Aspire One Newsletter- Issue 68 November 2021

ISSUE 68 : NOVEMBER 2021

One

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

Let’s raise

the roof With the festive period welcoming back more customers to our office workspaces and retail destinations, let’s make this a month to remember.

See pages 008-011

AspireAsOne

Cover: Akanchaa Ghale at 80-100 Victoria Street.

Right: Landsec’s Hiren Patel and Jenny Harper at The Aspire Beach Ball.

We’re sorry!

Postponed until 25th Feb 2022 FRIDAY 10.12.2021 HEART OF THE WEST END SEE PAGE

04

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

002 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

One

Magazine

Nova Victoria received great feedback in Landsec’s Pulse Surveys.

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

Kelly Barlow One Editor kelly.barlow@landsec.com

David Wickens Operations Director & Chair of Landsec | Aspire

I

In this issue you can read about some of the fantastic customer feedback we have received as part of Landsec’s Customer Pulse Surveys.

These heart-warming comments are a tribute to the commitment of the entire Aspire community. Thank you for not only performing your tasks to the best of your ability every day, but also for being happy and helpful as you go about your work – our customers genuinely notice and appreciate it.

This can-do attitude of all Aspire colleagues is one of the factors contributing to the strong business results recently announced by Landsec for the six months to 30 September.

With central London offices being one of the three key strands of our strategy – along with major retail destinations and mixed-use urban neighbourhoods – the role you play in delivering a great customer experience in the London Portfolio continues to be hugely important.

The Christmas trees are in place and our properties are ablaze with festive lights, so let the celebrations begin! As the Aspire community has worked very hard in yet another strange year, we’re devastated to inform you that our PartyAsOne at RubyBlue has been postponed until 25th February 2022. Instead, we hope you’ll enjoy our Christmas Jumper Day which still takes place at all properties across the City and West End.

Martin French One Design & Layout martin@tigerbaydesign.co.uk

Heidi Scott One Copywriter heidi@tigerbaydesign.co.uk

Social media facebook.com/AspireAsOneTeam twitter.com/AspireAsOne instagram.com/AspireAsOne

One Magazine 003

With Government legislation regularly updated, this event will make every

004 One Magazine

COVID SAFETY

HEART OF THE WEST END

effort to comply with any social distancing guidelines in place at the time. Details to be confirmed.

FRIDAY 10.12.2021

AspireAsOne AspireAsOne AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne.co.uk

PartyAsOne

We’re sorry!

Postponed until 25th Feb 2022

w w w. r u b y b l u e b a r. c o . u k

LET’S MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME & CELEBR ATE ASPIRE STYLE

WHAT IS ASPIRE STYLE?

One Magazine 005

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

We’re sorry!

Postponed until 25th Feb 2022

006 One Magazine

AspireAsOneTeam FOR PREVIOUS ASPIRE STYLE EVENTS ALBUMS

One Magazine 007

Looking forward to the festive period at New Street Square.

008 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Aspire ONE TEAM / ONE PURPOSE

‘TIS THE SEASON TO

Enhance the festive customer experience!

One New Change.

a

As the end-of-year festivities in 2020 were understandably lacklustre, this year we want all Landsec customers and guests to celebrate in style. So with the holiday season firmly underway, it’s time for the Aspire community to liven up the London Portfolio!

Office teams are decorating their workspaces and enjoying the traditional party period, while shoppers are bustling under towering Christmas trees and spectacular light displays in our retail destinations. At last, the

traditional merriment of this most wonderful time of the year has made a welcome return! So it’s time for us all to dig out our festive accessories – socks, hats, ties and earrings – and put on our widest smiles to play our part in delivering a warm and glittery welcome for everyone.

Please join in with the Yuletide cheer by donning your craziest sweaters for our annual Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 10 December.

One Magazine 009

Aspire ONE TEAM / ONE PURPOSE

The festive period at Nova.

010 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

Landsec invites all Service Partners to raise the spirits during this much needed festive period.

Let’s put on a party, elevate the customer experience and raise the roof off the London Portfolio!

David Wickens Landsec Operations Director & Chair of Landsec | Aspire

One Magazine

011

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS

A S P I R E ’ S

G O T

I T S

Landsec’s Customer Pulse surveys across the London Portfolio reveal that Aspire colleagues continue to be held in high esteem.

012

One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

New Street Square.

Finger on the pulse

AspireAsOne

Office Space

by Landsec

One Magazine

013

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS New Street Square.

030 One Magazine 014

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

New Street Square.

Office Space

by Landsec

Landsec has been conducting surveys of customers in the London Portfolio to understand their needs and measure performance, including that of the Landsec | Aspire community.

And the latest results are in…

It stands to reason that an organisation has little chance of meeting its customers’ needs and expectations if it doesn’t communicate regularly with them. With a new strategy focused on being truly customer-centric, Landsec introduced the concept of Customer Pulse surveys about a year ago. This is a comprehensive and ongoing programme of gathering customer feedback, with every tenant in the London Portfolio approached to take part twice each year.

The Customer Pulse feedback is gained through a combination of surveys and interviews. While the surveys feature a fixed list of questions, the 45-minute interviews are arranged around certain discussion areas but can cover more wide-ranging topics. Feedback is gathered from a range of people within each company – those in operational roles, senior managers in strategic roles and employees at all levels who use the building.

“With this project, we’re trying to understand more about the experience we’re providing for our customers in terms of the products we offer them and their relationship with us,” explains Jennie O’Connell, Customer Proposition Lead for Landsec.

“Post room and security services are incredibly helpful, flexible and friendly. We’d like to put compliments forward to them.”

Zig Zag Building Customer feedback

015 One OneMagazine Magazine 015

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS New Street Square.

Glowing reports for Aspire The latest Customer Pulse survey has included some highly complimentary feedback from customers about our Aspire Service Partners. We are featuring a few of these customer comments in this article, but these are by no means all of the positive things that tenants have said recently about the Aspire community. Well done to those colleagues mentioned in the quotes here, and to all of you for going the extra mile for our customers and visitors.

016

One Magazine

How the feedback is used The Customer Pulse feedback is collated into a quarterly report that is shared with the Workspace Managers in our properties and senior management within Landsec. This allows action to be taken where required, with the feedback also informing the way forward.

Ultimately, customer views on their demand for space and the factors they consider important in their work environment feed into the work of Landsec’s development team in the creation of brand-new buildings. The information is also vital in helping to develop the right mix of retail and workspace in local neighbourhoods.

“We are having very interesting conversations with customers about how they are feeling about coming back to the office after the pandemic, how their ways of working are changing and how the way they use their building is evolving,” says Jennie. “Customers often say that they value having a candid chat with us and that they feel listened to, which is good news.”

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

NOVA Victoria

“The feedback covers the operational side of things (what they think of our Aspire services such as cleaning, security, lifts and so on), their thoughts on our product choice and building design, what they think of the relationship and communication they have with Landsec and other factors such as our sustainability initiatives.

All this helps us to understand how we are performing and what we need to do to improve.”

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

New Street Square.

One Magazine

017

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS NOVA Victoria.

018 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

NOVA Victoria.

“I’ve always told everybody that the loading bay that we’ve got in Nova South, you could eat off the floor. It’s so clean and spotless; there is no smell. It’s very well organized and very well run.”

Nova Customer feedback

019 One OneMagazine Magazine 015

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS STREAMS

Office Space

by Landsec

One New Change.

NOVA Victoria.

020 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

New Street Square.

One Magazine

021

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS

NOVA Victoria.

“Landsec put us in touch with Bywaters and everything was just really easy to do.

It was small things like the recycling of batteries and toner cartridges – small things, but things that really matter to us. Bywaters are really open, really available to us.”

30 Eastbourne Terrace Customer feedback

022 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

Office Space

by Landsec One Magazine 023

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS

NOVA Victoria.

“We’ve had people coming in and raving about the team downstairs. My colleague on site says the same thing, as he works with them a lot in terms of booking people in downstairs. I’ve not received just good feedback but really positive, glowing feedback on the front of house.”

Nova Customer feedback

024 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

80 Victoria Street.

One Magazine 025

Aspire SERVICE STREAMS 80 Victoria Street.

“I think the cleaning of Cardinal Place is excellent.”

Cardinal Place Customer feedback

026 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

NOVA Victoria.

Office Space

by Landsec

One Magazine 027

AspireAssist

24/7 HelpDesk

NO NEED TO LOG IN FOR

e

O n e - c l i c k insta nt su p p or t Ever evolving to improve customer service, the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk no longer requires users to log in to access the online support facility.

The first point of call for Landsec customers and Service Partners for issues and enquiries, the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk has played an important role in ensuring customer satisfaction since its launch in 2019. Now use of the HelpDesk has been made even easier, with users no longer required to log in to the portal in order to generate a ticket or communicate via LiveChat.

Effective since the beginning of November, this change means that HelpDesk services are now available with a single click. Users do still need to log in, however, to access the Knowledge Base – the essential information on policies and processes for occupying Landsec properties – or to

028 One Magazine

see updates on ticket progress (although they will receive an email to indicate any new response on their ticket).

Comparison of the usage data for the various communication channels used by the AspireAssist HelpDesk between October and November shows that removing the need to log in has increased use of the portal to generate new tickets. Incoming emails via the portal are converted automatically into tickets, which record all communication regarding an incident and can be used for later investigation, if required.

“Removing the need to log in will make things more efficient for customers, Aspire colleagues and our HelpDesk Administrators,” says Shade Huntley, Business Support Manager for NJC. “And this change really helps us deal with the average of 2500-3000 tickets generated each month more efficiently and effectively.”

AspireAsOne.co.uk

Team changes There have been a few changes within the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk team recently, with HelpDesk Administrators Terry Latchman and Katrina Rawlings both leaving. Terry is taking some time out from his working life to achieve some personal goals, while Katrina has joined a French company in order to use her language skills. Replacing them on the HelpDesk are Jerome Baker and Geishini Bogee.

“Both of our new recruits joined us on 8 November,” says Shade Huntley.

“They are picking things up quickly and settling into the team,” she continues, “as well as beginning to build rapport with customers and Aspire partners.”

Completing the AspireAssist team are Zainab Mohmed (HelpDesk Administrator), Shamora Dalhouse (HelpDesk Supervisor) and Shade Huntley (Business Support Manager, who is currently leading the team during the maternity leave of AspireAssist Manager, Chelsey Hall).

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

Shamora Dalhouse, HelpDesk Supervisor.

LiveChat

is speedy and we’re human!

The AspireAssist team would love more users to take advantage of the fantastic LiveChat facility, which also does not require users to log in. LiveChat is accessed via the purple icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the browser window at assist.landseclink.com and is available from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

"LiveChat is really convenient and quick to use," says Shamora Dalhouse, HelpDesk Supervisor. "Using LiveChat is much quicker than sending an email – your enquiry goes through directly to one of our HelpDesk members, who will log the ticket for you. We suspect some people think they'll be communicating with a chatbot, but actually it's the same experienced and professional team dealing with your issue through LiveChat."

A v a i l a b l e

n o w

assist.landseclink.com One Magazine 029

Aspire ONE COMMUNITY

F R I DAY 1 0 T H D EC E M B E R

Christmas Jumper Day This December, we’re inviting all Aspire members, customers and guests at Landsec properties across the West End and City to enthusiastically adopt the holiday spirit with our annual Christmas Jumper Day. Please join the fun and spread festive cheer with one of the most popular events of the season.

030 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

TogetherAsOne

We’ll be kick-starting the holiday season across the London Portfolio on Friday 10 December with our annual Christmas Jumper Day. It’s time to dust down your festive tops – or maybe invest in a new one – so you can dress to impress and join in the fun.

Join the fun, everyone’s invited

With more customers and visitors back in our properties, it would be fantastic to bring some seasonal cheer to one and all. We want to see jumpers sporting Santa, reindeer, elves, Christmas trees, snowmen, penguins and polar bears. In fact, why limit the fun to your top half, when you could be sparkly and festive from head to toe?

However brave you are feeling, get creative and bring some smiles to your colleagues’ faces. You won’t be alone – millions of people in workplaces and schools across Britain will be sporting festive sweaters on 10 December in support of the Save the Children charity (if you want to make a donation to this worthy cause, you can visit their website at savethechildren.org.uk).

If you happen to be working from home or you are offsite for some reason, that’s no excuse not to get involved! You can take a selfie and post your Christmas Jumper Day pics or movies on the Landsec | Aspire Facebook page.

One Magazine

031

Aspire ONE COMMUNITY

What charity would you like Aspire to focus on next?

Aspire Peak District Challenge.

After three memorable years of support and success, the team’s partnership with The Honeypot Children’s Charity came to an end. But of course, this does not mean the end of our fundraising efforts. We asked you to suggest which charity Aspire should focus on next and after careful research, the Aspire Steering Board have shortlisted the most suitable candidates.

To make your voice heard, please email the name of the shortlisted charity you would like Aspire to support to aspire@landsec.com

032 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Vote now Please email the name of the shortlisted charity you would like Aspire to support to aspire@landsec.com

Hestia

Solace Women’s Aid

Food Cycle

Hestia began providing support to adults in crisis in 1970 after founder Jim Horne experienced street homelessness in London. He started a soup run for men and women living on the streets and worked with local authorities to provide accommodation. Within the year, over 800 people were provided with a safe space to sleep at night.

Solace help women to escape domestic and sexual violence across London.

They provide advice, support and accommodation to those families in need.

Serves lunches and dinner made from reclaimed and surplus food to those in the UK who are hungry and lonely.

With the help of volunteers, it serves over 1,400 people per week and guests have the opportunity to meet and make friends with people in their community as well.

Hestia is now one of the largest providers of domestic abuse refuges in London and the South East and the main organisation supporting victims of modern slavery in the capital.

Hestia.org

Trussell Trust Network With an aim to end hunger and poverty in the UK, Trussell Trust is a nationwide network of food banks that provides emergency food and support for people locked in poverty.

TrussellTrust.org

SolaceWomensAid.org

Providence Row Providence is a homelessness charity based in Spitalfields (just to the east of the City) and does amazing work tackling homelessness in central and east London – an issue that over the last year has continued to increase. They are relatively small, so Aspire partners can see exactly what their fundraising is being used to achieve. All funds raised really make a difference.

ProvidenceRow.org.uk

FoodCycle.org.uk

Caxton Youth Caxton’s mission is to develop independent living, educational, health and social skills in order to promote inclusion, participation and effective citizenship. The organisation provides a comprehensive programme of activities.

The youth club aims to provide the young people with facilities for recreation and informal education so that they may grow to their full potential and that their conditions of life may be improved.

CaxtonYouth.org

Aspire All Star Lanes.

One Magazine 033

Aspire ONE COMMUNITY

How do we support our charity?

Vote now Please email the name of the shortlisted charity you would like Aspire to support to aspire@landsec.com

Throughout each year, Landsec | Aspire organises a range of challenges, events and fundraising schemes.

Every penny raised is donated to our charity, with tens of thousands of pounds having been raised to date.

Aspire is proud of what we have achieved and we are dedicated to changing lives for the better, in every way we can.

034 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Meet the team

Aspire Lake District Triple Challenge.

One Magazine 035

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 at All Star Lanes, Brick Lane.

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

036 One Magazine

Archive at AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

3 Dec

Roll On 2022 The Aspire Derby // Coming Soon Aspire Quiz Night // March 2022 Aspire Challenge // September 2022

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022

d

During the pandemic we have all missed getting together, so we’re delighted to say that preparations are underway for a return to our usual packed calendar of events in 2022.

Although we will need to continue to be mindful of Government guidelines concerning Covid-19 and adapt our plans if necessary, we already have a number of events in the planning stages for next year.

These include an opportunity to test your brains with an Aspire Quiz Night in March, another Aspire Derby football tournament (no doubt as hotly contested as the last one!) and a highly anticipated Aspire Challenge in September.

In addition, we look forward to the return of the traditional Landsec | Aspire Recognition Awards, when we can once again pay tribute to the team members among our Service Partners who have gone above and beyond.

PURPLE TUESDAY 365

Disability webinar For December, Purple Tuesday 365 will host a webinar on the topic of ‘The social and commercial benefit of disability’.

The webinar will take place at 12.30pm on Friday 3 December, which is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, an event marked by the United Nations since 1992.

This year’s event has as its theme ‘Building Back Better’, aiming for a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post Covid-19 world.

More than one billion of the world’s population of over 7 billion people live with some form of disability – equivalent to around 15 per cent.

Of these disabled people, 80 per cent live in developing countries.

Everyone in the Landsec | Aspire community is welcome to take part in this #PurpleTuesday webinar, so please speak to your line manager if you would like to book a place.

FLOOD OF PRAISE FOR KRISTIAN

FLOOR TESTING AT ONC

Thank you to Kristian Kitka from the Aspire team at Cardinal Place for his outstanding efforts recently in helping a customer with a flooding issue caused by heavy rain.

Kristian stepped in to assist the tenant in dealing with water that had affected a storeroom. The customer said of Kristian, “He stayed late and helped remove the water and then put a large bin in place to limit any further damage. Kristian has gone above and beyond on several occasions and I have noticed that all of your team members are hard working, polite and friendly.”

Well done to Kristian and the whole team!

A team from NJC visited One New Change recently to gauge the amount of grip on the floor in the reception area.

Regular testing of flooring is recommended in order to assess the danger of slips and make informed decisions on how to minimize these risks. The Aspire colleagues conducted a Pendulum Test, which is the recognised method for measuring the slip resistance of floors, using a portable machine.

“We were asked to assist in providing this service,” explains Charles Walden, Senior Portfolio Manager for NJC, “and we were happy to assist. It’s a good example of Aspire partners collaborating and sharing expertise and knowledge for the benefit of the portfolio.”

Many thanks to the NJC team for their professionalism.

One Magazine 037

Aspire STAFF RECOGNITION AWARDS

T O

M A I N T A I N

M O R A L E

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.

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

038 One Magazine

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

Aspire PLAYER OF THE MONTH

October ‘21 te of Recog a ic

n tio ni

Cer tif

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

Aspire Recognition Awards.

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

One Magazine 039

AspireAsOne.co.uk

AspireAsOneTeam

AspireAsOne

AspireAsOne

w w w. r u b y b l u e b a r. c o . u k

HEART OF THE WEST END

PartyAsOne

With Government legislation regularly updated, this event will make every

FRIDAY 10.12.2021

Postponed until 25th Feb 2022

COVID SAFETY

We’re sorry!

effort to comply with any social distancing guidelines in place at the time. Details to be confirmed.

LET’S MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME & CELEBR ATE ASPIRE STYLE