Author: Lucy Wood

This year World Mental Health Day is on Saturday 10^th October and the theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is “Mental Health for All”.  We are proud to continue promoting health and well-being to all our Westgrove colleagues across the UK.  This World Mental Health Day, we’re joining retailTRUST to be there for the one in four adults in the UK who will experience a mental health problem at some point in the lifetime. 

To support this campaign, retailTRUST are hosting a free 3-day virtual event with a mission to provide support for every individual whenever they need it.  The event will equip you with the skills to manage your emotional, physical, vocational and financial wellbeing. 

Over the three days, industry leaders and experts will provide you with the tools you need to lead our industry, your team and yourselves in these unprecedented times.

The agenda is as follows:

Monday 19^th October – Leading the industry

The industry’s big thinkers give their views on the great challenges that face retail, those leading it, and those forging their careers in it. We explore the great debate around people in retail and their ongoing importance to the future of the sector.

Tuesday 20^th October – Leading your team

Looking into the trends shaping the way your customers and colleagues view the world, we’ll help you understand the post-COVID views of your most important stakeholders and the tools needed to engage them successfully.

Wednesday 21^st October – leading yourself

You can access an exclusive morning of workshops to give you the tools to manage your health, happiness and performance as a new professional era dawns upon us.

You can sign up to the free 3-day event HERE.

We will be there #forthefour in four colleagues who will experience a setback or life event. 

Westgrove take mental health and awareness seriously   

As a business we offer mental health awareness training to all and also specialist training to Managers as well as offering free counselling through our Partnership with retailTRUST and Brand Ambassador Alex Staniforth. 

retailTRUST’s Free Well-being Assessment

retailTRUST have put together a short wellbeing assessment which will provide a personalised well-being rating based on your responses and will help identifying the support available to you. 

You can take the short survey HERE.

Hello, and welcome to the September Issue of the Westgrove Colleague Newsletter.

Revo Ace Awards – WINNERS!

We are delighted to announce that Westgrove scooped the prestigious ‘Top Soft Services Provider UK’ accolade in this year’s Revo ACE Awards which is an amazing achievement!

Revo ACE awards recognise the best in class, rewarding the people and places offering the very best experiences in the retail sector. The Top Soft Service Provider UK award recognises that our centres had the highest scoring averages across all the categories for customer service and facility standards.

We also had three short listed centres in their own categories – St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool, Community Centre, Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton, Regional Centre and Handforth Dean Retail Park, Retail Place with St Johns and Market Place going on to win their categories. Well done to them!

It has been a tough few month for all our centres and colleagues which makes this award a real boost and shows that our commitment to service excellence gives real results.

Last chance for R&R submissions – 30^th Sept

We have already received lots of nominations for the Quarter 3 Reward & Recognition Awards with many colleagues going the extra mile in this challenging times.  There will be lots more worthy entries out there so make sure you enter your team or a colleague before 30th September.

Entries can be submitted online on Our Colleagues Reward & Recognition page.

Access HR – Now Available to Book!

Following the success of the first ‘Access HR’ sessions, we are excited to announce further dates for all Westgrove colleagues to book an online appointment. 

The sessions are an opportunity for colleagues to book in a date and time to have a private one-to-one with a member of the HR Team through video conferencing to discuss any non-urgent queries.

The dates to book your personal HR session are below. If you would like to book a time please contact hr@westgrove.co.uk and include the following;

• Chosen date and preferred time
• Confirmation that you are able to use Zoom or if you require an alternative arrangement

A member of the HR team will contact you directly with the exact time of your session, joining instructions and any other information. On the day of your session you will receive an email from HR providing you with a Zoom link.

Sessions are approximately 10 minutes long and the team will endeavour to answer all of your questions. Should this not be possible, and we need to investigate your question in more detail, then a further session will be arranged.

Please see below a list of the dates and times available for October.

• Thursday 1st October @ 12noon – 2pm
• Tuesday 27^th October @ 8am – 10am
• Wednesday 28^th October @ 4pm – 6pm

Our Volunteering Policy

Westgrove is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the communities where we work and live.  Volunteering allows you to connect with your community and make a real difference.  It can benefit you as much as it can benefit your chosen cause.  If you want to volunteer for a cause close to your heart, then check out the Westgrove Volunteering Policy for more information. 

Westgrove have committed to 5 colleagues taking 3 paid volunteer days each annually.  These days will be paid and will not affect your allowance of holiday.

For further information please refer to our Volunteering Policy, HERE.

eLearning – Don’t forget your essential courses!

Please can all colleagues ensure they have completed the latest eLearning courses on the following subjects:

• Coronavirus Awareness
• Cross Contamination Control
• Conflict Resolution

eLearning can be accessed via the Our Colleagues page on the website.   

There are also further resources available via the Retail Trust website including how to deal with difficult customers and managing anxiety.  Both of these short user-friendly courses will give you some really good guidance.

Retail Trust & Suicide Awareness

September hosts World Suicide Awareness Day. In the UK in 2018 someone took their own life every 81 minutes. retailTRUST have put together resource to help people recognise when a friend, family member or colleague is suffering from mental ill health. Anyone can make a difference to someone else’s life.  Click here to access the resources.

retailTRUST is our free and confidential well-being support portal which is always on hand to support all Westgrove Colleagues.  You can use the online portal to create your personal toolkit, or call or email the retailTRUST team for further advice and support.  retailTRUST is available 24/7. 

• retailTRUST are there to support you throughout your life:
• You can access emotional support if you are experiencing difficulties
• Increase your awareness about a range of health and well-being issues
• Progress your career through tools and training
• Develop key life skills
• And apply for financial help during times of need

Click here to find out how retailTRUST can support you.

We are delighted to announce that Westgrove scooped the prestigious ‘Top Soft Services Provider UK’ accolade in this year’s Revo ACE Awards which is an amazing achievement!

Revo ACE awards recognise the best in class, rewarding the people and places offering the very best experiences in the retail sector. The Top Soft Service Provider UK award recognises that our centres had the highest scoring averages across all the categories for customer service and facility standards. 

We also had three short listed centres in their own categories –

·        Community Centre: St Johns Shopping Centre, Liverpool

·        Regional Centre: Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton

·        Retail Place: Handforth Dean Retail Park

with St Johns and Market Place going on to win their categories. Well done to them!

It has been a tough few month for all our centres and colleagues which makes this award a real boost and shows that our commitment to service excellence gives real results.

Our people are what make us special.  From saving lives and preventing crime to helping people in need and much more.  Our Reward and Recognition scheme is our way of saying thank you to our Colleagues for the amazing work that they do each and every day, often going above and beyond in their role.

During Quarter 2, there has been a lot to contend including the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen Colleagues stepping up and displaying professionalism and compassion. 

Well done to all our winners and everyone who has been nominated for an award this quarter – you are all amazing!

The winners are:

Colleague of the Quarter – Paul Nevins, Haymarket

Colleague of the Quarter – Katie Fox, Head Office

Colleague of the Quarter – Iain Fulton, Quedam

Colleague of the Quarter – Jen Ogden, Spindles

Covid Spirit – Linda Edgar, Haymarket

Covid Spirit – The Whole Team, QVC Chiswick

Covid Spirit – Paul Lavery, St Johns

Covid Spirit – Security & Cleaning Teams, Templars Square

Covid Spirit – David Sutherland, Tat Technologies

Covid Spirit – Marcus Hann & Tanya Hann, The Galleries Shopping Centre

CSR – Lianne Mcardle, Runcorn

CSR – Martin Wain & Marjid Khan, Tamplars Square

Newcomer of the Quarter – Keith Hammonds – Kawneer

Outstanding Act – Simon Dewse & Lamin Samateh, Market Place

Outstanding Act – Carlos Graca, Market Place

Outstanding Act – Tony Keay, Royal Priors

Outstanding Act – The Whole Team, Stamford Quarter

Outstanding Act – Majid Khan, Templars Square

Outstanding Act – Steven Brooks & Paul Greenslade, Templars Square

Outstanding Act – Sandra Perry & Darren Harris, Templars Square

Service Excellence – Lisa Gregory, Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Service Excellence – David Evans, Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Service Excellence – The Whole Team, Greenwich

Service Excellence – Steve Thomas, High Chelmer

Service Excellence – Laurie Barton Wright & Ian Saunders, Head Office

Service Excellence – Mo Osman, Queens Square

Service Excellence – Adrian Alcantara, Tata Technologies

Service Excellence – Cleaning & Security Teams, Telford

Service Excellence – John Long, The Galleries

Site Manager of the Quarter – Chris Barton, St Johns

Site Manager of the Quarter – Clint Sayers, Telford

Team of the Quarter – The Whole Team, Bayview Shopping Centre

Team of the Quarter – The Whole Team, Castle Quay

Team of the Quarter – The Whole Team, Concourse

Team of the Quarter – The Whole Team, Heathway

Team of the Quarter – The Whole Team, Riverside  

Please remember to nominate your colleagues through our Reward and Recognition programme. You can find out more and nominate here. 

Knife crime has been continually on the rise since 2014 and ensuring the safety of our colleagues and the general public is top of the Westgrove agenda. 

Recently some of our team attended Knife Crime Awareness Training to boost their knowledge and understanding of the dangers surrounding knife crime and how to react in, and to a threat. 

The course was designed to give:

•  Better understanding of threats

•  Increased awareness of how assumptions can lead to people being at risk

•  Awareness of the need to know how to communicate

•  Awareness of the need to know emergency plans and key actions to reduce threat.

The course was met with enthusiasm to learn and as a result the team have come away with greater understanding and the skills they need to perform their role.  In this new way of socially distanced learning, the course was run online and the team embraced it and praised the fantastic presentation.  We’re rolling out the course to more colleagues over the coming months to ensure all our teams have the skills and knowledge needed to perform their role and to act against knife crime.

Our intrepid explorer and Brand Ambassador Alex Staniforth completed his epic Three Peaks Run on Sunday 30th August on Snowdon in the most gruelling of his many exploits to support mental health exceeding his fundraising target, raising over £10,500 for his organisation
Mind Over Mountains which offers support and well-being advice.

Attempting to break the current record of running up, down and between Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowdon, Alex completed the 450-mile run in 9 days 12 hours and 51 minutes, missing his target by just 1 hour. This was an incredible feat, amounting to the equivalent of two marathons a day.  This is despite a number of setbacks before he’d even started the run on Ben Nevis on Friday 21st August.

Alex said “even getting to the start line was a challenge with a sprained ankle 3 weeks beforehand”. 

“The support and generosity along the way was truly humbling and it was great to bring people back together after the recent months of lockdown. My physical battle may be over now but for many with mental health issues the battle is only just beginning and I really hope this run will inspire and encourage people to seek help – I’m delighted to have hit my £10k target for Mind Over Mountains to make those miles count.”

You can find out more and support Alex here.

With over 20 years’ industry experience, our multi-disciplined engineers provide a wide range of planned preventative and reactive mechanical and electrical maintenance services to our Partners across the UK.

For more information take a look at our hard services brochure available here.

With our in-house technical team and trusted service partner network across the country, Westgrove can offer facilities hard services wherever you are. 

• PPM & Reactive Works
• Inspection & Testing
• Statutory Compliance
• General & EM Lighting
• System Upgrades & Minor Works
• Building Fabric Maintenance
• Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)
• CCTV
• Access Control
• Fire Systems
• Energy Surveys
• Asset & Condition Surveys

Whether you require static on-site support or regular planned and reactive visits, Westgrove can provide you with the support you need to keep your facilities compliant. We invest in technology and systems that support enhanced outcomes. By doing so, we keep our Partners’ interests at the forefront of our planning and decision making.

Our CAFM system – part of our bespoke 360 Sphere system – will enhance your asset uptime and deliver a new level of engineering excellence, delivered by our industry-leading team. Our planned preventative maintenance (PPM) regimes are developed in line with relevant legislation, SFG20 recommendations, CIBSE guidelines, British Standards and manufacturers guidance. However, they are completely flexible and can be made bespoke to your buildings and assets – to meet your specific needs and drivers.

We work from first-class systems that are integrated to collect data and information for analysis and planning. This allows our maintenance and engineering colleagues to focus on continuous improvement and enhancing asset uptime and performance.

Some of our colleagues had an amazing day out as part of a walking day with Mind Over Mountains CIC and our Brand Ambassador and explorer Alex Staniforth.

The charity which advocates the outdoors for helping mental mental health and well being normally delivers residential events with guided walks, mindfulness, professional coaching, inspirational speakers and counselling.

Due to the pandemic, the charity has been working hard to find safe and responsible ways to support people during this challenging period. As a result, they organised special guided one-day hill walks in the Lake District and Peak District with small groups to maintain social distancing and minimise local impact.

Westgrove provided bursaries for colleagues wishing to join in and those that joined Alex and his team in the hills said they had an amazing day.

Our colleague Paul said, ‘It was great to chat to other people on the walk and share experiences. I feel revitalised from being on the walk and will definitely join the next one. I can’t believe how good it has made me feel!’

We want to help you protect your community by ensuring your centre or building has the right products for your colleagues, visitors and members of the public to use. 

By placing a hand sanitising station at entrances, in lobbies and in back of house areas you are encouraging everyone to wash their hands regularly and keep your premises sanitised. 

Sanitising stations come in Wall Mounted and Freestanding options, can be fully branded and are suitable for shopping centres, corporate buildings and any retail environment.

Click here to view the brochure to find out more about the Hand Sanitising Stations we offer and get in touch today to discuss which option would suit your business.

Call 01925 414190 or email enquiries@westgrove.co.uk.

As we look ahead to re-mobilising sites in the future we want to ensure you have access to the right services and products, ensuring your premises are decontaminated, sanitised and deep cleaned ready for colleagues, visitors and members of the public to return.  

Using the best technology and equipment, we are able to offer a deep cleaning service from fogging through to full decontamination cleans to provide proactive support to your existing cleaning teams.  There are also a variety of innovative products available for further reassurance;

• Hand sanitising stations (multiple, single or wall mounted, branded with centre logo)

• Air sanitising filters

• Chemical free sanitising cleaning as used in the healthcare sector

Click here to find out more about the services we offer and get in touch today to discuss how Westgrove can help you.

Email: enquiries@westgrove.co.uk or contact your Westgrove Business Manager.