Interview employee training

Adam Bidder, Managing Director Q-Park Great Britain

"Service with a smile"

Q-Park is a customer-focused, future-focused, innovative organisation. When we talk about customer experience, we must always remember that customers don't ‘park for the sake of parking’. For this reason we teach our hosts how we differentiate ourselves from the competition: with top-quality parking facilities which are stylish, clean and well lit and which offer convenience, safety, service and hospitality. Complemented with supplementary services we offer our customers. With a smile!

Training is absolutely key to ensure that our parking hosts understand this fully. We want them to be proud to be a ‘Q-Parker’. All this starts with the programme for new employees, which was renewed in 2013.

Customer focus is the basis. For example, we show them how they can make the a great first impression on the customer. Only then do we progress to the operational requirements of their job. Naturally, employees learn all about the equipment in our parking facilities, so they can help a customer as quickly as possible should a problem arise. They also learn about the vital role our Q-Park Control Room (QCR) has to play. In addition, they learn how they can support our sales and marketing activities. For instance, by selling season tickets. This initiative has been running for two years now and has resulted in 15% of all potential customers being referred via parking hosts. They are increasingly becoming our first point of sale.

A Training Toolkit, employee handbook and of course the Q-Park website support the introductory programme for new employees. By means of multiple choice questions they can check whether they have understood the contents and determine in which areas they need further training.

Hosts know how our vision and core values are directly linked to their daily work. We reward them too, so they share our success. Where there is a Meet and Greet desk, there is more opportunity for positive customer contact. Each year, colleagues from head office participate in a ‘back to the work floor programme’. This generates extra appreciation for their operational colleagues and learn how they can provide support. This also fosters a culture of collaboration.