Category: News

Now that we are in 2024, we wanted to reflect on our past year and everything that we have achieved. From award wins to our internal growth, we’ve continued to flourish and offer a completely new approach to front-of-house services for our clients, and we’re excited about what the new year will bring.

Industry recognition

In 2023, On Verve won its first external award, the Best Business Award for Disruptor of the Year. Our DayMaker concept impressed the judges with its fresh approach to making corporate offices appealing to employees by delivering excellent services and unique experiences. The DayMaker title reflects our ethos, to always make someone’s day, and the judges agreed that we had done just that.

That first win set the tone for the year; one of positivity, creativity, and care. It also led to our Silver Award for the UK Business Awards’ Best Customer Experience. We always want to make our clients’ everyday experiences just that bit brighter by offering unique events such as Christmas photo booths, gratuity trees for World Mental Health Day, or weekly indoor lunch-hour sports events that combat the rainy weather.

Our own Fara Painter was also the recipient of the Highly Commended Award for the Corporate Receptionist of the Year Awards, highlighting her exceptional front-of-house service skills.

Finally, we were finalists for the highly regarded Premises and Facilities Management Awards for our partnership with CBRE Global Workplace Solutions and M&G plc Workplace Solutions. We’ll be back for the win in 2024!

Team winners

Disruptor of the Year was our first external award win, but internally we love to recognise our team for their hard work.

In October, we had two DayMakers of the month. Edyta Wichrowska won for being a beacon of positivity at our Riverside House location, and Ellie Atkinson in the City of London won for her dedicated client project support. Selesha Palmer was also our November DayMaker, who won for her positive and organised approach to work. Their wins are well deserved, and we share the monthly wins on our LinkedIn, so watch out to see who’s next!

Our client awards also led to many deserving wins. Lesley Smith and Lorraine Gray are our most recent winners of the Unsung Hero’s Appreciation Award. The client said that they won for the “warm and nurturing energy they bring to their work every day”.

When we celebrated our second birthday earlier in 2023, we also hosted our very own DreamMakers Awards. The event was a great way to connect our teams with our clients across the UK. Together, we raised over £750 for The Brain Charity, which provides emotional support and activities for people with different neurological conditions.

During the celebration, we gave out multiple awards, from Talented Newbie Awards to Coach Awards. You can see all nine winners. The day reflected our core idea, that “it takes two,” because our achievements are only possible through partnership.

At the Churchill Group Shining Star Awards, we were able to celebrate our teams in an even bigger way. Nominees gathered at the National Football Museum in Manchester to celebrate Churchill Group’s core values to always do right, seek better, and put people first.

Out of the 400 nominations, we were thrilled to have four finalists across four different categories, with winners including Fara Painter for the Game Changer Award and Roger Vargas for the Personal Growth Seeker Award.

We know that awards aren’t the only measure of work well done, but it’s been incredibly encouraging for our team to see their dedication recognised within On Verve and Churchill.

Creating new experiences

The key to building client relationships is ingenuity and collaboration. This year, we’ve created fun experiences that give back to communities and raise money.

To share the holiday cheer, we collaborated with CBRE. They embarked on a journey with our DayMakers to get the perfect Christmas tree. We worked together to upcycle decorations for the tree, support local businesses, and plant two new trees.

In September, our DayMakers across the UK hosted their own coffee fundraisers, as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer Support. Employees enjoyed cakes, coffees, and teas with our DayMakers, and we raised £3,280.36.

In December, we partnered with our clients at 3 Hardman Square and JLL to raise money for The Christie Charity. We hosted a silent disco and had our DayMakers, head of operations, and director of the business dance the hours away to raise £1,986. In 2024, we will continue our social value commitments and implore more ways we can continue to support our clients with their own goals in this area.

Our growth

In 2023, we welcomed over 20 new DayMakers to the On Verve team as we continued to grow.

We also retained all contracts, a clear indication that our approach is being welcomed across different workspaces. We hope to grow our current contracts and gain new clients at an even bigger scale in 2024. Additionally, we achieved new clients in the insurance industry and our first global banking client, demonstrating that every workplace deserves original employee experiences.

As a part of Churchill Group, we became an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in 2023. Becoming an EOT ensures that our business remains true to Churchill’s entrepreneurial spirit and prioritisation of our teams. This move means DayMakers have a share in the business that they work for, and therefore reap the benefits of the organisation, encouraging further growth and commitment.

Looking ahead

We have a few ideas in the works at On Verve for the year ahead. We want to ensure that our sustainability initiatives remain in place and help our partners reach their sustainability goals, too. We also want to expand what we can offer to our partners, including training collaboratively with them and their teams.

Teamwork is central to what we do, and seeing that growth and success continue through 2024 is our number one priority. This will include greater investment in our leadership, teams, and training programmes.

For now, though, we’re looking back on 2023 and are proud of our fantastic progress. We can’t wait to do even more in 2024!

Want to stay up to date with what we do? Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, where we give updates on our events, award wins and DayMaker initiatives!

We recently celebrated National Customer Service Week, a week every year where front-of-house staff are recognised for the work they do and the impact it has on successful business practices and growth in the UK economy.

At On Verve, we always celebrate our incredible DayMaker teams, but this week is extra special to us. Since each day has its own theme, we have explored what they mean for On Verve and how each theme impacts our service provision.

Monday: The future of AI

We always strive to operate with a human touch. Our understanding and rapport with our clients cannot be replaced with a machine, but there are ways technology and AI can be integrated into our practices.

From a neurodiversity perspective, AI tools such as ChatGPT are a great way to help with writing tasks. As part of the DayMaker role, we create a lot of written content for our clients and for ourselves. For those of us who have neurodiverse conditions, these tasks can be more challenging.

I have encouraged my colleagues to use the AI tool to help with idea generation and writing tasks to kick-start the process if they feel stuck. As AI continues to improve, I believe its efficiencies will make it a fantastic tool for our team.

Tuesday: Service with Respect Day

The Service with Respect initiative is all about highlighting the difficulties that customer-facing workers must contend with. Research has shown that more than half of customer-facing staff have experienced abuse at work since the beginning of the pandemic. This is shocking and should be addressed nationally.

DayMakers occasionally deal with building users who are frustrated about a certain element of the facilities. We train DayMakers to always acknowledge the person’s emotions but to remain rational and deliver the facts of the situation. DayMakers can escalate the issues to their managers if they feel it is necessary and are reminded that it is okay to step away from any situation where they feel things have gone beyond their capabilities or to let things diffuse.

Wednesday: Customer Service as a Profession

It has been great to see the increased recognition of the industry and the opportunities within it in recent years. Our new operations director, Gabrielle Lapompe, started her career in guest services as a receptionist before working up to account management, space management operations and now as head of operations for the business.

Similarly, Lauren Bibby delivers operational support at On Verve. Before joining the team, her background had been purely hospitality-based. She was quickly promoted to an operational support role as her knowledge and understanding made her the best fit. Now, Lauren is a key figure in the On Verve team and helps oversee various accounts.

By investing in your team and promoting them according to their strengths, you can create great paths for progression and build an efficient team simultaneously.

Thursday: Driving Sustainable Growth

Guest service providers can and should be utilised more by businesses to help push ESG efforts. Once we understand these goals, we can align our practices to further support them.

One aspect of the corporate office that is typically overlooked is lost property. We have started removing unclaimed lost property items to be donated to charity – with client consent, of course! We choose donation centres that are within walking distance of our client sites, meaning the process doesn’t involve further emissions. This way, the unclaimed items have a second life, money is raised for charity, and we can further support the sustainable goals of the client.

Friday: Service Recognition Day

We’re all about service recognition and empowering DayMakers. We have ‘DayMaker of the Month’ where account managers nominate a DayMaker for their great work, and the winner is celebrated with a commemorative certificate and online recognition from our social media channels.

One of our recent DayMakers of the Month was Nataly. Her account manager Milja said: “Nataly has gone above and beyond to support another contract, creating new procedures and processes, and has impressed both clients and customers on a daily basis.”

Now that National Customer Service Week is over for another year, we will continue working towards all these themes and continually finding new ways to improve and innovate our service offerings. We’re already looking forward to next year!

To find out more about our DayMakers and their role, read about the services we offer our clients.

We’re thrilled to announce that we secured Silver in the prestigious Best Customer Experience category at the UK Business Awards.

The UK Business Awards hold significant importance in the UK business landscape, attracting participants from various industries. The awards celebrate business excellence across the country and provide winners with recognition for their work and networking opportunities.

Our DayMaker solution clinched the victory by showcasing our unique approach to delivering exceptional customer experiences, particularly through our guest services tailored for corporate clients. We received special recognition for our collaboration with a finance industry client boasting an extensive customer base exceeding five million.

The achievement was attributed to several key factors, including our innovative training methods, commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, and our social value initiatives. We were also commended for our advisory role, guiding clients in transforming their offices into sought-after destinations. Judges particularly praised our introduction of creativity and individuality within a traditionally structured service line.

As the Director and Chief DayMaker at On Verve, I am excited to share that our growth in 2023 has been fantastic to be a part of, and this award is the perfect way for us to round off the year. Our commitment to customer experience is at the core of what we do—making someone’s day. Receiving recognition for this is a privilege we don’t take for granted. As we approach 2024, our focus is on developing the customer experience even further and continuing to rewrite the rules, bringing new and innovative ways to create the best workplace experience for our clients.

This Silver award marks our second accolade in 2023, following our earlier Disruptor of the Year win, signifying our success and growth since our launch in 2021.

On Verve is a business that continually aims to break the norms of the guest services industry, whether that’s through how we approach hiring, client communications, or the DayMaker role. However, throughout all of this, we have always aimed for and continue to work towards being an inclusive employer and workplace. It has required listening, actioning the appropriate changes, and actively changing our own thought processes to see things from another perspective.

We are a diverse team by nature, so creating inclusive and welcoming environments comes naturally to us. We encourage the team to listen and learn from each other’s experiences and points of view to help create an inclusive environment. By having a team from a variety of backgrounds we are exposed to new ideas and perspectives that we wouldn’t have had access to before.

Age is out the window

We have hired DayMakers across different generations which has helped us to develop how we operate. For example, Ingrid joined On Verve in 2021 aged 57 with no computer skills or relevant background, but she had the passion and enthusiasm that we look for in our team, and we knew she’d be a great DayMaker.

Since joining, she has received full training and is now proficient on a computer, as well as aiding On Verve’s development and helping new DayMakers settle in when they join the team. By creating an inclusive environment, Ingrid has been able to flourish and impact our clients and her colleagues with her positivity and willingness to help others.

Inclusive training

The introduction of our training platform, Synergy, has seen a great response from the team. Instead of doing training in a classroom for an 8-hour day, we split the training into short videos. This allows teams to digest training in a more accessible way. As a company that champions neurodiversity and inclusion, we knew that a long training day wouldn’t be an effective learning technique for everyone. Synergy has also created cost savings for our clients as the videos can be integrated as part of a DayMakers workday.

Ditch the uniform policy

Another way On Verve has demonstrated inclusivity and learning from the experiences of others is through our uniform policy. Our clothing options had been separated by gender, which needed rethinking when we hired our first non-binary DayMaker. When this person joined the team, they requested whether they could wear all styles of clothing as they felt this best suited how they identified. We now combine all our clothing options for new team members to choose from to ensure items are gender-neutral and accessible to all.

Inclusivity can only be achieved if business leaders listen to their teams and understand their needs and desires. A workplace where team members can be themselves and express their personality is a productive one.

We are always listening and learning about how we can be an inclusive employer, and we would not have this environment of openness and acceptance without the excellent DayMaker team.

We were thrilled to win Disruptor of the Year at the Best Business Awards, but what does it mean to be a ‘disruptor’?

Disruption can take many forms, including services to change the dynamics of a sector, challenging conventions, and creating new approaches towards work. This is exactly what our DayMaker service has sought to do: reimagining and reshaping how guest services function for the modern, hybrid workplaces that have grown in recent years.

Here are three ways we embraced innovative methods to disrupt industry norms.

1. Enthusiastic transformations

Now that hybrid and at-home working is more popular than ever, with more than 80 per cent of workers preferring hybrid working models, enhanced services for employees and guests are needed to entice them back to physical spaces.

This is what On Verve and our DayMakers specialise in, through bringing constant enthusiasm and joy to our roles. We provide all expected resources, like event management and meeting room management, reception services and switchboard monitoring, but we incorporate unique ways to brighten days.

Our enthusiasm translates into round-the-clock transformative care for employee and guest experiences, ensuring that any expected, and unexpected, needs are met. In-person offices need to be both welcoming and exciting, and our DayMakers know exactly how to meet these demands.

When we take on a hands-on approach, we have clients follow suit. By offering group craft activities and collaborative events, colleagues can bond as they each contribute to a larger project. This has included co-workers making paper poppies for a custom-made garden on Remembrance Day, thrones for the Coronation, or fun challenges including ‘talk like a pirate day’. Beyond these smaller activities, we also host larger events like our International Women’s Day networking with Next Ventures.

From the big to the small events, we work hard to make every day just that bit brighter.

2. Embrace inclusivity

Embracing inclusivity is a major way to combat norms, which we did by transforming our uniform policy. DayMakers had a selection of clothing styles in our signature colours, which allowed unification along with personality. But these had originally been separated by gender, until a non-binary team member was hired and highlighted that there was not a gender-less option. We decided to combine all clothing options to meet everyone’s needs. This way, accessible clothing options were open to all.

Another way we have embraced the new is by making our services neurodiverse-friendly, which takes us to our next disrupting method.

3. Integrate technology

The traditional model for workplace training involved full days in the classroom. However, this method can be tiring for neurodivergent individuals and could make the training both uncomfortable and inefficient. Instead, we used our innovative training platform Synergy, which showcased the same training but in a short video format.

This way, trainees could digest information in smaller chunks suited to their individual paces. The success of this service highlights how championing neurodiverse inclusivity does not need to be difficult or a strain on the business. It is about changing the way we deliver to suit all needs and therefore creating the best workplace conditions for employees to learn and thrive.

Disruption requires respect and an open ear towards our staff and clients, so we can understand their requirements and expectations, and go above and beyond them every day to meet the needs of these new working environments.

We are closing the week on a high because On Verve has won its very first award! We are really pleased to share we’ve won Disruptor of the Year at the Best Business Awards.

The Best Business Awards is one of the UK’s highest-profile awards. It aims to highlight and showcase excellence across the public and private sectors, with entrants including large PLCs, public sector organisations, and SMEs.

Our DayMaker initiative claimed the win for its unique approach to delivering excellent guest services for our clients while fostering creativity and individuality in a traditionally rigid service line. Our training methods, uniform policy, and advice to clients on how to make their office a destination were other key reasons we stole the top spot.

Bianca Angelico, director and chief DayMaker at On Verve, said: “We are thrilled with the win! When On Verve was created just two years ago, I had a vision of how I wanted to build something different for the guest services industry. The DayMaker concept was born by going back to the simple requirement of what we want to achieve for our clients; we want to make their day, and that means going above and beyond becomes the norm. On Verve teams embrace our clients’ brands and identities and embody their culture at every customer touch point, and that is how we set ourselves apart.”

The chairman of the judges at the Best Business Awards said: “Well done to On Verve for shaking up corporate offices with its DayMaker concept and making them more appealing to staff, encouraging more people to return to the office. DayMakers aim to go above and beyond expectations in facilities management and guest services and provide excellent support for staff. On Verve organises everything from office refurbishments to training and staff events. After only two years in business, On Verve can boast a staff of 80 and a portfolio of 15 clients, resulting in excellent revenue.”

We’ve also been shortlisted for the ‘Partners in Expert Services’ category at the PFM awards later this year, so we are keeping everything crossed for that as well.

When do people go to the office?

Recent data suggests that occupancy is exceeding 40 per cent on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while Friday occupancy sits at 17 percentage points lower than the mid-week peak.

As people are taking advantage of the hybrid working schedules, the employee services sector needs to adapt its provisions on those quieter days – namely, Monday and Friday. Equally, to keep occupancy high on the more popular days, the office needs to continue being reinvented and reinvigorated. It is no longer just a place people go to for work, it is a destination. The office needs to solve problems and offer more than the home office can.

Now, more corporate businesses are beginning to turn their offices into desirable spaces, as well as offer additional benefits, to encourage people into the office.

How do we attract people to the office?

The first step is recognising what is going to attract employees to the office; what benefits will be enough to bring them in? And how can the employee services teams make these changes? Simple benefits such as a free lunch don’t cut it anymore. We should use this time of adaptation in the workplace to try new methods of employee engagement in the office and see what people enjoy the most.

Remote working had us communicating through our screens, so it’s important to get those “water cooler moments” happening again, ensuring that all workers who come into the office are noticed and spoken to directly. Introducing new ways to get employees up from their desks and interacting with each other socially while at work can help make the office a desirable place to be throughout the week.

For example, at On Verve we created a pride-themed garden in June for Pride Month. Employees at the client office were encouraged to take 10 minutes from their day to join the DayMakers in making rainbow-coloured paper flowers that were then ‘planted’ in the soil. The activity was a success, the garden was full of beautiful colours and employees were able to do a fun, creative activity away from their desks. If even for a few minutes, these activities help to encourage social cohesion at the office, enabling great workplace culture.

Prioritising our efforts on the days when employees are likely to commute in is the way forward. Hosting events and socials on Mondays and Fridays are less likely to see uptake and would be a waste of time and resources. We need to focus on making the days when employees do come in seamless, enjoyable, and as stress-free as possible so the office becomes a space they associate with a great workday. On the quieter days, our teams can focus on admin, training, and other work that isn’t time sensitive while still providing services to those in the office.

Service evolution

Ultimately, we are competing with family dynamics when trying to get employees into the office on Friday; why come in when you could start your weekend at home? For younger generations in big cities, Thursday is the new Friday and has an end-of-week feel for them, at least in terms of being in the office.

As service providers, we need to educate our clients about office occupancy trends and become innovative in how we run our services to reflect them. This starts in our tenders and continues through to quarterly reviews. Sharing ideas that will enhance the end-user experience while potentially saving money for clients, or using the current budget in a different way, will be invaluable.

Time to think outside the box.

 

It takes two to tango, there are two sides to every story, but also it takes two to build a working relationship, two years to establish a business and two years to build an amazing team to deliver the DayMaker dream every day. On Verve is two!!! 

To recognise this amazing milestone, we got together with friends, colleagues, and clients to celebrate all the incredible hard work and dedication of the DayMaker team. None of it would be possible without the partnerships we have forged with so many amazing businesses and communities. 

Bianca Angelico, Chief DayMaker said: “On Verve’s birthday and our annual DreamMaker Awards is my favourite day of the year. For me it’s like Christmas, as it brings everyone together to celebrate all that we have achieved. This year was beyond special as the following week I was chatting with a client and they shared a conversation they had that night with a potential candiate. Our client was singing our praises and mentioned how lucky the candiate would be to work with On Verve, which I think helps to show the magic of the night. Everyone left feeling celebrated.”

We met at Sticky Mango, on Coin Street in London and if you haven’t been then we would highly recommend you do. The staff were incredible, and the food was delicious. It wouldn’t be an On Verve party without some pink themed cocktails, a fabulous speech from our very own Chief DayMaker and dancing that went into the night.  

The night was in aid of The Brain Charity who help people affected by neurological conditions to lead longer, healthier and happier lives.

This is just the beginning for us and our clients. There is so much more to come but for now sit back and watch the highlights video from a magical evening. 

 

Remince and cast your minds back to our 1st birthday video in our highlight video.

Even before the disruption and upheaval of the world of work over the last few years, the role of the office was evolving.

In 2019, 27 per cent of the UK’s workforce worked from home at some point, according to Annual Population Survey data. At this time, around 1.54 million people worked remotely for their main job, nearly double that recorded in 2011 (880,000). While these numbers are small when compared to the rest of the UK working population at the time, they demonstrate that the ‘workplace’ was fluid for many.

Since January of 2023, it was estimated that 40 per cent of working adults worked from home at some point within the week, and it’s estimated that 70 per cent of the workforce could be working remotely by 2025.

This shows that the office is potentially losing its favourability; when given the choice, the majority of workers choose their home comforts over the commute.

Rather than signalling the demise of the office, there is a tremendous opportunity to reinvent the workplace into more than just the place you go to work. By creating a destination and focussing on experiences that cannot be replicated at home, employees can be enticed back because they view the office as a value add.

A little goes a long way

We want to bring the magic back into the office by creating the best experiences for employees in that space. In our view, it is about mastering a series of small components that add up to create these experiences that will keep employees coming back.

First impressions count, and organisations should start at the beginning – when an employee enters their workplace. The experience should be seamless. Technology can play a key role here in the form of workspace booking apps.

These sync with front-of-house systems to ensure a warm welcome is provided every time an employee arrives at the building because they are expected. Personal preferences such as parking spaces, workstations and lockers can be considered – again, small details can be covered by a blend of technology and people to provide a seamless experience that caters to the needs of the individual.

Layout is another crucial facet, even down to the location of individual objects to ensure they are accessible within a workstation. If an office user doesn’t know where to locate something, ensuring the front-of-house team can help them, or the individual has access to an information deck on where to find things in the office, is key. One bad experience can be enough to put someone off making the commute again if they feel their needs can’t be met at the office.

Front-of-house teams should also be monitoring environmental conditions such as air quality and temperature to ensure the workplace is at optimum occupant comfort levels. If a space is too hot or cold, this interferes with an individual’s ability to focus. One study even found that 80 per cent of office workers regularly complain about the temperature of their workplace!

Ensuring the space is at the right levels for users to concentrate on their work is necessary for them to feel comfortable coming back.

The power of the human touch

These are just a handful of simple tips to help create an office experience that will entice employees back into their pre-pandemic workplaces. The key is harnessing the power of relationships and human connection to create a strong social structure in the workplace.

By having a robust and consistent front-of-house team, employees can feel safe in the knowledge that a friendly face will always be there to greet them and help them during the day.

Whatever your organisation decides to deploy, make sure you have the right front-of-house team to help you. Positive environments are infectious – even something as simple as a smile can make somebody’s day.

The expectations that employees and visitors have of front-of-house teams have changed significantly over the last few years. Since enforced working from home ended, employees have been encouraged to return to the workplace by their employers and the Government alike. Ensuring the workplace is a welcoming and inclusive space that people feel happy entering is key, which is why guest services have been thrown into the limelight.

The front-of-house teams that businesses bring in to look after their staff have a huge impact on an employee’s experience in the office. Having disengaged staff on your front desk will not present the workplace as a productive and positive place to be. It doesn’t matter how many fun office perks you might have, or cool comfy chairs – if your front-of-house team is not delivering the required support, employees will be put off coming in. Creating an inspiring and encouraging environment is the first step towards success.

The days of the tired and grumpy receptionist that is chained to the front desk are over. Your front-of-house team are usually the first people employees and visitors will see and/or interact with when they arrive at the office. That is a key turning point for how someone’s day could go. Having a friendly and happy welcome for your team as they start their workday will help create a positive atmosphere at the office.

Creating this environment is everything that On Verve strives for. Hiring outside of the traditional talent pool has helped us to create some great, well-rounded teams. To access this untapped branch of the workforce, our recruitment process focuses on who the candidates are as people, not just their CV experience. Enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and a strong sense of self; all these core values can be identified in strong candidates who have the tenacity to apply for a role they might not be “traditionally” equipped for.

The roles of front-of-house teams have extended beyond the reception desk. The new teams are not only at the front entrance – they roam the workplace to assist employees and guests with a variety of issues and needs that can appear throughout the working day. They help to organise and engage employees in time-out events and networking opportunities to ensure their well-being is supported. They help those employees who do need extra support in their day-to-day work life and ensure the right provisions are in place, giving them the best workplace experience. They engage with company stakeholders to ensure front-of-house teams are echoing the business’ messaging, and offering consultancy on where it could be developed further.

It’s an enhanced service that involves teams truly embedding themselves within client teams, and always looking for ways to add value. Hence the job title “DayMaker”. We want to make our client’s day, whatever way that takes shape for them.