CAMPUS MATTERS
June 2015 The newsletter for Campus Services
IN THIS ISSUE
Be inspired ….. It’s the end of another academic year and while it may be a time of rest and relaxation for our students, many of us in Campus Services will be working hard as usual.
Details of the ceremony, which will be held during our next Campus Services Live event on Thursday 13th August at 2pm, along with the criteria for each of the 7 awards and how to nominate The start of the student vacation can be found on page 3. saw the staging of our huge Great Please do take the time to vote for Charter Festival to celebrate the any individual colleagues or teams 800th anniversary of the sealing of who you believe have gone above the Magna Carta. The whole team and beyond their commitment to worked unbelievably hard to keep Delivering Inspirational Service. our 5,000 visitors well fed, You can nominate as many or as watered and informed throughout few times as you would like - the the day with Street Food stalls in criteria for one or two of the the North Quad and Crosslands categories are sure to make you serving “LiberTeas” and hot and smile! The Senior Leadership cold snacks to hungry visitors. Team look forward to receiving Well done also to all of you who your nominations. volunteered to give up your Mike Sunday to help out – the success of the event was certainly due in part to your efforts to deliver inspirational customer service. Which brings me onto our newly launched Inspire Awards Ceremony aimed at recognising and celebrating all of the good work that goes on in the department.
New premises for The Store The Store on Campus has relocated to make way for the new library project and is open for business as usual. Find out more on page 3.
SAVE THE DATE! Campus Services Live 2015 & Inspire Awards Ceremony Thursday 13th August at 2pm BBQ at 4.30 pm Caryl Churchill Theatre
Mike Hoare, Head of Conferences and Catering
Successful end of session
Post service goes green
The end of session is always a busy time of year for the premises team and this year proved no exception.
In early June, the Post Team took possession of a new delivery/collection van.
With students leaving, the summer ball, the Great Charter Festival and two well attended open days, a huge 24 tonnes of waste were generated over the final weekend of the academic year. Well done to all those involved in removing it.
The vehicle is 100% electric, has zero emissions and is therefore much kinder to the environment.
Meanwhile the housekeeping teams were busy preparing all of the accommodation for the summer season, with 470 Ascot guests arriving the weekend of student departures.
Look out for it as you make your way around campus. However, be aware that you won’t be able to hear it coming, as it’s also completely silent!
Refurbishment of Kingswood and Penrose accommodation over the summer meant that alternative accommodation had to be found for about 16 people, many of whom were provided with a personal removals service by our porters! Finally, a big thank you to all those who supported the The British Heart Foundation by donating unwanted items. Approximately 1117 bags were collected from the donation banks placed around campus over the last few weeks of term. This is an increase on last year and reflects how well our staff and students support this worthwhile cause.
Post room team members Mark Dean and Andrea Ferrara next to the new van
Founder’s provides the set for Avengers film If you’ve seen Avengers: The Age of Ultron, then you will have recognised Founder’s Building providing the back drop in one of the scenes in the heart of the story. The character Thor, played by actor Chris Hemsworth, pulls up in a car outside and walks towards the west side of Founder’s, where he meets the character Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård). This summer will see film crews return to Royal Holloway to film Delirium. Concluding the Desire trilogy of films Delirium, produced by Scenario Films, tells the story of an international composer returning to his college with the commission to compose a Requiem for the college's centennial celebrations. Scenes will be shot in the chapel, main lecture theatre, library, Picture Gallery, Founder’s Dining Hall and several of the corridors in Founder’s, as well as in the quads. Conference Sales Manager, Emily Perrier said, “We are looking forward to welcoming Scenario Films to our campus in August for what promises to be a very exciting location shoot. Extras will be needed in the film, so please contact the conference team if you are interested in taking part.”
Campus Live 2015: Inspire Awards The inaugural Campus Services Inspire Awards Ceremony is a way to recognise and celebrate all of the good work that goes on in the department; a way to say ‘thank you’ to those who demonstrate, above and beyond, their commitment to Delivering Inspirational Service, and generally helping us and our customers to have a great day. The awards ceremony will be an annual event and will replace our previous Inspire scheme, which has flagged since the introduction of ‘Thank You’ cards. There are seven awards and each award has its own criteria. Nominations need to show how the person or team has met the criteria but do not necessarily need to be for large ground breaking projects.
the Campus Services department. A team can comprise a shift detail, a group of people who share an office or role or a set of individuals who work together or collaboratively. How to nominate There are 7 award categories: • Customer experience • Innovative/creative change implemented • Inspirational colleague • Team that best supports other teams • Knight (or Lady!) in shining armour • Bermuda Triangle award (for the desk where things go in but never come out…) • Most cheerful colleague
We are looking for examples of where an individual or team's work has really made a difference to their colleagues, College staff, students or visitors. Nominations for any and all of these categories can be made by completing the online nomination If you think someone or a team has gone out of form. If you do not have access to the internet or their way to help you then please let us know and prefer to complete a paper form please contact nominate them now via the nomination form. Janet Heaney on extension 3879 (01784 443879). For further information please email Campus Who can be nominated? Services. You can nominate any staff member or team from
We’ve moved! The Store on Campus temporarily closed its doors last week in order to make way for the new library build, which is due to start later in the year. In just three days, all of the equipment and stock from the existing site was moved to the new location next to the EMU (Electron Microscopy Unit), up the hill from The Hub. Assistant Retail Manager, Ci Andersson said, “The move went very smoothly and we are all adjusting to our new premises. Our new location is not as big as the previous one, so we have streamlined to our most popular lines, while most of our memorabilia and clothing will now only be available to order online. I think the new location will be very appealing to students though, because it’s very convenient for The Hub and new halls.”
Finalists for “You said, we did” initiative The Conference and Catering team, together with the team in Imagine has been shortlisted as a finalist in the ‘Innovation Award for Excellence in the Student Experience’ category of the prestigious CUBO (College and University Business Officers) Awards 2015.
The awards ceremony is being held on 9th July at the University of Liverpool.
Head of Conferences and Catering, Mike Hoare said “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for this prestigious award. A lot of hard work has gone into transforming Imagine and the feedback from students has been very positive. Well done The submission for the award was part of a “You to everyone involved.” said, we did” initiative in response to feedback from international students about the absence of a late night, alcohol free social venue on campus. John Brannan - Enhancing Fairness
To address this, Starbucks and Pearl’s Bubble tea, which is a particularly popular drink throughout Asia, the USA and Australia, were introduced into Imagine, as alternative products to alcohol. Additionally, the opening hours in Imagine were extended until midnight, which has delivered an enhanced experience for students who want to have a fun time in a cool environment, without alcohol.
American study tour visits Royal Holloway A group of twenty visitors from ACUHO-i (Association of College and University Housing Officers International) representing universities from across the USA recently visited Royal Holloway as part of a UK study tour. The aim of the trip was to give participants an understanding of the cultural and educational systems in England.
Representatives from Campus Services, Registry, Student Services and Student Experience were involved in the visit, which focused on examining the effects of culture on a country's system of higher education and exploring the actual and potential effects of international exchanges of students, faculty and administrators in higher education. Jane Brooke - Excellence in Leadership
The American visitors listened to presentations about Royal Holloway and the Student
Experience before being given a tour of the campus followed by dinner in Founder’s Dining Hall. Head of Premises, Jonathan Main said “The visitors were very complimentary about our wonderful campus and hospitality, particularly the Dining Hall evening meal. They really appreciated the knowledge sharing opportunity that we created on the day. Many thanks to all those involved in making the visit such a success.”
Conference team don chefs whites Three members of the Conference team spent the day at The Academic Venue Show last month, to showcase Royal Holloway’s wide range of conference and event facilities to over 250 event organisers from across the country.
The conference team can help you with day meetings, conferences, group stay, dinners, weddings, banquets, training and team building. Please contact them for further information or visit their new website.
Adorned in chefs whites, the team invited visitors to the stand to decorate and sample Royal Holloway’s gold medal winning cupcakes. Conference Sales Manager, Emily Perrier said, “We had lots of positive feedback from visitors to our stand and the cup cake decorating, created quite a buzz of excitement and some healthy competition at times!” As the only UK exhibition dedicated to academic venues, the show provided a mix of valuable business networking in a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere. Emily continued, “Sadly we just missed out on receiving the award for the “Best Stand”, but we have managed to take a booking as a direct result of the show, which is fantastic news.”
Welcome to …... ….. Rachel Varndell who has joined the Conference and Catering team as Deputy Conference and Banqueting Manager. Before joining, Rachel worked for one of the market leaders in contract catering, running hospitality over an entire corporate site. Rachel commented, “I guessed that working here would be full of new things to learn and a real variety of events … and I was right! I have found everyone I have met here to be extremely pleasant and helpful and I’ve also managed not to get lost yet which is a real bonus!”
On-going support to White Lodge Centre A total of £247.42 was raised recently for White Lodge Centre via several donation boxes around campus. White Lodge Centre is a centre of excellence supporting disabled people of all ages and is Campus Services’ nominated charity. The work the Centre does benefits over 2,000 disabled children and adults, families and carers throughout Surrey and beyond. Please help in our support of White Lodge by donating via the collection boxes. Every donation is vital and really appreciated. Thank you.
Street Food at The Hub As part of celebration week, our chefs excelled Catering Outlets Manager Rebecca Nurse said, themselves once again at the summer Hub “There is always a huge amount of effort that goes into the planning and execution of our Street Food Street Food Festival earlier this month. Staff and students were treated to a range of Festivals and this year was certainly no exception. mouth-watering treats from around the world Well done to everyone who was involved in making including Tex Mex, Asian Noodles, Turkish kebabs, the event such a success.” traditional roasted hog and sliders while ice cream, waffles and The Great British Cake Tent provided an array of sweet options.
After a bit of a blustery first day, the sun shone and with music playing in the background, there was certainly a relaxed and fun atmosphere at the event.
Employee Engagement Survey results The results of the recent Employee Engagement Survey have provided useful feedback which has enabled the Campus Services management team to develop an action plan. The plan will address each of the three areas requiring improvement and monitor each of the areas of success to ensure continued good practice. Project teams will consist of a senior management sponsor, a member of Campus Services staff tasked with delivering the changes and an HR representative. These teams will report back to the Campus Services Management team and to their departmental colleagues as the projects develop and results emerge. The three areas for development were identified
as Work Experience (sponsored by Mike Hoare, delivery by Rebecca Nurse), Communication (sponsored by Jonathan Main, delivery by the Premises team) and Managing Change (sponsored by Sue Lloyd, delivery by Janet Heaney). The three strengths in the department were Performance and Appraisal Review (sponsored by Jonathan Main, delivery by Vicky Reeves and John Brannan), Learning and Development (sponsored by Sue Lloyd and delivery by Michelle Anderson) and My Manager/Supervisor (sponsored by Mike Hoare, delivery by Emily Perrier). Each Project Manager will present on their team’s progress at the Management Briefing in September 2015, with completion of the project due in January 2016.