LS2237 Aspire One Newsletter - Issue 65 August 2021

ISSUE 65 : AUGUST 2021

One

The voice of Landsec | Aspire // Bringing our community TogetherAsOne

City slickers We drop into Dashwood and 55 Old Broad Street for a closer look at the team dedicated to making the Liverpool Street estate thrive.

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Cover: Alwyn Semper from Dashwood, Landsec’s bespoke offering in the heart of the City.

Right: Lucy Dickinson - Receptionist at 55 Old Broad Street.

For information regarding the articles in this magazine contact aspire@landsec.com Landsec, 100 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5JL

+44 (0) 20 7413 9000

aspire@landsec.com

One newsletter is keen to welcome points of view from Landsec staff and Service Partners. Therefore, the views expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Landsec. We welcome contributions whether through social media, email, letters or stories. Please forward contributions to aspire@landsec.com

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Bruce Benedickter, a true Landsec legend.

David Wickens One Editor-in-Chief david.wickens@landsec.com

Kelly Barlow One Editor kelly.barlow@landsec.com

David Wickens

Martin French

Operations Director & Chair of Landsec | Aspire

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I hope that you’ve been able to enjoy some of the (rather infrequent) sunshine this month with your family and friends.

As we head into September, with some 48 million Brits having had their first vaccination dose and self-isolation no longer required for double-jabbed close contacts, we are anticipating a large increase in the number of customers returning to our offices.

This is exciting, of course, but we need to remain vigilant in terms of Covid-19, especially in indoor common areas. I’m confident that all Landsec | Aspire colleagues will keep up the high standards set over the previous months, so that we can continue to protect ourselves and others.

In this issue of Aspire One, we introduce our team at the latest property to join the London Portfolio, 55 Old Broad Street.

We also catch up with how the trial of combined service provision for the cleaning workstream is going next door at Dashwood House. The close proximity of these two buildings – forming a boutique estate – is proving useful in allocating resources in a lean and agile way, which provides a blueprint for us all.

Though sad to see him go, we wish a very happy retirement to longstanding Aspire member, Bruce Benedickter, who has clocked up an impressive 23 years with Landsec. Enjoy, Bruce!

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Heidi Scott One Copywriter heidi@tigerbaydesign.co.uk

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AFTER 23 YE ARS AT L ANDSEC

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Bruce Benedickter retires After 23 years of service, Bruce Benedickter has retired from his role as Central Administrator.

Part of the Finance Administration team, Bruce was well known by all the Aspire Service Partners as he was responsible for raising contract purchase orders for them, with the team also confirming that work has been completed so that payments can be made. Having worked for Landsec for so many years, Bruce is also well known by many of the on-site staff.

In his newfound freedom, Bruce will be spending time travelling around the UK on his beloved motorbike, getting under his wife’s feet, doing voluntary work with his church and watching Bruce Lee films. At his retirement celebration on 5th July at One New Change, a number of Aspire partners turned up

to wish him well and enjoy a slice of his magnificent Bruce Lee/motorbikethemed retirement cake. In addition, Bruce enjoyed a retirement picnic with his colleagues in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on 5th August.

Melissa Cooper, Procurement Manager, commented, “He will be missed by the team and all at Landsec, and also at the Aspire functions throughout the year, especially the quiz!”

From left to right Mariana Panchak, Elaine Smalley, Nikki Jones, Bruce Benedickter, John Abberley and Ollie Harris enjoying Bruce’s retirement picnic in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

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Scheila Costa.

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With a number of changes having taken place recently, the Aspire team at Dashwood House has proven adaptable to new ways of working.

One magazine spoke to Louise Ody, Workspace Manager at Dashwood, to find out more.

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Office Space

by Landsec

Souleymane Sali.

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Alwyn Semper.

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Office Space

by Landsec

Dealing with a number of changes all at once can faze even the best of staff.

Not at Dashwood House, however, where Landsec | Aspire members have taken developments in their stride.

Not only does the building have a new manager – with Louise Ody having stepped into Keith Lamb’s shoes when he retired at the end of last year – Dashwood is also now the second Landsec property to offer workspace under the Myo, Customised and Blank Canvas brands, supported by new lounge, café and cycle/shower facilities. If that were not change enough, Dashwood is also the test site for combined service provision, with Principle having won

the cleaning contract across all three of the workspace brands. Then there’s the fact that Landsec acquired 55 Old Broad Street (Dashwood’s neighbouring property) late last year, which made some sharing of resources across the two sites possible, meaning yet more change.

“It’s all bedding in,” says Louise Ody. “I really feel part of a good team here.

Dashwood is not as big as some of the other Landsec buildings; I sit in an office with Aspire colleagues from NG Bailey and my security manager, so you hear what’s going on and you can talk things over.”

Anthony wins award Anthony Owusu, who has worked at Dashwood for 11 years, transferred over to Principle Cleaning in April from NJC. Based on information supplied by Louise Ody (left), Workspace Manager at Dashwood, Anthony was nominated for one of Principle Cleaning’s Employee of the Month awards recently by Operations Manager, Gosia Wudarczyk. Anthony had assisted the security team at Dashwood when some peaceful protesters tried to enter the building.

He won the award after only two months with the company, with news of his efforts and the accolade being published in the company’s newsletter.

Louise Ody

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Newly refurbished to a high specification that promotes both wellbeing and sustainability, Dashwood has a great location in one of London’s most vibrant districts with popular shops, markets, bars and restaurants.

“We had a couple of launch days in July, where we promoted it to the market,” explains Louise, “and the Aspire teams did a brilliant job of prepping it and showing off what we can do. I was really proud of them for that.”

With great transport links – just two minutes from Liverpool Street Station and the new Crossrail entrance – Dashwood is proving popular, especially given the current interest in hybrid working patterns. Crossrail is due to come on stream early next year and this is likely to increase demand at Dashwood further. Louise Ody cannot wait, from both a business and a personal perspective: “I’m on a Crossrail station,” she says, “and it will be only

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19 minutes for me to get into Liverpool Street. I certainly think it’s a key selling point.”

The refurbishment work has not yet been completed on all floors, which is providing a certain amount of challenge for Louise and her team. “We’ve got five floors in fit-out still. Sometimes it requires a bit of juggling in terms of what customers want versus what we need to get done,” she admits. “The next challenge for us will be when customers start moving in – getting them in and settled, whilst the team and I keep our sanity!” she jokes.

Louise is pleased with how the trial of combined service provision is going.

“We had Principle Cleaning join us in April and the team are doing really well – they’re really engaged,” she says. As well as cleaning Dashwood’s common areas and the Myo floors in a trial that will last a full year, Principle is also

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responsible for cleaning at 55 Old Broad Street. Using one team across the entire workspace of the two properties secures a degree of resilience, with the flexibility to balance resources when a team member is absent or there is a higher workload in one particular area. “It’s working really well, although the building is not really busy as yet,” says Louise. “The team are working well together and getting good feedback from customers.”

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Lawrence Merry.

The more, the Merry-er Lawrence Merry has joined the Aspire team at Dashwood and 55 OBS in the newly created role of Estate Security Manager. Lawrence, who has been working for Bidvest on Landsec contracts for a number of years, is now overseeing security operations at the two adjacent properties, the basements of which are connected. “It’s certainly made a difference having Lawrence join us,” comments Louise Ody. “He’s such a key member of Aspire as well – he does all the challenges,” she adds.

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Dashwood

Q&A Gosia Wudarczyk Operations Manager for Principle Cleaning

Gosia Wudarczyk is Operations Manager for Principle Cleaning.

One magazine asked her some questions about the cleaning contract at Dashwood and 55 Old Broad Street.

Where are you based?

I’m mobile, as I have about 30 sites around the City to look after, but I visit Dashwood quite often to support the team.

Is one team responsible for Dashwood and 55 OBS? Yes, it is one team for 55, Dashwood and the Myo floors – we call it the Dashwood Team.

Individuals have their own work schedules but they support each other with short-term absences or any issues. Irena, who takes care of 55 Old Broad Street, finishes her shift at 2.30pm so after that colleagues from Dashwood go over to check reception and the external area until 5pm.

How do you keep track of working hours?

We have a new scanning system – staff scan their tag – to verify the hours worked in each area.

Who is in the Aspire cleaning team at Dashwood and 55 OBS? There are five people at Dashwood and one person at 55 OBS. Anthony Owusu takes care of Dashwood’s landlord areas, Jean Manoel De Oliveira is responsible for the external area, Humberto Goncalves does the Myo floors and then we have a new colleague starting at Dashwood from 23rd August. Scheila Costa is the Senior Housekeeper, based on the Myo floors, and she acts as the team supervisor. She’s the main point of contact for the security and building management teams. Finally, there is Irena Buikauskiene, who works over in 55 OBS. How have things been going since Principle joined Dashwood and 55 OBS on 1st April?

I think it’s going very well. Anthony, Jean Manoel and Irena were TUPEd to Principle from NJC and the other staff were brought with us. There were no issues with the transfer and everything went smoothly.

The on-site team – the security, reception and management staff – are very nice and welcomed us all.

We had a great relationship from the beginning. The building launches also went well and the team really enjoy working on site.

Are you doing anything differently?

We have eco-friendly chemicals and new clothing. The uniforms were part of our tender. They are sustainable because they have no logos; the idea is for the team to be able to wear them outside of work, reducing the amount of clothing that people need to buy.

What are you proud of at Dashwood and 55 OBS? The team approach. If there is a challenge or issue, they work as a team. And Scheila keeps them together, even though she’s Housekeeper for Myo. She is highly regarded by everyone on site. She came across with Principle in April and very quickly showed what she can do. The scanning-in system is also working very well. A report at the end of month shows how many hours have been worked in each location.

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Man Gurung.

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Anthony Owusu.

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Aspire SERVICE STREAMS

55 OLD BROAD STREET

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How has the Landsec | Aspire team settled in to the latest addition to the London Portfolio?

One magazine dropped by OBS to meet the team and get the lowdown.

Irena Buikauskiene.

Jordon Joseph.

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Lucy Dickinson.

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When 55 Old Broad Street was acquired by Landsec in December 2020, care of the building’s interior and exterior spaces passed over to our Aspire colleagues. And, with the 10-storey building having 100,000 sq ft of office space, there is quite a lot to take care of. Just a two-minute walk from Liverpool Street station, 55 Old Broad Street wraps around Dashwood, enabling the teams at these two Landsec properties to work closely together.

Since January, the team members at 55 OBS have been getting to know their new environment and the customers based there. It’s been a learning curve, according to Jordon Joseph, Assistant Workspace Manager, who is responsible for the building. “It’s an old property,”

Jordon explains, “so there’s a lot of information that you’d have on a new building that’s not available here, such as up-to-date and detailed floor plans.”

Landsec’s aim is to get 55 OBS to a standard comparable to its other assets as quickly as possible.

With all but one of the building’s staff making a TUPE transfer over from the previous owner to the new set-up, there has been a smooth transition. Jordon says there’s a “one-team ethos” and the Aspire members have provided valuable continuity for customers.

“We mobilised the contract over a 3-month period, with NJC taking care of cleaning initially as they were already at Dashwood,” says Jordon.

After a tender process, Principle won

the cleaning contract. The other Aspire Service Partners working at 55 OBS are Ultimate Security, Q&S, Kone, D2E and NG Bailey. The security team has been strengthened by the addition of the new position of Estate Security Manager to oversee operations at both 55 OBS and Dashwood, a role that is being ably fulfilled by long-standing Aspire member, Lawrence Merry.

Jordon admits that the fact that some customers have been working from home due to the pandemic has made things a bit more challenging. “Some of them haven’t had a full experience of the building,” he says. “It’s made us learn different ways of working.” The Aspire Service Partners have been key to ensuring high standards of customer service over the initial months at

Mark Brownlow.

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Irena Buikauskiene.

DID YOU KNOW? Broad Street station – which was at the top of Old Broad Street, adjacent to Liverpool Street station – was shut in 1986 and is the only major terminus station in London to have permanently closed.

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Aspire SERVICE STREAMS STREAMS

55 OBS. “We rely on them to be our eyes on site,” says Jordon. He holds a bi-weekly team meeting with the Service Partners and they are free to call him or his Landsec colleagues with any issues. They are also invited to give an update at the quarterly customer meetings if they want to.

Jordon and his team have been working hard to develop relationships with the customers at 55 OBS. The building was previously managed on a contract, with far less interaction with clients. “As a landlord, we have a more invested interest in customer relationships,” explains Jordon. “Some of the customers had never spoken to a building manager – or only when there

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was a real problem – whereas we like to speak regularly with customers to make sure everything’s alright. We’re a lot more customer-centric. So they’ve been pleased to see us doing that and being more engaged with them, to understand what’s going on within their businesses, how they’re finding the building and to get their opinion on how to enhance the service we provide.”

What have Jordon and the team at 55 OBS found most rewarding so far? “Getting positive feedback from customers – that they’ve seen improvements with their new landlord,” says Jordon, “and that they’re happy that we were able to keep the same team in place.”

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Q&A Lucy Dickinson Receptionist at 55 Old Broad Street

How long have you worked at 55?

I started in February 2020 and did 3 months, then I went on furlough for the whole of the summer. Then I was back in for another 3 months and then furloughed again. When I came back, the building had changed hands.

What was your experience of furlough like?

The first time, it was good. It was a bit weird – it felt like I’d retired.

It was a great summer, really hot.

The second time, I’d had enough – I wanted to be set in one routine, so I’m pleased to be back.

What does your job entail?

It’s mostly security – issuing badges for people to get in and out of the building, making sure visitors are registered and making sure contractors are only issued with permits if they’ve gone through Riskwise and been accepted. It’s a 24-hour building and there’s also the loading bay parking to supervise. I don’t handle calls but I deal with some emails and update the reception calendar, to know what we’re doing on a daily basis.

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What’s the team you work with like?

They’re great. It’s Mo, Mark and me full time. Mo and Mark are the security guards, doing the checks and patrols. The rule is that there’s a maximum of two people on the desk at any one time. When I go to lunch, the two guys can sit down – it’s a bit like musical chairs!

What’s the most challenging thing?

What throws you is when a number of things happen at once – contractors and visitors arriving and something happening in the loading bay.

And what’s the best bit of the job?

Having bubbly conversations with clients as they’re coming through in the morning, greeting people and having a joke. Everyone is just really lovely.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I go to the gym to keep fit. I live with my mum at the moment and like to be at home, but I also love eating out and catching up with friends.

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DID YOU KNOW? Bayar Bozorgmanesh.

Old Broad Street forms part of Broad Street, one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London. Each ward has an Alderman and it is one of their number who is elected Lord Mayor every year.

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Aspire ONE COMMUNITY

Aspire | Events We build strong personal relationships between our service partners.

Through social and professional events, the Aspire team is now stronger, more efficient and able to respond quickly.

Future events The Aspire Team is always looking for exciting new ways to integrate our members and bring our community TogetherAsOne.

Aspire Lake District Triple Challenge 2019.

With life across the UK returning to the new normal, we’d love to hear your suggestions for events you would like to attend.

Safety remains our top priority but we are looking to restart our events as soon as it’s possible, so please email your suggestions to aspire@landsec.com today!

View our Event

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Chelsey Hall

21 Sept PURPLE TUESDAY WEBINAR

Helping people with dementia A webinar on how to help people with dementia will be presented

by Purple Tuesday 365 on Tuesday 21st September, which is World Alzheimer’s Day. Starting at 12.30pm, the webinar will provide handy hints for staff serving customers who have dementia and all members of the Aspire community are invited to take part. Please speak to your line manager for details if you wish to book a place.

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The Aspire family welcomes baby Freya to the world!

Arriving at 1.33am on 24th August, this little bundle of gorgeousness is daughter to Chelsey Hall, Manager of the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk. Freya weighed in at 7lb 7oz and both she and Chelsey are happy and healthy.

Congratulations!

World Alzheimer’s Day takes place every year on 21st September and aims to raise awareness of the disease, its impact and the tools available for sufferers and their supporters to help to deal with it. An estimated 850,000 people are living with dementia in the UK today. Globally, the number of people affected is rising, with figures predicted to increase from 50 million in 2018 to 152 million by 2050.

Landsec | Aspire supports the work of #PurpleTuesday in driving change to enhance the customer experience for disabled people, as well as subscribing to Purple Tuesday 365, which shines a spotlight on accessibility and equality all year round.

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Aspire ONE TEAM / ONE PURPOSE

A FOND FAREWELL TO

Andy Slatter

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After seven years with Landsec, Andy Slatter is moving to pastures new.

Andy has spent most of his career with Landsec as General Manager of the West End team. Last October he took on the role of Strategic Workspace Director, before becoming Operational Risk Director in June this year.

Louise Ody, Workspace Manager for Dashwood, worked with Andy in the West End. “Andy hired me into Landsec,” she says, “and looked after me when I was at Cardinal Place, where I was one of his team. He was really supportive when you weren’t quite sure about something or had new ideas,”

continues Louise. “He’s always been a great sounding board and a trusted colleague.”

Andy has been a key supporter of Landsec | Aspire from the beginning and completed all three of the Aspire challenges – the 3 Peaks, the Peak District and Lake District. The Aspire community reflects his management style. “He wanted everyone to do their best and be recognised for it,” says Louise.

After his last day at Landsec on 31st August, Andy is moving back into operations in his new role with Argent at King’s Cross. “That’s his passion, the workings of the estate,” says Louise.

“I’m so excited for him with this new opportunity but I’m also really sad to see him go and I know quite a few other people are too.”

The whole Aspire community thanks you, Andy, for your years of service and wishes you all the best for the future.

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Aspire STAFF RECOGNITION AWARDS

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We recognise & reward Landsec | Aspire is always looking for your feedback to help us give praise where it’s due. Whether you’re a team member or a Landsec Customer, let us have your Player of the Month votes and winners will be featured in One Magazine.

What are the Aspire Staff Recognition Awards?

Every month a ‘Player / Team of the Month’ is selected from nominations by you, other Aspire team members and Landsec Customers. Winners receive a certificate and some well-deserved prizes.

Aspire Recognition Awards 2017.

It is a credit to everyone that each month lots of nominations are received, illustrating just how good the Aspire team is and how team members are held in such high regard by the people they work with.

How do your workmates excel in the Aspire values?

— Determined — Inclusive — Driven — United

Have your say AspireAsOne.co.uk

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Aspire PLAYER OF THE MONTH

July ‘21

Each month we salute the people recognised by you for exceptional performance or for simply being a great team member.

Nominations can now be made via AspireAsOne.co.uk

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Aspire Lake District Triple Challenge 2019.

Team of the month

This month, we don’t wish to single out any one person for recognition. Over the pandemic period the entire team has displayed remarkable resolve in the face of adversity, and Landsec applauds every single one of you.

David Wickens Operations Director & Chair of Landsec | Aspire

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