To celebrate the launch of On Verve, we asked director Bianca Angelico about why she created On Verve and her experience in the industry.
Why did you create On Verve?
There are two answers to this question, one is personal, and the other is business. Personally, a big reason is because I am dyslexic, and have a reading disability. Not many people know this about me. When I was a little girl, I always got told I’d never finish school, I’d never finish university, I’d never amount to anything. I’m doing this to show with passion, determination and being your true self, you can. I hope that I can inspire and make a difference to those that have heard the same words I have and show that anything is possible.
Speaking from a business perspective, there’s something missing in the market, and we need a fresh approach on how we deliver service in the workplace to both guests and employees. I saw a gap for a more modern approach to the needs of today’s workplaces so created On Verve to fill it. Our guest and employee services solution adapts to the way the way people work and how organisations create spaces that add value to the experience. I think this will change people’s perception on what guest services is moving away from the traditional comparisons to five-star hotel service.
What makes On Verve stand out from the rest?
We stand out through our energy and passion. Verve means enthusiasm and vigor, which is exactly what we stand for at On Verve. We are all about creating the right energy and atmosphere for the workplace and our clients. It doesn’t just come down to the energy of our people, but also our unique blend of people and technology. I think a true blend of people and tech, alongside our energy and enthusiasm, will create a wow experience. It’s definitely time to bring something different to this marketplace – guest services should and can provide a vibrant service that’ll keep clients engaged and put a smile on their face whilst fitting with their brand.
How has your industry experience helped in creating On Verve?
My experience has helped me with the processes and the procedures of creating On Verve and how we do it. When I moved to London, I was an executive assistant to CEOs for many years and that was one of my first experiences with this kind of guest services. People don’t usually link the synergy of an assistant together with a guest service, but there’s a lot of synergy, and I think this helped me massively. It all starts from my roots, being an assistant, working in a restaurant, redefining guest services for Amulet. All of these has helped me in the creation of On Verve. My role within EWL has also been extremely valuable as I have built a strong network of FM professionals and spend lots of time with the industry’s emerging talent so I use this to better understand what the evolving needs of the workplace are and what would really add value to an organisation.
Where does On Verve sit among the other Churchill services?
On Verve complements the other expert services, particularly Amulet in the security sector, and Portfolio as the high-specification cleaning offer. On Verve can be layered with any of Churchill’s other services but is also a standalone service offering.
How will you support D&I at On Verve?
Our values are around passion, personality, and connecting with others by understanding them. At On Verve, there isn’t a blueprint where you need to be X, Y and Z or fit in to a certain group, we simply embrace those being their true self, no matter your background. In this industry, people can tell when someone is being genuine and when they’re not. There’s nothing worse than an insincere interaction, proving how important authenticity is. Our other value is connecting through understanding and that’s all about empathy. I think Covid-19 has taught us to be a little bit more understanding with each other, and we want to be a strong team at On Verve that can bring out the best in each other.
What excites you most about the On Verve launch?
What excites me the most is that it’ll finally be out there, I don’t have to keep it a secret anymore! In all seriousness, everyone’s excited for the launch. Our ethos is the makers of someone’s day, and I can’t wait to show just how genuine that is. As well as the launch of our services, we’re also introducing a podcast called ‘On Verve: the modern approach to customer experience’. We can’t wait for people to tune in and hope they find it insightful, potentially implementing our ideas into their workplace strategy. As part of our launch, we’re sending some gifts to potential clients, all of which were bought locally to support local businesses.
How and when did you start working in guest services?
I would say I was born into it. My family owned a restaurant since before I was born, so my entire culture and upbringing as an Italian was within our restaurant. When I was six years old, I wanted to help out and make some money, so decided to become a waitress. The problem was, I couldn’t really read or write at the time. So, I would ask guests to point at the menu for what they wanted, and I must’ve done something right because I received hefty tips.
As I got older, eventually my father and I bought a restaurant together before I moved to London. I’d run the front of house element of it and my dad would run the kitchen. I really enjoyed the front of house aspect as an owner, I felt pride in welcoming guests and making them happy. So, when I moved to London, I wanted to keep that feeling and move forward in guest services.
What do you enjoy most about the industry?
For me, it’s that we have an opportunity every day to make someone’s day. Whether that’s through a last-minute crisis you can help solve, or just coming up with amazing ideas and implementing them. Positively impacting someone’s life is an amazing feeling and I easily enjoy that the most. I also enjoy the people I work with. It’s great being part of a close community and seeing amazing talent.
How can guest services be improved?
I think it’s all about evolution, adapting to new ways such as hybrid working. It’s important that new talent joining the industry isn’t learning guest services from twenty years ago, but an updated approach. So, I think it’s more about adapting and evolving rather than improving. One example of this is online training. We’ve changed the way we train people, going from boring hour-long lessons to quick snappy sessions. We’ve adapted and evolved, utilising the latest technology to make it more fun and engaging.