1st May – 'Set for Success' webinar
Our 2025 Quest & Active Insight webinar series is here!
Our first webinar of 2025 ‘Set for Success’ is taking place on 1st May at 10am. This webinar is all about creating a seamless journey for leisure centre users! We will explore how to create a smooth, engaging, and valuable experience for your customers users from the moment they walk through the door. To register, please complete the form HERE
These sessions will provide in-depth insights into current industry trends, best practices, and strategies to keep your customers coming back. We will
2024 wrap-up:
Our series of webinars in 2024 was all about simplifying customer retention, breaking it down to the fundamentals, and highlighting straightforward practices to help our audience evaluate their customer journey from the very start.
In 2025, we’re taking it that extra bit further and taking a closer look at the technicalities, demonstrating how you can use your site-specific data to further your impact.
We look forward to seeing you there!
also help you stay informed on evolving market dynamics and equip you with practical tools to drive continuous improvement.
Leading the sessions
Our future dates:
16 September 10 am –'Maximising Impact' (a data driven approach to engagement and retention)
9 December 10 am –'Small Changes, Big Impact' (simple service tweaks that drive retention)
Please stay connected with us for more updates, and as always, thank you for being part of the Quest community! Follow us on LinkedIn: HERE
Sarah Lobo Head of Quest Right Directions
Jules Allen Business Development Director
Active Insight
CASE STUDY
Managing the Team
How Serco’s Lilleshall and Bisham Abbey National Sports Centres demonstrate Excellence in the 'Managing the Team' module.
According to Moving Communities’ data, participation and throughput to leisure centres have both increased in 2024 compared to 2023, with the average number of participants per site up by almost a thousand people (7%) and overall visits growing by over 10,000 per year (5%). (Moving Communities Impact Report, April 2022 – March 2024)
With customer participation in the sport and leisure industry steadily increasing year-on-year post-covid, leisure facilities are more driven than ever to utilise this growth, attract and retain customers, and make their customers feel their memberships are worth every penny…
Lilleshall
and
Bisham Abbey achieve
Across the Quest assessments delivered in 2023-24, Moving Communities reported that 50% of facilities achieved a ‘Very Good’ and 11% scored ‘Excellent’, which is a decline from the 77% achieving ‘Very Good’ and 17% achieving ‘Excellent’ pre-covid.
Among the 11% of sites achieving ‘Excellent’ in 2023-24 are Serco’s Lilleshall
‘Excellent’
in Quest
National Sports Centre and Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, who demonstrated particular proficiency in the 'Managing the Team' core day-one module (both sites scoring ‘Excellent’) –a module that is generally lower-scoring looking at Quest assessment data from 2022 to 2024 if we compare the ratio of ‘Excellent’ bandings to Very Good’, ‘Good’ and ‘Satisfactory’.
Managing the Team CASE STUDY
How did Lilleshall and Bisham Abbey achieve ‘Excellent’ in the ‘Managing the Team’ module?
Background and context:
Serco took over the management of Lilleshall National Sports Centre and Bisham Abbey in 2011 as part of a contract with Sport England to operate several national sports centres. Since 2011, under Serco’s management, Lilleshall and Bisham Abbey have continued to improve their quality of customer service, providing world-class sporting facilities for individuals, the local community and some of the country’s leading sportsmen and women, as well as being a proud UK Sport Accredited Elite Training Centre.
Quest 'Managing the Team' module
The 'Managing the Team' module is all about good customer service and assessing how professional processes and staff development contribute to both employee and customer well-being, ultimately achieving the organisation’s objectives. From 20232024, 99 facilities achieved ‘Excellent’ in the Managing the Team module, whilst 154 achieved ‘Very Good’ and 35 achieved ‘Good.’
Customer service and mystery visit:
There is a strong consistency in the standard of delivery across both Lilleshall and Bisham Abbey which highlights the presence of organisational business and personal objectives, and good communication between managers and frontline staff to align with them.
Looking closely at the rapport and professionalism of the team on-site, Bisham Abbey’s mystery visitor commented: “I thought the group cycle instructor was extremely welcoming. As I obviously wasn’t a regular member of the class, he made a beeline for me and introduced himself. He asked for my name and checked some details with me in terms of previous group cycle experience.
Quality Support in Safe Hands
Managing the Team CASE STUDY
How did Lilleshall and Bisham Abbey achieve ‘Excellent’ in the ‘Managing the Team’ module?
He then gave me a brief overview of how the class would typically run and explained that it would be different than the usual ‘fitness class type’ of spinning and that the attendees were cyclists and therefore it would be more of an endurance cycle class. He checked that I was okay with setting up my bike and also helped me set up the display unit so that I was ready for the start of the class.”
This demonstrates that the team at Bisham Abbey are well-managed, know their duties and carry them out in a professional manner. The instructor’s proactive approach in making the mystery visitor feel comfortable, tailoring the experience to their needs, and providing clear, helpful instructions reflects the centre’s dedication to personalised customer service.
Tip for facilities:
A key area of focus for facilities scoring lower in the 'Managing the Team' module concerns the mystery visit section, and particularly pool areas not being properly supervised, no eyes on the pool, long conversations being had between supervisors and lifeguards, and no staff available to assist in the gym.
Communication and staff development:
The level of internal communication between managers and their staff across Bisham Abbey is very strong, with regular 121 meetings known as ‘My Catch-up’, to discuss performance, wellbeing and personal development. Internal communications and HR pathways are also in place to keep the team well-informed and regularly updated.
Quality Support in Safe Hands
Tools used include:
• An open-door scheme
• Engagement groups/daily huddles
involving senior management
teams and frontline staff
• Risk assessments and working instructions
• A monthly newsletter
• Awards evenings
• Ask Simon – encouraging the team
to submit ideas to the Managing Director
• An annual survey called Viewpoint – anonymous employee feedback.
Whilst Bisham Abbey has clearly defined processes in place that are proven to be efficient for the team, there is clear indication that Lilleshall is actively planning to improve, and has reviewed its processes to follow a continuous improvement journey.
The tools used differ across the two sites, highlighting the teams’ adaptability in tailoring processes to meet their site’s unique needs. Bisham Abbey, with its stronger public-facing focus, places greater emphasis on hospitality and accommodation. In contrast, Lilleshall, with its elite
Managing the Team CASE STUDY
athlete training focus, prioritises operational processes that support high-performance sports and specialist services. This means that regular catchups between managers and staff might be more imperative for Bisham Abbey, but not so much for Lilleshall.
Sarah Lobo, Head of Quest and the assessor for Lilleshall stated that “Extensive research and trials were planned and conducted to develop a new HR product and process. Formal partner meetings were planned, there were set meetings and agendas in place, and the notes were then shared with the wider team.”
As well as using My Catchup for annual appraisals, morning huddles and Ask Simon, Lilleshall has also implemented other tools to streamline their processes, which include:
• Detailed inductions
• Colleagues noticeboards
• Staff meetings (Head of Department)
• Operational planning meetings
• Annual Serco Leisure-wide conference
• WhatsApp Groups
• IT packages
Quality Support in Safe Hands
This flexible and site-specific approach is a key factor in why both centres achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating in the 'Managing the Team' module. By recognising and responding to their distinct demands, they demonstrate effective communication, operational efficiency, and a commitment to quality service delivery and achieving organisational objectives. Other leisure centres can learn from this by adopting tailored communication strategies and ensuring their processes align with their specific audience needs, whether that be elite athletes, the general public, or a combination of both.
Laurie Jamie, Partnership Manager at Serco says “Our Quest accreditation reflects our approach to managing the teams at Lilleshall and Bisham by emphasising our commitment to prioritising team development, ensuring everyone is trained, motivated, and empowered to deliver exceptional service. We focus on creating a positive, results-driven culture that aligns with the highest industry standards. I am very proud of our achievements.”
Managing the Team CASE STUDY
Tip for facilities:
This section of the 'Managing the Team' module concerning how facilities ensure one-to-one opportunities to discuss performance, wellbeing and personal development, is a generally lower-scoring area for facilities.
Proper formal documentation of meetings, a section for health and well-being, a timetable schedule for all staff to have the opportunity to discuss their personal growth, opportunities for appraisals, and evidence of progress reports, are all solid forms of demonstrating that opportunities to review and discuss development are being had and that it’s being taken seriously.
If you would like to have your facility accredited or are looking for further information about our Quest assessments or anything discussed in this case study, please contact quest@rightdirections.co.uk or 01582 840078.
Quality Support in Safe Hands
Got ideas?
Help shape new optional
Quest modules
We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and evolve Quest to better support leisure facilities across the UK. That’s why we’re inviting you to help shape new Quest Plus modules and optional assessments!
Do you have an area of operations or a specific challenge that you’d like to see covered in a future Quest module? Are there emerging industry trends, best practices, or new focus areas that would benefit from structured assessment and guidance? Whether it’s sustainability, digital transformation, customer engagement, or another key topic, we want to hear from you!
Your voice matters
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Your input ensures that Quest remains relevant, forward-thinking, and impactful for facilities like yours. If you have an idea for a new module or an enhancement to an existing one, please share your suggestions with us today!
If you have any suggestions regarding Quest modules, or Quest in general, please contact: quest@rightdirections.co.uk or 01582 840078.
Your feedback is essential in shaping the future of Quest and ensuring it continues to meet the needs of the sector. The Quest Annual Survey is now live, and we want to hear from you! This is your opportunity to share your experiences, highlight what’s working well, and suggest areas where we can improve.
If you have any questions or suggestions reguarding this newsletter, or Quest in general, please contact us on: quest@rightdirections.co.uk or 01582 840078.
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