To celebrate the launch of On Verve, we asked culture & people manager Lynne Cullen several questions on her thoughts, feelings, and responsibilities at On Verve.

What is your role and your main responsibilities?

I am really excited to be culture and people manager at On Verve. My role is to support with initiatives to develop our people which we call our “DayMakers”. I will do his from recruitment stage, all the way through to supporting individual career growth. Our culture will be driven from our DayMaker’s sharing our vision and core values – obviously I will be leading by example too! I will be designing and implementing bite size coaching through a mix of content which is made so much easier through all the various online platforms we have in this day and age. This will allow for “coaching on the go” and will encourage learning and engagement for the whole organisation. I will promote our culture by providing an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have a voice and a place where they can develop and really use their personality to create a great service,  a diverse workforce is more creative and innovative.

What is your favourite part of your job at On Verve?

Being part of something new! It’s all so exciting as its fresh and never been done before – we can be creative and innovative with implementing everything. Our launch was on the 12th May and was a huge success. We are constantly setting milestones as our current to do list is pretty long, and though the list is forever evolving there is a great sense of achievement when a task is ticked off. I love to support and champion individuals, and being able to help set up the mechanisms with a company that shares my principles gives me a great purpose.

 How has On Verve evolved guest services?

 We are about creating the right atmosphere for our guests and employees; we recognise the importance of making that special connection by having a real understanding of the environment we are in. It is no longer enough to have years of experience of working in guest services to make you good at your job. Our training and hybrid learning will allow people to be part of a team that really pushes individual strengths to maintain authenticity as well as supporting and upskilling where required. We believe happy people are productive people, and we aim to think in a modern way and in the process make a service that is amazing. We recognise that guest services are moving with the times and need to remain modern with the introduction of new technology in the workplace. We’ll integrate tech while our dedicated Daymakers promote our brand “to be the makers of someone’s day”, which will be far more natural when the connection is real.

What makes On Verve stand out?

We want to create a wow factor! At a time when there is so much going on in people’s lives, how we interact with others is more important than ever as we do not know the impact we may have. Sometimes customer service can feel scripted and not personal enough. We want to truly connect through personality. Therefore, our recruitment will be key along with training and enhancing individual performance. Our people will make customer service stand out, as we all know that no two scenarios have the same outcome. By enabling greater creativity, it will generate more energy and enthusiastic and a personable service for our guests and employees.

How will you support staff and develop culture?

 I want to our DayMakers to understand their areas of strength, know their values and behaviours and how they connect with On Verve’s, and enable them to work in a positive and collaborative workplace. From day one, I will support our people to increase their knowledge and skillset through bitesize coaching and development using various formats via an amazing and bespoke Learning Experience Platform (LXP). By encouraging an empowered, inclusive culture where people can be themselves, it will enable them to find their own solutions and really thrive on their personality. If this is done correctly people will feel at ease in themselves and the environment which they are in, resulting in the best service. I am also a big supporter of celebrating success and highlighting the great achievements of those who are part of On Verve will be key. There will be a real focus on wellbeing among our DayMakers and by communicating and engaging effectively we can understand the goals that we all have, and help each other to achieve them.

June is Pride month. How will On Verve support members of the LGBTQ community this month and throughout the year?

 Our values – passionate about personality and connecting through understanding – really emphasise On Verve’s beliefs. We spend a lot of time at work and often see our colleagues more than we see friends and family, so it’s really important that we ensure that our LGBTQ community feel that they are in an environment where they can be themselves regardless of sexuality or gender identity. We actively promote an inclusive working environment for everybody.

What are your key predictions for the industry going forward?

The uncertainty of 2020/21 has made us far more resilient as we have all had to change and re-evaluate how we get work done, and I feel that we are coming through the other side stronger and better for it. As we see a return to the workplace, customer service and how we connect with each other will be more significant than ever. Not only the physical measures and guidelines in place but the social side of getting people back in the swing of socialising and being back in the big open space. For some people, confidence will have been hit hard and those in customer facing roles will have a huge part to play in easing people back into the workplace – providing empathy will be key. Technology will have a big part to play as we see a change in roles, but building relationships and emotional connections will build the future. We must provide the opportunity to learn and grow.