WYBOSTON LAKES WINS PLACE IN SUNDAY TIMES ‘100 BEST COMPANIES’ SURVEY

Conference, training and leisure venue Wyboston Lakes is one of the UK’s ‘100 best companies to work for’, according to the Sunday Times’ latest survey of British businesses. The results for 2014 were announced by the newspaper last weekend (2 March).

The Bedfordshire based venue has over 280 employees. The company has comprehensive processes for listening to and involving its staff at all levels, combined with a range of activities to enhance their motivation and commitment to the business.

“Our business is all about creating exceptionally contented customers, and the best way of achieving that is to make sure that our employees feel they are truly contributing to that objective,” commented Mark Jones, Managing Director of Wyboston Lakes: “We’ve always been very confident about the ways we involve and encourage our people; they must take credit for our success.”

 Wyboston Lakes is the only specialist conference and training provider to have a place in the ‘Top 100’ rankings, which covers companies in all sectors. Other organisations to be ranked   include Pertemps, BMW UK, Kuoni and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The Top 100 surveys are divided into three sections: ‘big companies’, ‘midsized companies’ - which includes Wyboston Lakes - and ‘small companies’.

The Sunday Times’ independent ‘Best Companies’ accreditation is regarded as among the UK’s most reliable and thorough processes for assessing the merits of organisations in terms of the way they encourage, motivate and generally engage with their employees. The surveys are carried out by means of questionnaires and interviews seeking responses from staff on a range of issues: at Wyboston Lakes, the survey took place in September last year.

As part of the process, employee feedback is rated according to a Best Companies Index (BCI) score on a scale of 1 to 1000. Michelin-style star ratings are then determined from that score. In the results of this activity announced in February, Wyboston Lakes achieved a two-star rating, which means it is officially termed an ‘outstanding’ employer. 

In the survey, 76% of Wyboston Lakes employees said they loved working for the organisation with 72% saying there is a strong sense of family and 77% stating that it is fun coming to work.   74% of employees wrote that they would and do go out of their way to help one another and 77% stated that their roles are good for their personal growth.

Mark Jones concludes: “I believe employee engagement is about building trust, relationships and vigour and so I am delighted that 71% the team said that the business is run and led on sound moral principles.”

imago gets into gear for Sports Relief challenge

Staff from the conference arm of Loughborough University are cycling, swimming and running during a charity challenge in aid of Sports Relief. 

More than 50 members of the imago team are participating in the Sports Relief Challenge, which will see them cover more than 570 miles – the distance between Loughborough and its twin town of Epinal in France – over the course of seven days.  The triathlon is taking place across imago’s portfolio of venues including Burleigh Court, Hollywell Park and The Link Hotel. 

In addition to the triathlon, imago staff will also raise funds by taking part in a Retro Sports Day, a great British Bake-Off and a Slumber Party. 

The fundraising campaign has been co-ordinated by Natasha Hughes, Customer Relations Manager at Burleigh Court. She says: “It’s always good for the team to get together, have some fun and raise money. We decided to make it more challenging by making it long distance, which is why we chose to cycle, swim and run to Loughborough’s twin town. We’re getting as many people as possible involved to raise money for such a worthy cause.” 

imago has a long association with sports. Loughborough University was the official preparation camp for Team GB for the 2012 Olympic Games - imago provided conference facilities and accommodation at its four star hotel Burleigh Court whilst hosting the ‘Team GB experience’ at Holywell Park. It was also the preparation camp for the Rugby Football League (RFL) and is awaiting confirmation that it has been chosen as a base camp for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. 

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, adds: “Loughborough University is well known for its first class sporting facilities and are we are excited to be undertaking a sporting challenge for charity. The university’s sports offering sits at the heart of our event portfolio. Groups can make use of our expertise as a conference venue in the morning, whilst relaxing or playing a game on a top quality pitch (for almost any sport) in the afternoon. We can also engage sports coaches, trainers and researchers with events at any level, including speaking.”

Hinckley Island joins Conference Centres of Excellence

Hinckley Island Hotel has joined Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s only sales and marketing consortium of dedicated meeting providers.

The four-star Hinckley Island Hotel features the most extensive conference facilities of the Puma Hotels Collection, offering 24 meetings rooms for up to 650 delegates, 362 bedrooms, free Wi-Fi and ample parking for cars and coaches, with excellent transport links.  The hotel is set in the beautiful Leicestershire countryside with plenty of space for outdoor team building activities, a pool, gym, and restaurants. It’s excellent location and first-class facilities make this the ideal destination for large conferences and multi-day training courses.

Having met stringent criteria in terms of facilities, accommodation and customer care, joining Conference Centres of Excellence enables Hinckley Island to benefit from the group’s marketing activities, providing customers with a single route to booking one of our nationwide venues, with consistent quality standards.

Amanda Stacey, Marketing Manager of Conference Centres of Excellence said “Hinckley Island has an excellent combination of facilities, offering flexible space to meet customer requirements for large conferences and events, at a time when Association business is stronger than ever. We are pleased to broaden our portfolio further to meet our adapting customer demands, and welcome Hinckley Island to our consortium.”

Conference Centres of Excellence has been working with specialist venues in the meetings, training and events industry for 21 years, and its 35 members include many of the country’s best known specialist venues, covering a geographical area extending from the south coast of England to Scotland. 

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with such an established company as Conference Centres of Excellence, “commented Sam Davies, Director of Sales. “We are looking forward to this exciting new venture”.

For more information please call us on 0845 230 1414 or email: info@cceonline.co.uk

Anthony Lishman set to leave Conference Centres of Excellence

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE), will be leaving the consortium at the end of March to pursue his long held ambition to run his own consultancy business.

Anthony joined CCE in August 2008 as its first full time Executive Director, with the objective of enhancing its position as the UK’s leading association of specialist conference venues. The consortium’s fundamental proposition is that the specialist focus and facilities provided by dedicated conference venues provide the optimum environment for successful meetings and events. This philosophy is supported by the principle of all-inclusive, ‘no hidden extras’ rates, a proposition offered by all CCE members.

He has strengthened CCE’s position in a number of ways and has formed a range of partnerships, including most recently one with its partnerships with ABPCO & BV&EP.  He has also significantly strengthened CCE’s central sales venue-finding service for conference buyers, which provides a ‘one stop shop access’ to members’ facilities and services. Anthony is also credited with broadening the consortium’s geographical footprint along with establishing ‘preferred supplier' partnerships in key sectors in order to help members optimise quality.  

“It is to Anthony’s great credit that he has strengthened CCE’s position during an unprecedented economic downturn where venues in general have become much more selective about joining organisations,” said CCE Chair John Carson, Managing Director of Ashorne Hill in Warwickshire: “Through his empathy for, and knowledge of the sector he has created a very robust platform for the consortium and built a much stronger set of services for members. We all wish Anthony the very best in his new endeavour.”

Before joining CCE, Anthony worked extensively in sales and marketing and venue management roles across the conference sector. His experience included the development of new business opportunities and responsibility for major facility investment. He has also developed conference and training venues from green field sites to fully operational businesses with multi-million pound turnovers. 

“It has been both challenging and fulfilling to help CCE develop into a nationally recognised quality consortium. The challenge was made easier by the work of my team of true professionals and the enthusiastic contribution of many member venues and managers,” commented Anthony. “Though the meetings sector is in a continuous state of flux - with changing priorities, new technologies and a fluctuating economic environment - I have no doubt that the specialist venue concept continues to provide the best guarantee of successful meetings and events.”

Electric car spaces helping keep the Beardmore clean and green

The Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre continued their dedication to providing green tourism and conference solutions today, by installing a new electric car charging point and parking spaces for guests and visitors.

The state of the art Chargemaster Charging Unit, installed by Everwarm allows for two cars to be charged by guests and visitors to the award winning Clydebank hotel. 

Beardmore Hotel Manager Gary Rice commented: “As a Conference Centre of Excellence and holder of the Gold award for Green Tourism, it is essential that we continue to grow and improve to meet the needs and wants of our guests and conference users. 

“As the environmental and financial benefits of owning an electric car become more apparent, it was crucial for us to adapt and ensure that this facility was available to everyone who comes to the Beardmore. 

“We take great pride in our Green Conference Package, which encourages organisers to hold sustainable events and the addition of these parking bays was a vital element to the ongoing success this programme. 

“We have a very strong commitment to providing environmentally friendly and sustainable services. Our Green Team, with a representative from every department, works tirelessly all year round to come up with new and innovative ways to improve our eco-friendly status and this is the first of what will be many new ideas in 2014.”

The Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre has been awarded the acclaimed Gold Award for Green Tourism by the Green Tourism Business Scheme three years in a row and is committed to the fundamentals of sustainable eco-friendly practices. The Beardmore was also named the top eco-hotel in Scotland for 2013 at the world renowned AA Awards. 

CCE Expands Sales Team to Support Business Growth

Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s largest sales and marketing consortium of specialist conference, meeting and training venues has welcomed Liz Kelly to their central sales team.

The group, with 34 members nationwide, is the country’s largest provider of dedicated meetings space and is synonymous with offering both a first class service and exceptional professional standards.

Liz joins the central sales team at their offices in Warwickshire, in the role of Business Development Executive to take a proactive approach and focus on new business for all Conference Centres of Excellence members. 

Liz previously worked for DeVere Venues as a Sales Consultant in their central office, and prior to that as Operations Executive in the events team at one of our longstanding member venues, Ashorne Hill. 

She also undertook her university placement with Hilton whilst studying Events Management at Sheffield Hallam University. 

Katharine Armstrong, Sales Manager at Conference Centres of Excellence said: “Liz joins the team at an exciting time, when confidence is returning to the market and business is exceeding expectations across all of our member venues. She brings the perfect mix of experience, skills and enthusiasm to our team and we look forward to successful times ahead.”