ICC catering is officially the ‘Best Place to Work’ | 06 February 2007
Catering chiefs at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre have won a top award for employment best practice in the UK’s hospitality industry, from leading publication Caterer & Hotelkeeper.
The food and beverage team took the accolade for ‘Best Place to Work’ in the individual unit category, designed to identify attractive employers to potential employees in the early stages of the recruitment process.
The prestigious award was presented at the inaugural Hospitality Gala Dinner, part of the Hospitality Show 2007, which ran last week at The NEC from January 22-24.
Judges in the individual unit category – which rewards single, stand-alone brands rather than members of a chain or franchise - were looking for evidence of enthusiasm and fun in the workplace, as well as the benefits and initiatives that prove companies are going the extra mile for their staff.
The vibrant and exciting atmosphere created by the team helped to wow the judges, along with progressive HR policies including enhanced maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave, flexible working hours, and childcare provision.
Judges were also impressed with the dedicated learning and development team, which encourages and provides internal and external training, further education, job shadowing, and an extensive Leadership Uncovered programme available to all managers and team leaders.
A number of special initiatives were also taken into consideration by the judges, including the Team ICC Business Strategy Conference, an annual event allowing key members of staff to have their ideas heard, and Team ICC Day, an annual event open to all employees offering them an action-packed day of physical fun, competition, and team building.
ICC food and beverage general manager Allan Boyle said: “To receive this award is a fantastic achievement, and on a personal level, I am immensely proud of the commitment shown by the team. The hospitality profession is now placing a greater importance on issues such as work life balance, career development and training, and we demonstrated that we are active in these areas. We will now continue to keep improving our service with quality, creativity, and further customer understanding.”
Under the Team ICC Incentive Scheme, departments that beat set targets are rewarded with special team events, and are entered into a draw with prizes worth a total of £10,000 to be won.
Senior catering management also put on For One Night Only, an all-singing, all-dancing presentation to an audience of 80 casual staff on new initiatives and brand messages, followed by drinks and a buffet.
In front of over 300 guests at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, ICC food and beverage manager Wesley Johnson and recruitment and deployment manager Katie Pearce took to the stage to collect the accolade after beating entries from more than 50 other national venues.
International fast food giant McDonalds won the overall award.
