A three-year contract at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, central London, has gone to services contractor Mitie‘s security business. The FM firm says it will introduce a fresh approach to the site’s security and front of house services; which balances the delivery of customer experience, while ensuring public safety.
The staff at the Royal Academy will undergo customer service training which was recognised at the Institute of Customer Service Awards in 2017. The contractor speaks of moving to a warmer, customer-focused service, whereby gallery assistants will engage with the public supported by specialist security personnel. Over time, Mitie will complement these services with what the firm terms an enhanced technology security offering.
Danny Vant, Director of Mitie’s Signature and Security businesses, said: “We are delighted to have secured new contracts with such prestigious businesses. For the Royal Academy of Arts, we are offering an intuitive approach to security, more closely aligned with their culture and needs. To do this, we have developed a much more customer-centric approach, focusing heavily on enhancing the visitor experience whilst maintaining a safe and secure environment.”
Separately, Signature, Mitie’s front-of-house arm, has been awarded a new contract to provide front-of-house services for a global financial institute at its head office in London. Key to the win, the contract firm says, were technological innovations such as the potential to introduce facial recognition. Over time, this can build customer profiles to include preferred meeting locations and even favourite beverage choices. Smart digital management systems will allow ‘intelligent’ room bookings, and will identify when a room has been vacated. The introduction of Mitie’s Workplace+ app will also reduce the paper burden on the inhouse team by moving service audits online and streamlining SLAs (service level agreements).
These two new contracts combined are worth £7m, the contractor reports.
