FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
TRANSFORMATION
The impact was immediate. BM introduced a raft of training programmes, usually reserved for its corporate clients. These included professional chef, management, barista, customer service development, and waste management training.
The Trust also reviewed pay structures to increase employee recognition and, together with BM, implemented a suite of tech that included new click & collect and payment apps.
Raouf Mansour, who has now become Head of Catering at ASPH but was previously a Development Chef at BM, explains: “When we first came in, it was a bit of a surprise to say the least. We are used to working with large corporates and this was completely different.
“If I’m honest, we never treated it as a hospital. We genuinely went in with the belief that we could be one of the best places you can eat in the area.
“I was given carte blanche to develop the new menu, look at suppliers etc and we brought a lot of expertise, not just in cooking but also our supplier base. We respected each other’s expertise.”
However, it didn’t come without its challenges. Mansour explains: “The main challenge was to take the catering team on the journey. It sounds simple but we needed to get them excited about food again, rather than just running a kitchen.”
That they did. The Trust subsidy was retained as part of its employee benefits package, recruitment and retention strategy. New brand and marketing collateral included social media promotion, and awareness campaigns were launched.
The team also introduced seasonal menus, pop-ups, ward/home takeaway ranges, themed days, guest chefs, BBQs, and ice-cream parlours.
Trust staff were now enjoying dishes such as Korean steamed hoisin duck buns; line-caught grilled tuna steak with warm new potato salad, griddled little gem salad with garlic & herb dressing; and chargrilled halloumi, pickled red cabbage, hummus and tzatziki.
INSTANT RESULTS
Uptake of on-site catering increased from 26 per cent to 40 per cent of staff, with satisfaction rates increasing from 52 per cent pre-transformation to 71 per cent, in-line with professional workplaces. All of this was achieved with a maximum £4 meal cost.
Fris, says: “The process shows that if you empower people, customers and service providers, you can achieve what you want to. Like with most products and brands, resetting and relooking at your core function/vision regularly is really important. Of course, the infrastructure and due diligence required behind critical environments is key, but you need to challenge the norm.”
The Trust also saw an increase in social media and public endorsement for its food, it achieved 5 stars on EHO visit across all its outlets and fresh food production hit 90 per cent, up from 50 per cent previously.
Significantly, alongside the improved quality, commercially the changes had a huge impact on revenues.
Turnover at the restaurant was back at its pre-COVID position (even without the visitors); the restaurant saw more than 1,200 transactions a day, previously at 400; and sales revenue more than doubled to more than £1 million in a year.
WIDESPREAD ENDORSEMENT
These numbers not only reflect employee satisfaction increase, they have also drawn attention on a national scale with Dame Prue Leith citing it as an example of best practice; and Phil Shelley, Chair of Hospital Food Review, awarding ASPH exemplar status.
During what was effectively a six-week implementation process, ASPH has become a flagship site for the NHS. Satisfaction is now on par with corporate workplaces in the city.
To cope with increased capacity, a new kitchen has been planned and commissioned. It opened in early March 2022. Further to this, plans have been agreed and implemented for a 24-hour quality catering service.
As Bell puts it: “Seeing financial improvement wasn’t actually what was most pleasing, it’s a by-product; the real mark of success was seeing how our hard-working staff were being recognised. The knock-on impact of improved morale for our catering teams and the wider hospital family trumped everything.
“This has shown that it can be done. It’s possible with senior management support, collaboration and a bit of courage.”
That courage Bell refers to, could pave the way for so many others to follow.
This isn’t just good news for the finances, workplace environment and wellbeing of the NHS and its employees but as outlined in Professor West’s research – it can actually save lives.
