In our interview with Julian, we wanted to show you more about what goes into creating the perfect learning environment, the start to finish support that he and his team are so good at, and why that’s so important for the success of our courses and ultimately, your learning. Read on to find out more.
How do you prepare your venues to become the ideal learning environments for professional training courses?
First impressions are the most important thing for our guests. We want to be colourful, inviting venues so that guests feel at ease when they arrive at the venue for the first time. We want to have a welcoming environment that's, engaging, fresh and bright and that's going to make people feel ready to learn. I think, secondly, it's about the team mirroring that as well. We have a relaxed and welcoming team, a team that's going to make people feel immediately at ease, helping people feel that they can ask for anything. Nothing is too much trouble.
And I think the environmental touches around the venue are important too. We have dual-aspect windows, so lots of natural light getting in and our rooms are refreshed overnight with fresh air ventilation, so they never get stuffy. And then of course the catering. The worst thing is to arrive at a venue feeling starving hungry and just having nothing there that appeals. So having a range of fresh snacks available, some fresh fruit and good coffee so you can kick off the day with the right amount of sustenance.
Why do you think learning and development is important? What benefits do you see for people attending training at your venues?
I think the first real benefit is the opportunity to progress in an organisation, to develop. Experiential learning is so important. For example, working in my sector there's a lot of hands-on learning, but I think to truly progress, there has to be an element of managerial development too. It's really important to learn what's going on within the industry and also to learn techniques that maybe aren't used traditionally in the sector you might work in.
For myself, there has been a certain degree of natural development. I started in a sales role in a more traditional hotel environment. Since coming to The Studio, it's been a far more organic development and I've been able to pick and choose the programs that I wanted to get involved in. It's been a bit more diverse and bespoke to my needs, rather than very prescriptive. And I strongly recommend that. It's about learning about yourself and then learning where your strengths are and building on those strengths. Learning shouldn't just be focused on weaknesses. It's about making the best of you.
Some people really thrive with structure, and others prefer a more organic approach to learning, and I suppose I'm one of those people. Prior to working in this environment, I didn't think I was particularly creative. But actually, as soon as you put somebody into the right environment, the creativity just comes very naturally. We specialise in creating those environments.
What sets you apart from other venues?
Our team. Having worked here now for 16 years, I think it's very much the team, and our attitude towards the welcoming feeling of the venues, the relaxed but also highly focused service delivery. We know what we have to achieve, and we know what the guests need from us, but we do it in a very relaxed and welcoming way. I like to think we take what we do really seriously, but we never take ourselves too seriously.
We also want people to feel like there's an environment where it's not too rigid, that there is flexibility and we can adapt to whatever we need to. We have to be mindful of the fact that sometimes it's people’s first time training in this environment or it's their first time running an event. We want to make it as seamless and as relaxed as we can for them.
Your mission statement, Customer First, was created by your teams. What different teams do you have and how do they each contribute to putting the customer first?
We have our two operations teams split across the day. It’s a long day starting early and finishing late. It begins with breakfast set up and welcoming guests, trainers, event organisers - through to regular refreshments and lunch – right on to clearing and then setting up for the next day. So one team hands over to the other midway through the day. The benefit is that we have a refreshed team coming in mid-afternoon that are able to come in and pick up the service and prep for the following day as well. We don't want to exhaust our teams. They work hard enough so an exhausted team is not good for anyone, not for us, and certainly not for our customers.
But, even before all that we have our reservations team dealing with every aspect of the admin of the bookings in the run up to each day. They're making sure that everything's in order in terms of the numbers and dietary requirements and so on, and then communicating that with the operational teams so that they're ready in the morning to deliver. That's quite a long process and there are lots of moving parts to get right.
Communication is such a critical part of how we work. We sit down together weekly and run through every element in detail and communicate every guest’s requests. Even feedback left via our anonymous QR code is responded to immediately to make sure everyone has the best experience.
Tell us about your relationship with The Hub Events.
I think the great thing about The Hub Events is that we've worked with them from day one. Our relationship with them is very bonded, and we have a really good understanding of what it is they need from us, and that's developed over a long time. We've kind of grown with them, which is lovely.
The Hub has grown, their courses have grown. We run a whole range of their programmes here, and many of our team have actually attended them too. We openly encourage that, because we love our team to experience what the courses have to offer, and everyone talks so positively about it.
It's a long-term relationship that's developed over many years, and with a really close understanding of what both our objectives actually are. We give our teams the option when an appropriate program is running, to come along. It's great, particularly for individuals who are trying to develop their leadership skills.
I think the simplicity of the relationship we have with them, and the fact that they have grown organically and are ‘real’ as an organisation is key. It doesn’t feel like we’re dealing with a corporate entity, we're dealing with Emma and the team. Everyone is consistently the same in their approach so it very much mirrors our approach as an organisation. I think the reason why they've been so successful is that realness, but also the fact that they've really kept their finger on the pulse of what's actually needed in terms of training and development. They always seem to me to be running programmes that are one step ahead of the competition and they are always well attended.
Our course delegates regularly feedback that the food on their course was fantastic. Tell us about the food, the catering team, creating your own coffee blend and even your own cookbook!
As venue directors, we're all quite foodie in our orientation– and you can see that mirrored in the Studio brand. We know how important the guest experience is and the demand for diverse options is higher than ever, so we’re creative with our menu planning - we monitor trends and think ahead to what people want and need. We’ll always cater for all dietary needs, allergens and preferences – always have a plant-based option, gluten free and dairy free for example. The expectation on us is ever growing so we have to be diverse with the food. Plus, variety is really important – especially for those attending the venue for a two or three day training programme. We want to cater to needs and preferences but also provide a varied menu, so we work hard to ensure the dishes we serve each day complement each other. A lot goes into it. We have lovely chefs who are really passionate about it.
Guests so often have asked for the recipe for dishes they’ve had at events and courses here that we decided to create a cookbook and support charitable organisations through its sales.
You have grown from one venue in Birmingham to four up and down the UK – what’s the vision for the future?
Face to face interaction decreased with major events like COVID and the rise of hybrid working, but demand for face to face events is actually now bigger than ever. Sharing experiences, building connections – the opportunity to talk and share ideas, to ask questions, is more possible and powerful face to face. People are recognising that this is still so important and valuable.
We saw the significant impact of COVID and had a period of resetting and rebuilding. We stayed in constant contact with partners like The Hub Events and our guests and actively asked what they wanted and needed and how we could support each other.
I think it's a time to look forward with our business and look at new opportunities in new cities. We actively ask our guests where they want to see us, so the next venue for Studio could be London, Edinburgh or Bristol. Ultimately, it’s listening to what people want and need that drives our growth.
How do you measure success? What sort of reactions and responses do you get to the services you provide?
Integrity is really important – to me personally and to the brand. To listen and do what you say you’re going to do. And so we ask, we really listen, and we act on it.
Feedback is the most important for us. We actively encourage everyone to tell our team their thoughts directly on the day or if they would rather do so anonymously, we have our ‘Spill the beans’ QR code at the coffee station. It’s short simple questions answered anonymously, and it allows us to benchmark and measure on the day how things are going. We also follow up with a survey after the day too – we ask about guests’ experiences but also encourage suggestions and requests, what else could we do, what would they like to see more of.
All feedback comes directly to us as directors and we respond personally, and we feedback immediately to the team passing on great comments, feedback for individual team members, recognising and celebrating success and also flagging specific queries or issues.
Feedback is not just a stat to be reviewed at the end of the month. We really care, we take it seriously and we act on every bit of feedback we get. Even the more unexpected requests from different clients, like one we had for a naturists conference, we planned carefully, we consulted staff to establish if they would be comfortable working the event and assembled a team who were happy to support – and we made it happen.
What 3 top tips would you give to a person attending a course at one of your venues? How can they get the most out of the experience?
Firstly – obvious as it may sound – I’d say read the directions and prep your route. Prepare for your journey as well as your day. You don’t want to turn up stressed, late and worried.
Secondly, have some breakfast! I’d always advise people to not arrive to an event hungry – but if you can’t, we’ve always got you covered there (with fresh fruit, snacks and refreshments.) Fuel for the day is important – either being too hungry or overeating means people can struggle to concentrate.
Third and perhaps most importantly - be open. Come with a relaxed and open mind, don’t worry about the content of the day. The people running the day are really good at what they do. You’re not alone, you’ve got lots to gain from the day, you can meet great people and make friends. You can relax and be open to getting as much as you can out of the experience - The Hub Events trainers are experts, they’ve got you.
Julian and The Studio Venues have been taking amazing care of us, our trainers and our course delegates for 15 years and we couldn’t ask for a more supportive, helpful and welcoming person to collaborate with. Julian and his fantastic teams are the reason we keep working with The Studio – we trust them completely to deliver the best possible environments for our trainers to deliver great courses.
If you want to find out more about the venues we use, you can have a look here. If you want to talk to one of our team about your organisation’s development plans, get in touch for a chat!