How to bring Heart of house to life A step by step guide

Transcription

1 How to bring Heart of house to life A step by step guide Version 3 - Dec 2011

2 How to bring Heart of house to life A step by step guide Introduction Page 3 Heart of house Page 4 Using this guide Page 5 Designs overview Design Elements Page 7 Elements overview Page 8 The journey line Page 9 Icons Page 10 Updatable information Planning Page 11 Planning Page 12 Checklist 2011 InterContinental Hotels Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and Confidential. Use of this resource, or any part thereof, is not required by any license agreement, brand standards, or otherwise. This resource is an optional guide that owners and managers of franchised hotels may use at their sole discretion, using or adapting only those elements, if any, that they deem appropriate for their particular IHG branded hotel. No company in IHG, or any employee or agent thereof, seeks, requires or has any control or direction of any hiring, compensation, termination or other employment-related decisions at franchised hotels.

3 Heart of house Our Brands are a promise brought to life by our people. Your employees draw inspiration from their working environment. The back of house is a place where there is so much going on for your teams. It s where they come together to get ready for the day and reconnect in the middle of a busy shift. It s because it s such an important part of your hotel that we re leading the industry with this opportunity to get the very best out of this space and we are calling it Heart of house. This programme can help you transform your back of house into a place that creates energy and passion around your business a place where you can involve, inspire and engage your team, so they can get the most out of their working day. In just a few weeks, your teams could feel so much more connected, as they learn about the special part they play, not only in your team and your hotel, but in your brand and the wider IHG family. But more than that, you ll be starting on a journey to engage them as brand ambassadors colleagues that better understand the value of guest loyalty and what it means to deliver an outstanding brand experience. We re confident that Heart of house will make a meaningful difference to your hotel by increasing employee engagement and that s great for profits as a highly engaged workforce really does impact the bottom-line. From photographs of the last team night out, to celebrating department achievements, Heart of house allows everyone to contribute their personality in an environment that creates pride, making our brands and your hotel truly great. These guidelines will help you and your chosen agency bring your story to life on your walls to create somewhere your team will love to work. I hope you enjoy this journey 3 Tracy Robbins Executive Vice President Global Human Resources and Group Operations Support

4 Using this guide Our hotels all have different spaces available for a Heart of house. This guide will help you plan your Heart of house from start to finish to ensure that you maximise the space available to communicate with and engage your colleagues. To help you bring Heart of house to life at your hotel we are providing four resources: 1. This How to Bring Heart of house to life guide tells you everything you need to know about the design elements and the process. 2. Heart of house Design Guidelines specific to each InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) hotel brand are available on the People Tools section on Merlin and include all the detail you need on the design, colours, recommended materials & finishes, and how to keep it up to date. 3. Templates for Inserts for you to add in hotel information and print at your hotel to put into the frames on the Heart of house walls. 4. Artwork files for the graphics which make up the Heart of house designs. Please refer to the Design Guidelines for detailed information about each zone. Our approach to putting it all together Heart of house works in zones, starting from the entrance areas all the way to your colleague areas like the restaurant which could be a very long distance, or all in one room, depending on the size of your hotel. To make it easy, we have numbered each zone: Zone 0 - Entrance Zone Zone 1 - About IHG Zone 2 - About Our Brand Zone 3 - About Our Hotel Zone 4 - About Our Team Zone 5 - Other Areas (walls, locker rooms and training rooms) With every Heart of house being a different size and shape, there will be a little creativity needed to place the graphics so that they make sense to your colleagues. Part of installing the Heart of house designs will involve deciding what size and where to place the zones in your hotel. Help from a local print agency might be needed as your designs should be specific to your hotel space and its features. The size of design you choose will be dependent on how much available wall space you have in your back of house area. The wall space does not need to be in a continuous line as you can have zones in different areas of the hotel and can link elements of the same zone using journey lines. There is a Main design for hotels with over 20m (66ft) of available wall space, and an option for hotels with less than 20m (66ft). The layouts are very different, so make sure you carefully measure up and choose the correct ones for your hotel. Keeping Heart of house up-to-date with relevant information is important and our plan is to make this as easy as possible. Some content will come through Merlin and content specific to your hotel will be generated by the team at the hotel. 4

5 Main Design For hotels with more than 20m (66ft) of wall space, the Heart of house designs are bold and contain colourful wall graphics. They can be scaled to work within and around your hotel layout. There are interactive areas using pinboard and dry wipe surfaces, as well as many plastic frames that will share the latest information about your hotel. Icons can be placed around the Heart of house, as well as being used to brighten up areas that do not use the main graphics. 5

6 Small Design For smaller hotels with limited wall space (under 20m / 66ft) there are a series of 8 posters to make your Heart of house. These can be ordered from a central IHG supplier or produced locally. The designs are in the same style as the main designs, but contain fewer features and less content. The posters are made from various materials, including pinboards, dry wipe posters and regular prints. Plastic frames are mounted on top of the posters and the latest information about IHG and your hotel can be placed in these. A set of 6 icons are supplied that can be used in areas that do not have posters. Micro Design For hotels with a very small Heart of house, there is an option to have the designs as an on screen version. This includes all the features of the main designs and allows you to edit the content as required, including all latest IHG and hotel information. 6

7 Elements overview The Heart of house zones in all the designs are made up of individual graphics, icons and other elements connected by journey lines to create a powerful and consistent colleague experience which is flexible enough to work in any Heart of house area. The following pages will give you an overview of all the elements and how to use them. 7

8 The journey line The journey line starts and ends each zone and is a creative way of leading your colleagues through the zones, especially when the space doesn t allow for a consistent flow. It joins the elements together, sometimes along the wall, and other times along the floor and ceiling. It also adds fun and excitement to the journey and can lead to interesting facts that are contained within icons. The colour of the line must be the same as the zone bubble. The journey line width must be consistent throughout all zones and have the same width as the bubble outline. The journey line should never go from the end bubble of one zone to the start bubble in another zone. To avoid confusion, keep the journey line simple and ensure there is only one journey line to follow. The journey line starts and ends each zone Link sections together across walls, floors and around corners 8

9 Icons We have a set of icons that bring fun and excitement into the Heart of house spaces. Use them to carry messages or to decorate bare and additional spaces in zones 2,3 and 4. When using the icons to contain facts, make sure the facts are interesting and relevant but also that they are correct. It s important to keep the icons up to date and fresh. Icons can be full colour on a white wall or reversed out if you have painted the wall a block colour. Place the icons in spare spaces throughout the zones, placing them in unusual places, either up high or down low, so they don t distract from the main content of Heart of house. Icons can be used throughout your Heart of house but must not be used in Zone 1. Icons Examples 9

10 Updatable information A key element to Heart of house are the inserts which contain updatable content. The inserts are placed into Perspex holders that are attached to the wall. They are quick and easy to update and change. This content keeps colleagues with the latest news, views and events. It s vital that it s refreshed on a regular basis or as necessary. Updatable content consists of: Colleague photography IHG and brand facts / stats provided on Merlin Hotel information Colleague information (inductions, training, benefits etc.) In addition to the inserts, there is also space for colleague photos, recognition cards, employee of the month photos and other relevant information. Full details are contained in the Design Guidelines. Perspex holders 10

11 Phase 1 - Planning (2 weeks) Step 1 Decide which Heart of house design you need 1.1 Review available space for Heart of house and use this table to decide which size you need. 20m or more Between 5 and 20m Less then 5m (16.4ft) > Main design > Small design > Micro powerpoint Note: Space does not need to be in one continuous line. 1.2 Download the design guidelines for either the Main or Small and micro designs. Step 2 Set up a project team and have a launch meeting 2.1 Review this How to guide and the Design Guidelines with the project team. 2.2 Consider contacting a local print agency to help manage the design and print process 2.3 Agree budget for Heart of house. Step 3 Measure up 3.1 Consider your space. Look at the areas best suited for wall artwork areas with high footfall will achieve maximum impact. Avoid narrow corridors or areas where colleagues will be too close to the artwork. 3.2 Decide on the best way to print and install Heart of house (wall vinyls, dibond cladding etc.). 3.3 agree on what will be managed by the hotel vs. the print agency (if an agency is being used). 3.4 Measure all the walls that will be used make note of where all the fixtures and fittings are (e.g. radiators, switches, rails etc). Step 4 Plan the environment 4.1 Consider what else needs to be done to improve the area and help colleagues feel we re taking the same care with them as we do our guests. 4.2 Walls will need to be painted white or a pale colour to ensure the designs stand out. Consider whether you need more lighting or bright furniture to create an inviting area for Heart of house. 4.3 Playing music that s relevant to our colleagues really lifts the spirit consider installing a sound system that plays your favourite music. Step 5 What to communicate 5.1 Zones 3 and 4 are about the hotel and your colleagues. Start preparing the content and pictures that will really bring Heart of house to life. 5.2 Check to see if any of the images that might be used (e.g. Hotel history) have a copyright on them as there might be a fee to pay. Phase 2 - Getting Ready (2 weeks) Step 6 Order the graphics for the walls Main Design Contact the approved IHG vendor (see Design Guidelines on Merlin) or a local printing agency. Supply hotel specific content for the Entrance Zone, Zone 3 and Zone 4. Agree sizing of elements in each zone. Agree what other materials you will need to buy locally. Agree with printer how long it will take. Agree who will install the designs. Small Designs Option 1: Contact the IHG approved vendor (see Design Guidelines on Merlin) and ask for the Install-ready designs to be delivered to your hotel. Understand if there is an install-ready version of the door design that can be included for use at your hotel. If not, you may need to contact a local supplier who can measure, print and install the door element. Agree who will install the designs Option 2: Download the print-ready designs and design guidelines from Merlin and send to your local printer. Send the measurements of your entrance doors so printer can resize the door artwork. Agree how long it will take and who will install all elements. Buy the required number of frames. Step 7 Order the materials needed 7.1 everything to do with the environment should be ordered and ready to install, including; paint, carpet, tiles, furniture, lighting, music systems etc 7.2 everything to do with the design needs to be prepared including; plastic frames, picture frames, posters, pinboards, magnetic strips, pens, clear seal spray, instant cameras etc 7.3 Refer to the Design Guidelines for material required for each zone. Step 8 Download the Insert Templates and prepare information 8.1 gather content for your inserts. 8.2 go to Merlin to get the global information you will need in Zones 1 and 2. Review the inserts and check whether they look consistent and engaging. Step 9 Plan the launch event 9.1 Decide on who will lead the launch. 9.2 Choose a day and time that works. 9.3 Decide on the agenda and activities. 9.4 agree a budget e.g. for catering,if you need a sound system etc 9.5 Think about inviting a guest speaker to talk. 9.6 Think about whether you want colleagues to see the Heart of house take shape, or surprise them with a big reveal. Phase 3 - Bringing Heart of house to life (2 weeks) Step 10 Prepare space for installation 10.1 Decorate, update lighting and add furniture as needed to make the space inviting and fresh. Step 11 Install the artwork and materials 11.1 This can take between 1 and 5 days for installation so consider the level of disruption to colleagues and guests (particularly where drilling is planned). Step 12 Print and place the inserts 12.1 Print a copy of all your inserts with the right content and place them all in the frames or on the pinboards. Step 13 Launch 13.1 involve as many colleagues as possible and use this day to signify a real change in the hotel. It s an opportunity to energise your colleagues, motivate your team and demonstrate how important they are to delivering Great hotels guests love. Step 14 Share the success 14.1 Keep a note of how everything has run from planning and print, to installation and launch Take pictures of your hotel we want to be able to share and celebrate when the designs are in place. (Please do this through Merlin). Step 15 Keep it current 15.1 The main purpose of the plastic frames and inserts is to keep the content new and relevant so make sure you continue to update on a regular basis Watch out for updates on IHGmail you should get updates for the inserts in Zone 1 and a latest brand news update for Zone 2 at least every 3 months. You ll also find the latest information on the People Tools section on Merlin You should assign someone in your hotel to update inserts for Zone 3 and 4 as appropriate. Encourage your colleagues to take ownership for keeping the Team photos and Employee Space up to date Use the call outs to highlight new and important content. 11

12 Checklist Here is a useful checklist to help you bring Heart of house to life at your hotel. Step 1 Decide which Heart of house design you need Step 2 Set up a project team and have a launch meeting Step 3 Measure up Step 4 Plan the environment Step 5 What to communicate Step 6 Order the graphics for the walls Step 7 Order the materials needed Step 9 Plan the launch event Step 10 Prepare space for installation Step 11 Install the artwork and materials Step 12 Print and place the inserts Step 13 Launch Step 14 Share the success Step 15 Keep it current Step 8 Download the Insert Templates and prepare information Enjoy! We re really keen on feedback and photos, so do keep in touch on Merlin and let us know how you get on. 12