One

The voice of Landsec | Aspire // Bringing our community TogetherAsOne
The voice of Landsec | Aspire // Bringing our community TogetherAsOne
To work in the capital as a lone ranger requires a unique personality, a dedicated work ethic and a self-motivated drive for success.
See pages 004-019
iIt may be late January but I do still want to take the opportunity to wish everyone in the Landsec | Aspire family a Happy New Year!
We are planning some exciting Aspire events for 2023 and I very much hope you will get involved. We’ll be kicking off with our legendary Quiz Night in March – the date and details will be announced soon, so keep an eye out and then put a note in your diary. This year we’ll be mixing the teams up a little so that you get the opportunity to meet some new members of the Aspire community. As ever, it will be a really fun night, so I do encourage you to come along.
In our first issue of One magazine this year, we shine the spotlight on a couple of people who work largely on their own. The face of Landsec at their sites, Priscilla Asumanu and Nageen Jalal
ably demonstrate the Aspire values as they manage all aspects of dayto-day operations at 6-17 Tottenham Court Road and 24 Southwark Bridge Road respectively.
Also in this issue, we extend a warm Aspire welcome to John AndersonDixon, who has joined Principle Cleaning Services as Portfolio Director, and Jessica Pilakis, Deputy Guest Services Manager for Rapport. Take a few minutes to read about what makes them tick and don’t forget to introduce yourselves if you see them out and about around the London Portfolio.
In our ‘5 minutes with’ column, we find out a bit more about Sarah Hotchen, Managing Director of NG Bailey, including her penchant for indie bands, Sheffield United and toffee.
For some colleagues, being able to tap into the Aspire community is especially important because they generally work alone. Having heard some exceptional feedback, One Magazine visited two unsung heroes to find out how they integrate with other Service Partners and what motivates them to maintain their exceptional standards.
Having worked at 6-17 Tottenham Court Road since 2012, Priscilla Asumanu has built up over a decade’s experience and handles everything with ease. She is clearly someone with loyalty and commitment, having also clocked up ten years in her previous role as a Hospital Administrator in Blackheath.
She works from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, but despite the long hours, her work ethic is described as “relentless” by Lawrence Merry, Key Account Manager for Bidvest Noonan. “As a security officer on a one-person site, Priscilla is our rock,” he says, “and the job would be five times harder without her.”
The site is purely retail and leisure. The customers in the six units on Tottenham Court Road are Sainsbury’s Local, Boots, Specsavers, sushi restaurant Wasabi, Barclays and clothing & homeware retailer Muji. The tenant in neighbouring Hanway Place is Hakkasan, an exclusive and Michelinstarred restaurant offering modern Cantonese cuisine. Priscilla oversees everything from the management office on the building’s rooftop. With no Workplace Manager based on site, she is the first point of call for customers. “I’m a jack-of-all-trades,” she jokes.
Her daily routine starts with a patrol to check everything, including all doors and the plant room. Then she goes to chat to each tenant to make sure everything is alright, before checking emails and catching up with correspondence. She says every day is different, depending on what comes up on site. If there are any technical problems, she logs them
with the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk and she escalates any other issues that she cannot sort herself to Landsec management. “I get on very well with all the Aspire team,” says Priscilla. Engineers from NG Bailey visit from their office just five minutes away in Soho Square, while the Bywaters team takes care of waste management at the site. The only other Aspire member working at Tottenham Court Road is George Obeng, Cleaner with NJC, who has been at the site for almost two years. He works weekday mornings, as well as a couple of hours on a Saturday. George enjoys his job and says he likes working alongside Priscilla.
According to Priscilla, the best thing about her job is seeing her customers and having conversations with them. “We see ourselves as friends,” she says. “It’s more like a family.” She speaks highly of the retail managers on site: “If there’s an issue and I channel it to them, they quickly resolve it.”
She also gets on well with Adnaan Butt, her manager at Bidvest Noonan, and Paul Trumper, Retail Operations Manager for Central and Suburban London. Adnaan visits each week and Paul pops by from time to time, though Priscilla liaises with them both on a daily basis. “I’ve got brilliant managers,” she says. “I get full support from both of them.”
When she’s off duty, Priscilla spends time at home with her partner and two children, aged 17 and 27. Whereas she used to be a keen reader, during the pandemic she developed a love of gardening. “That’s my new hobby,” she says. “I spend more time in the garden.” She doesn’t like to go out much, admitting “I’m a home bird now.”
There’s no denying that Priscilla is highly respected by everyone she works with for her dedication to her job and her cheerful manner. Paul Trumper sums it up nicely: “Priscilla is an absolute gem and certainly my work would be considerably more challenging if it wasn’t for her.”
Lawrence Merry
Key Account Manager for Bidvest Noonan
As a security officer on a one-person site, Priscilla is our rock and the job would be five times harder without her.
Nageen Jalal has been Security Officer at 24 Southwark Bridge Road since January 2021. He joined Bidvest Noonan in late 2015 and was based at One New Change for over three years before working for another Bidvest Noonan client for a while. Prior to his roles in the security industry, he worked as a Promotions Agent for a mobile phone company at Stansted Airport.
With no Workplace Manager based on site, Nageen is the face of Landsec | Aspire at 24 Southwark Bridge Road – a face with a trademark wide smile! Working 7am to 7pm on weekdays – which he claims is not tiring – he is highly regarded by tenants, Service Partners and Landsec alike. His daily routine includes access control, distribution of customers’ post, dealing with emails, directing deliveries to the right floor and managing any issues that arise. He logs technical problems with the AspireAssist 24/7 HelpDesk and liaises with Ellie Delamain (Workplace Support Assistant) on a daily basis and with Adnaan Butt (his manager at Bidvest Noonan) at weekly meetings regarding any other issues that he cannot resolve himself.
“Nageen is the eyes and ears of 24 Southwark Bridge Road,” explains Ellie. “He has great communication skills and will tell me all the important information or feedback from customers. He has a really good relationship with them because it’s Nageen that they speak to. They see him every day. Everyone knows him and always has great comments about him,” she continues. “I’m very lucky
to have Nageen at 24 Southwark Bridge Road. If we had someone who wasn’t so enthusiastic and willing, it wouldn’t run as well as it does.”
The site is purely office space, with the tenants being MSI (shipping market forecaster), Engage Tech (business development for the technology sector), Teaching Personnel (educational recruitment), Boyer (planning and development economics) and Trillium (software). “I have a really good relationship with all of them,” says Nageen. “I know almost 90% of the people in the building.” Customers approach him if they have any issues and Nageen always goes the extra mile to help them. Aside from day-to-day building issues, Nageen likes chatting to his customers on all kinds of topics –from politics to gardening and cars. He says this is the most enjoyable part of his job. “I’m really good friends with most of the tenants,” he says. “Sometimes we go and play cricket together.”
In his spare time, Nageen likes to watch the news and keep up-to-date on world events. When he was back in Pakistan, where he lived until 2013, he enjoyed hunting partridges and rabbits. Now his main hobby is cycling. The longest trip he’s completed on his bike is around 40 miles, from his home in Essex to Chelsea and back. He also loves gardening, so he keeps a close eye on the plants inside and outside at 24 SBR and gives them some water if required. Nageen is married, with three children aged 2, 6 and 8. At weekends he enjoys taking them to the park and to coffee shops because they love to drink babyccinos.
Nageen works closely with his Aspire colleagues in the NG Bailey maintenance team (who visit every Wednesday) and the NJC cleaning team, as both are mobile rather than based on site. Dan Kotze of NG Bailey holds Nageen in high regard: “He is very conscientious, extremely proactive and always goes the extra mile without prompting. 24 Southwark Bridge Road is an unmanned NG Bailey site and I rely heavily on him to be my eyes and ears to report any defects to me. There have also been countless times when I have needed an extra pair of hands to complete a task and he has always been there to assist.” Lawrence Merry, Key Account Manager for Bidvest Noonan, agrees: “For me, Nageen is an unsung hero and his name should be put out there for all the good work that he does at 24 Southwark Bridge Road.”
Office Space by
LandsecNageen is the eyes and ears of 24 Southwark Bridge Road. He has great communication skills and will tell me all the important information or feedback from customers.
The Aspire Centre of Excellence (ACE) is designed to be a hub for collaboration between Landsec and Service Partners, with the aim of promoting excellence in customer service. The open facility offers hot-desking, a meeting room, personal booths and team-building events and, with every member welcome, aims to further streamline day-to-day interaction within the Aspire family.
BOOK NOW
Hot-desking // Meeting room // Personal booths
Meet
BOOK NOW
Hot-desking
Make yourself at home at ACE! There are workstations with Wi-Fi, coffee and tea-making facilities and washrooms – in fact, everything you need to be productive on the go. Bookings can be made via the Sign-In app; to request a link email shuntley@njcdna.com
BOOK NOW
Looking to discuss a project in more detail with up to 12 colleagues?
Book the spacious meeting room at ACE and get your discussion off to a flying start. With Wi-Fi, refreshments and a flipchart, nothing will hold you back. To book the meeting room e-mail reception@onenewchange.com
Need a private space in an open office?
021 One Magazine
bold
Say ‘hi’ to Jessica Pilakis, Deputy Guest Services Manager, who joined Rapport on 7 November.
Jess brings considerable experience from the spa and resort management sector, where she has spent the past 11 years of her career. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Jess worked in one of the largest hot springs resorts in Victoria for seven years, starting as a therapist and working her way up to Spa Supervisor and Duty Manager for a team of over 50.
In 2017 she moved to London and worked as Spa Manager for the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster for a couple of years, before returning Down Under for another role in spa management. She loved her time in London and was delighted to be able to return late last year. “There are so many opportunities in London,” she says. She was looking for a career change that would use her experience in a different setting and found the role with Rapport.
Asked how she is finding her new job, she says: “I’m loving it. I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many people in the team, at Landsec and within Rapport. I like to hear people’s stories. It’s really inspiring for me.”
Jess is working closely with Melissa Harvey, Guest Services Manager, to look after the Landsec portfolio – a team of 38 front-of-house staff across
14 properties. She explains that their focus is on maintaining service standards and creating engagement in all the reception areas, as well as building a strong team with a great culture.
“It is a really amazing team,” she says. “Each person has something special they bring to our Landsec family. Even though we have so many staff and our buildings are across London, our team is very close. It’s also a really progressive team, where everybody is trying to be the best they can. It’s great to see. Our team have their own progression plans, and focus points, and part of my role is to help support that.”
In her spare time, Jess loves to exercise. “Anything health and wellbeing is where I am at!” she says. “Starting the day with a workout is the best feeling”, she explains, “as it makes me feel motivated and energised for the day ahead.” She likes finding new fitness classes and workouts around London. In fact, she’s so passionate about health and wellness that she’s already writing a regular column in Rapport’s weekly Friday Update newsletter to support wellbeing, mental health and personal growth. She will also be sharing her expertise on the topic in Aspire One magazine from the next issue, so watch this space!
Jess’s family is Greek and she has spent many summers in recent years working at her friend’s restaurant-bar on the Greek island of Ios, which she has enjoyed as something totally different. “That place is my home away from home and I absolutely love it there,” she says.
Meet John Anderson-Dixon, who joined Principle Cleaning Services as Portfolio Director on 1 November. John has spent the past 17 years working for Mitie, beginning as a security officer and working his way up. He moved into the cleaning sector in 2018 when he fancied a change and an opportunity came up. He was appointed Head of Operations for the Southeast and Southwest. During his career, John has taken care of sites ranging from banking and retail sites to specialist MOD government contracts including BAE Systems and the Atomic Weapons Establishment. He’s also looked after celebrities including acting as a bodyguard for Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton at a boxing event and providing security for Paloma Faith.
Of his first few months with Principle, John says, “So far, so good.” The most challenging thing initially was that Principle uses different apps and IT processes to those he was used to, although he’s got the hang of everything now. What he enjoys most about his new role is being out on the ground. “Every day is different,” he says, “and that’s what I like about it. Principle are very hands-on with their customers. If there’s a problem, we’re there – that’s what attracted me.”
Managing contracts for seven clients including Landsec, John has been focusing on getting to know all his customers and understanding their different expectations. “Retention of customers and staff is key for me,” he says, “and career progression for our teams.”
Diversity and inclusion are also very important to John. Born British, his mum – who is one of fifteen siblings – is Filipino and he has Anglo-Indian, Burmese, Portuguese and Irish heritage. He understands spoken Filipino fluently, although he doesn’t speak it
or read it. He values the fact that the culture at Principle respects differences in race, gender, religion and so on. “Everyone is at the same level, which I like,” he says.
John has joined the company’s ambassador group for inclusion, which meets monthly. In particular, he plans to drive understanding about dyslexia in the business. John originally had plans to become a police officer and completed the level 3 Certificate in Knowledge of Policing while working as a security officer. However, after failing a police exam, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He regards it as his superpower, enabling him to be an outside thinker. He has developed strategies to cope
with his dyslexia and is a huge advocate for the condition. “It’s all about being positive about the benefits,” he says. Outside of work, John is married with two boys aged nine and five. He is a fitness fanatic, getting up at 4am every day to go to the gym. He’s also a qualified personal trainer and a First Dan Black Belt in kickboxing. During the Covid-19 lockdown, he developed a passion for cycling and last year he completed the ‘Hell of the Ashdown’, ‘Wolfe of Westerham’ and ‘London Revolution’ road rides – the latter for charity, raising £10,000 for MIND between a team of 15 work colleagues. He also enjoys walking and visiting National Trust properties.
Managing Director, NG Bailey.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I enjoy going to music gigs and festivals. I like most kinds of music really, but I suppose especially indie bands such as Pulp, Oasis and Blur. I’ve been going to Glastonbury every year for more than a decade now.
Do you have any pets?
Yes, two rescue dogs called Roxy and Freda. I walk them every day and in all weathers, which I find helps to clear my head.
What’s on your bucket list?
More travelling. I’d like to spend six months to a year going back to places like Australia, Indonesia and Thailand – to spend time living there rather than just having rushed holidays.
Are you a fan of anything or anyone?
I love watching all kinds of sport (apart from F1!). I love to go to Twickenham to watch the rugby and also regularly go to football matches. I’m from Sheffield originally, so I’m a Sheffield United supporter, for my sins.
Have you been inspired by anything you’ve seen, read or experienced lately?
I read a business article recently on the book about Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, called ‘The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader’. The article was about having empathy with people and using it as a leadership strength. It inspired me to order the book the other day, which I hope to read soon.
Do you have any mantras in business or in life?
Be kind. I find things are so much more straightforward if you are and try to work to a positive winwin outcome. Put people first and foremost. Look after them and don’t have any unnecessary hierarchy. People are all equal in my view and should be treated as such.
What would you say is your greatest achievement?
Well, I completed the Aspire Three Peaks Challenge – climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in just 24 hours – back in 2017. I really wasn’t sure if I was going to make it at one point, so that’s definitely up there in my achievements. I also did the Great North Run once, more than ten years ago now – for a short person not built for running, I reckon that’s a pretty big achievement!
What was your first ever job?
I used to work in a sweet shop called Thorntons. They used to deliver toffee in great big slabs and my job would be to smash it up with a hammer to put in the trays to sell by the weight –showing my age! I think I used to eat as much as I sold!
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?
That the things you thought were important at the time, weren’t!
Do you have any regrets?
Not really, I think that’s a wasted emotion.
What’s your all-time favourite movie?
Grease. And my favourite character is Rizzo.
What would you say is your best skill in business?
Listening. Understanding the situation and then looking to change things. We have to constantly evolve to survive.
What’s your favourite part of your working day or week?
The time spent on site with our teams. I enjoy catching up with people, whether it’s a formal meeting or just informally. I like getting to know the team.
And your least favourite?
The commute. I don’t mind the commute itself, but I really don’t like the uncertainty at the moment –wondering whether there’ll be a train or not. It’s frustrating.
Wow – what an incredible response our front-of-house teams had to the Christmas Giving Tree campaign! The Christmas Giving Tree supports the charity KidsOut, an organisation dedicated to giving positive experiences to disadvantaged children. The initiative operates like a Secret Santa, with people taking a tag from reception with a child’s first name and suggested gift and
then donating the present via reception staff.
A big ‘thank you’ to our front-of-house teams – who promoted the campaign enthusiastically and looked after the gifts until they were safely collected by the charity – and to those customers who generously bought presents. We’re sure they will have been very gladly received over the festive period.
With the festive season over for another year, Service Partner Windowflowers has been busy recycling our Christmas displays. The internal and external trees were collected in their fully decorated state by the Windowflowers team, due to challenging parking restrictions in many locations. The displays were returned to Windowflowers’ site in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, where the lights were removed and sent for recycling, while the decorations were stored for use again next year.
Some items will be donated by Windowflowers to schools in the local area and to charities for fundraising events. The trees themselves are chipped and allowed to decay naturally in the company’s composting facility. And it’s good to know that for every Christmas tree harvested, another three are planted in its place.
Congratulations to Abed Armaah (right), Andreea Stan and Pauline McLean, who have received great feedback from a customer at 16 Palace Street.
The customer’s Facilities Manager was grateful for the support shown by Abed and Andreea during the company’s recent fit-out. “Without their help with the constant flow of people, I would have struggled,” he said in an e-mail, “so I wanted to pass on my thanks.” He went on to thank Pauline, who took over Andreea’s role when she left recently, saying she had “settled into the reception role extremely well” and “seamlessly taken over where Andreea left off”. Well done to the team at 16 Palace Street!
In this section of One magazine, we share snippets of news from across the Aspire family. It’s where we welcome new faces, bid fond farewells and celebrate promotions and other achievements. Please send your news to aspire@landsec.com
This month we welcome half a dozen new faces with front-of-house Service Partner, Rapport. 22-year-old Rubie Longhurst has joined the frontof-house team at 5 & 6 New Street Square. Rubie lives in Essex and has been a receptionist for nearly four years. “I really enjoy interacting with different people each day,” she says. In her spare time, Rubie likes going out with friends and family and going to the gym.
Temitayo Oluwole (known as Tayo) brings customer service experience gained from five years in retail to his new role as Dedicated Cover for Myo. Tayo is 23 and says he’s passionate about music and drawing. “It is a pleasure to work for Rapport/MYO,” says Tayo, “and I’m really looking forward to seeing and working with everyone.”
Joining the reception team at 16 Palace Street is Pauline McLean, who describes herself as a very happy and bubbly person. She enjoys meeting people, walking, singing and writing gospel songs. “I’m enjoying my training,” she says, “and I am looking forward to becoming a permanent part of the Rapport family.”
Jade O’Brien has joined the team at 80 Victoria Street after a year of maternity leave. “I spend my time looking after my lovely 11-monthold son,” she says, “and when I have some spare time, I love to cook, go to restaurants with friends and watch a good TV series. I’m passionate about guest services and very excited to start the new year with Rapport!”
Cristina De Souza and Valeria Spano have joined as Dedicated Covers for the London Portfolio. Cristina is Brazilian but has lived in the UK for 16 years. With a background in hotel reception, she says she’s very happy and excited to start a new journey in corporate reception by joining Rapport. “Outside of work,” says Cristina, “I am mum to a beautiful little girl and in my spare time I love to do family things like cooking and cycling. Of course, at weekends I enjoy BBQs and watching football – after all, I’m Brazilian!” Valeria Spano is passionate about everything Korean – culture, cuisine, music and cinema – and has even taken a course in the Korean language. She says, “Working with the incredible team at Landsec has been a fantastic experience so far.” She loves dancing – having competed in Latin and ballroom competitions all around Italy when she was younger – and likes to stay in shape through indoor and outdoor sports.
Two new managers recently joined the team at NJC. Faunier Cutiva is Portfolio Manager, looking after sites in the City. Faunier has previous experience of Landsec | Aspire, having worked at Cardinal Place as a supervisor before progressing his career to senior management level. Cassie Machaka has also joined NJC as Service Support Manager, looking after 16 Palace Street, 80-100 Victoria Street and the Cardinal Estate. Welcome to you all!
Well done to Jason Abella, Head of Security with Bidvest Noonan at One New Change, for his sterling efforts in recording signage and wayfinding at the site in response to a request from Landsec. Alison Taylor, Senior Portfolio Manager, described his efforts as “a really first-rate register of what’s in situ at the moment”. Thank you, Jason!
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.
The Aspire team is always looking for exciting new ways to integrate our members and bring our community TogetherAsOne. As we look to arrange our events calender for 2023, we’d love to hear your suggestions for events you would like to attend.
Please email your suggestions to aspire@ landsec.com today!
View our past Event photos at AspireAsOneTeam
Leveraging the power of data to provide insights is a critical component of the Aspire strategy. With Landsec creating more dynamic ways of capturing data, we have been able to crunch large and diverse volumes of data that relate to our properties, assets, customers and the Aspire team. Some of this analysis has brought visibility to grey areas
January to December
(Unless stated otherwise)
in our operations, supporting the workplace team in making datadriven decisions. Most importantly, it also showcases the good work every member of the Aspire team does in our respective areas to improve the customer experience and, obviously, reveals the opportunities that are available for improvement. Below are some interesting highlights.
With Landsec constantly striving for innovative ways to improve our customer service, data is the key. If you would like more information on a more specific set of analytics, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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. 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?
— Bold
— Inclusive
— Driven
— United
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 or directly via WhatsApp on 07834 431208
the month
CCongratulations to Shamora Dalhouse of Aspire Assist on winning a Player of the Month award for her rapid and detailed investigation into an incident at New Street Square recently. When a loud alarm going off in the control room at New Street Square was reported by the security team but not properly handled by the out-ofhours team at the Aspire Assist 24/7 HelpDesk, an explanation was sought the next day from HelpDesk Manager, Shamora Dalhouse.
Not only did Shamora conduct a full investigation into the incident and report back to Landsec Workplace Manager Louise Ody the same day, she also took steps to prevent a similar thing happening again. In addition to reviewing the calls made and identifying the problem areas, Shamora looked at the processes in place for the out-of-hours team and amended their script to enhance any future response in similar circumstances.
Steve Sillitoe, Estate Security Manager for New Street Square, commented: “It’s refreshing that someone takes ownership of a problem and focuses on how to improve it rather than blame culture.”
Well done, Shamora!
Join
To improve the way we engage and make the most of Facebook’s functionality for privacy, chat and events posting, we have a private Aspire group called Aspire News & Events.
To receive your online version of our monthly One newsletter, view photos from our events and keep up to date with what is going on, please join this group where Aspire content is visible to members’ eyes only. Please stay connected as we have loads of exciting new things coming up. Thanks, Landsec | Aspire.