger team.

I remained in my position as supervisor for over three years and during this time I grew more than I ever thought I could, soaking up information like a sponge. I took on extra tasks, sometimes put myself out there and out of my comfort zone, visited and cross-trained at other Portico sites and really focused on the development of myself and my own team. Having great managers that really want to see you succeed is all you could ever ask for. This led me to where I am now as an Assistant Manager.

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

Portico is a big family and there are so many opportunities out there: mentoring, cross-training at other sites and an amazing L&D team with different development pathways to suit different needs and ambitions. We love to see you succeed so use the resources you have around you, apply yourself and set yourself goals. You can be whatever you want to be at Portico.

Tell us about your journey:

I started at Forsters seven years ago as a receptionist. Forsters is a boutique law firm in Mayfair and it was an amazing journey meeting the clients, partners and staff. After two years of learning about the company and its clients, my drive and passion took me to be promoted to Senior Receptionist. Here I continued to be a big part of the team, supporting both new joiners and management. After this, I decided I wanted to progress within the company and with my manager’s support I decided to apply for managerial positions.

After a couple of applications, finally I have landed my current role of Reception Manager, managing a team of three receptionists and two floor host team members at ISG since August last year. As I always say: the sky is the limit and if you have the drive and motivation, your manager will support your development within Portico.

Tell us about your journey:

My Portico journey started in 2018 with Santander head office. I can still remember my first interview and the feelings of nervousness and excitement at the same time. Four years (and one baby) later I wanted to start developing my Portico career.

I loved my team at Santander. However, when I realised it was time for me to progress, I mentioned this to my Director. I couldn’t believe how supportive he was in giving me so much advice about my possible next steps. I interviewed for a management role at Freshfields and instantly I felt it was the right fit with a wonderful team around me and a fantastic client. Portico want to see every individual flourish. I love that!

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

The advice I would offer any new Portico person is: ask yourself where you would like to be in the future and then take advantage of the huge number of learning and development courses available to help you get there. We love promoting from within! Set your career goals and go for it!

Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers.

We love to develop our people. Your journey will begin with a bespoke onboarding journey to set you up for success. Once you are nicely settled in, we’ll design a development plan to meet your personal ambitions.

This takes full advantage of our exceptional development and leadership academies. We have everything covered for those who are fresh into our sector to those who have their sights set on senior leadership.

It’s the 21st century so our learning is blended with digital programmes and classroom-based courses. Everything is at your fingertips and accessible through our employee ‘Heartbeat’ app.  If you want a career, then we’re perfect for you as 90% of all new leadership positions are filled with internal candidates.

We love to celebrate and recognise our Portico people. Our everyday “thank you” cards are our impromptu way of showing our gratitude. Our Heart Awards happen twice a year and celebrate our everyday heroes who showcase our service habits.

Each winter we host our Portico People Awards which are amazing fun and definitely the highlight of our social calendar. And that’s not everything,  we also recognise loyalty, birthdays, babies, weddings and offer all our people great salaries and benefits.

All kinds. We hire personality first and foremost. When you interview for a role at Portico, we will learn about you: what makes you smile, what gets you out of bed in the morning and what are you excited by? No worries if you’re new to our sector – we’ll take care of teaching you the ropes so you can thrive with us.

Our Portico people come from so many backgrounds – the one thing they all have in common is a genuine smile and a willingness to look after their customers and colleagues.

Since we launched Portico in 2005, we haven’t looked back. Every year our business grows and we keep adapting to support future trends. The pace of change within our sector is hugely exciting and it’s offering us more opportunities to develop our skills and future proof our business.

If you join Portico you can be confident that there will always be potential.