Happy employees make happy customers at Elior UK: Contract caterer among Britain's best employers

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explain that Elior UK, a contract caterer with the lowest staff turnover in the industry, has been named one of the best big companies to work for in the UK by workplace specialists Best Companies.

Design/methodology/approach

It examines the reasons for the award, concentrating on the eXperience training program that helps to deliver service excellence.

Findings

The paper describes the reasons for the program, the form it takes and the results it has helped Elior to achieve. It highlights the role of the company's service champions in delivering the training.

Practical implications

The paper reveals that customers get delight, pleasure and service with a smile; clients get the reassurance that the whole experience reflects their ethos, high standards and care for the people that matter to them; staff get careers in an organization that recognizes their importance to the business and supports them; and suppliers get to work closely with an organization that celebrates great food and drink and supports their contribution to sustainability and local sourcing.

Social implications

It highlights how service‐industry jobs – often marked by poor working conditions and high employee turnover – can be transformed into attractive careers for the long term.

Originality/value

The paper gives the inside story of a training program that is transforming customer service and bringing significant commercial benefits into the bargain.

Citation

(2013), "Happy employees make happy customers at Elior UK: Contract caterer among Britain's best employers", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 21 No. 5, pp. 15-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-05-2013-0038