thecentre:mk

thecentre:mk is a regional shopping centre in Milton Keynes, owned by Hermes Real Estate and The Prudential Assurance Co Ltd. managed by the thecentre:mk. thecentre:mk is a non-profit making organisation, employing 140 colleagues whose responsibilities include managing security, cleaning, building maintenance, customer service, health & safety, human resources, finance and the marketing of thecentre:mk.

Topics Covered

Customer Service

Our strategy places customers at the heart of everything we do, through listening carefully to our customers; we take action to continuously improve the service we provide.

Our Company is totally dependant on the effectiveness of our people, the longer they stay and the more involved they are in the progress of the business, the better they serve each other and our customers.

We created a culture that supports people who make a difference and creates a desire to take additional responsibility for the benefit of our customers. Our recruitment process ensures that staff recruited have a customer service focussed mindset as a priority rather than simply the ability to perform specific roles, as had previously been the case.

Training and Development plays a key role in achieving continuous improvement. We have devised a tailored development programme which starts with an induction. This is followed by training which raises the skill sets of our staff through appropriate and accredited training and is kept alive through our performance development processes.A number of forums have been set up to encourage contribution from all team members on the delivery/improvement of our customer services activities:
- A staff consultative group was established, the overall aim of the group is to contribute to the efficiency of the service provided at thecentre:mk.·
- We have a staff suggestion box which gives those staff members who are reluctant to give suggestions in open forums the opportunity to pass through their ideas.·
- Weekly in-depth briefing held for all staff. The in-depth briefings are held throughout the day and are conducted by the Service Development Co-ordinator. This gives all staff an opportunity to raise any ideas/concerns about the service provided at thecentre:mk.

We were placed 26th in the Sunday Times Top 100 best small companies to work for in 2005. The list is compiled from confidential staff satisfaction surveys and a culture audit. By being placed in this listing demonstrates the increased motivation of our staff and commitment to the organisation. We had the second highest score in the survey for treating our customers well.We regularly carry out mystery shop research to quantify customer satisfaction – our starting point of 61%, initially rose to 71% then to 82% then to 88% in the last mystery shop.

Social Responsibility

Four unique initiatives have been created by thecentre:mk to assist local training and employment within retail:

- Dimensions – a one day “free” training scheme for students and adult returners to gain acccredited training in skills applicable to retailing. The scheme receives government funding, has influenced retailers to provide greater commitment, specifically with regard to equality and flexibility to Dimensions “graduates” and has provided retailers throughout the local community (not just at thecentre:mk) with access to a pool of committed and dedicated employees to fill vacancies.

- skillscentre:mk - was set up in partnership with Milton Keynes College to ensure that everyone working in retail within Milton Keynes has the opportunity to undergo training and obtain formal recognised qualifications. The overall goal is to improve the skills base of the local community and give local people the opportunity to learn whilst working in retail or to gain employment in retail.

- Retail Suits You – Is aimed at those people who have been out of work for a while and are looking for a new start. We recognise that getting into work can be a daunting experience – especially if they are doing it for the first time. Retail Suits You is a free 2 day course that is designed to build up self-confidence and teach skills to help learners start a new job. At the end of the two day course, we also help to find work placements which give an invaluable experience in the retail environment. This can also lead to a permanent job.

- Retail Course for School Based Students- working in partnership with a local secondary school, Milton Keynes College and Milton Keynes Council a retail based course for 15 students who are taught for three hours one morning a week by Milton Keynes College at thecentre:mk and they then undertake an extended work placement in the afternoon of the same day with a retail employer.

The course was run as a Pilot last year and due to its success we now are looking to increase the number of places on offer to allow a greater number of students to participate.In addition to providing opportunities for charities to raise awareness and funds within the shopping centre in numerous ways, thecentre:mk have taken part in a number of Company Challenges which benefit a range of local charities. These include cycling 500 miles, dragon boat racing etc. Over £3,000 was raised by the team for local charities during 2005.We offer work placements to individuals who are homeless, to help them build their skills, confidence and self-esteem.

We have been delighted with our success of this initiative and we now want to influence other employers both locally and nationally as we think this is an important social issue and a project others should be encouraged to replicate.

thecentre:mk takes its responsibilities to the environment very seriously and has received an award from its landlord (Hermes) for 'Best Environmental Initiative' as well as a Green Apple Environmental Award in recognition of the emphasis the Centre has placed upon recycling its waste. Reducing landfill through recycling and reusing materials has significant benefits for the environment, and thecentre:mk, having acknowledged and recognised this, now recycles between 30 and 40% of all waste generated by retailers and shoppers.

We work with a number of the local secondary schools on various projects, which offer a great learning opportunity for both students and colleagues who participate. We also run a programme to help Ethnic Minority Students in Year 9 gain an insight into the range of job opportunities available in Milton Keynes.

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