Foodservice Cateys 2015: Front of House Team of the Year

Sponsored by Lusso, CH&Co Group

BAXTERSTOREY AT CLYDE & CO

Global law firm Clyde & Co is one of the most respected in its field and one of the largest of its kind in the UK. It takes a special kind of team to ensure that such a business has everything it needs so it can focus on the job in hand at its London office, which sits at the heart of its worldwide network. With 650 lawyers and fee earners servicing clients across 120 countries, it's a highly pressurised and demanding environment in which to work.

The BaxterStorey-led front of house team at Clyde & Co has a simple mission statement: to be on the ground where and when it is needed. It's a highly effective approach that has enabled the team to provide seamless support to a rapidly expanding leading law firm. Members of the team pride themselves on exceeding the expectations of their clients, who come from all sectors and all nations.

They deliver these high standards of customer service excellence by gleaning detailed knowledge of the requirements of the business, underpinned by strong relationships.

They also execute a rigorous training programme, with each member of the team taking part in specific development around the client journey, anticipating customer needs and service excellence, which includes presentation skills and hosting behaviours.

Meanwhile, the team, which welcomed over 33,000 external clients in the last year, is encouraged to make small talk and develop a rapport with arriving guests so they can anticipate their needs; for example, onward international travel, whereby a team member can help with online check-in and print off a boarding pass. These little details are in addition to handling in excess of 1,000 calls per day, booking over 13,000 taxis annually, and hosting over 13,000 external meetings in London alone.

Nominator Andrea Bosche, account director at BaxterStorey, said the team's biggest achievements are its understanding of client and customer care, its high and consistent service standards that are polished yet personal, and a team dynamic that is a joy to observe.

"The Clyde & Co team's service delivery is corporate excellence at its best. Always. This is achieved through a combination of passion for good service, innovation, vision and, most importantly, training, development and mentoring," said Bosche.

It is the team's passion for training and development and their natural understanding of the importance of this, their willingness to provide the highest possible customer service excellence, and the friendly, open and dynamic environment they have created in order to give their clients what they need, that has made them this year's very worthy winners.

What the judges said

"There were hugely contested discussions about all the finalists, with each of them delivering a great level of service in demanding environments. The team at Clyde & Co are clearly exceeding expectations at a prestigious site."

Paula Rogers, Admiral Recruitment

"The front of house team at Clyde & Co demonstrated a clear understanding of their clients' requirements."

Bill Toner, CH&Co Group

Shortlisted

• BaxterStorey at Clyde & Co

• Elior at Linklaters

• Kings Place Events

Past winners

• 2014 Rapport at Tower 42

• 2013 Rapport at KPMG