Gillian Almond offers a clear view of how commercial services can drive meaningful progress across ESG, service delivery models and student experience.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) – the role that commercial services plays in reaching long term strategic goals for Higher Education Institutions.
Commercial activities have considerable reach in ESG. They have an impact in many key sustainability areas from energy usage, waste and water management, food procurement and probably most importantly student engagement. There are many opportunities to deliver and promote sustainable solutions , through chemical free cleaning materials, carbon labelling of food and ethical food procurement.
Through engaging with students largely though residences and catering students can be made more aware and “nudged” into making better decisions and taking better actions.
The food chain has many opportunities to support social wellbeing both in terms of procurement supply chain, use of ethical accreditation such as Sustainable Restaurant Association, fair trade accreditations, compassion in world farming etc. but also promoting better food choices to our customers, promoting health options, drinking water, reduced red meat whilst still leaving room for treats. The links between wellbeing and food are well known and commercial services have the ability to promote these benefits.
In-house vs outsourced provision – Exploring the key elements of forming a decision of how to manage services across FM, catering, and hospitality.
There is no “better” solution and both come with strengths and challenges. Catering specifically is a service that interacts with students on a daily basis and as such has the opportunity to show case University values. If using an outsourced provision you need to be very clear what you want. Some contractors have very fixed products that will not differentiate you from other Universities, others are very flexible . Outsourcing can be seen as a way to save money but this may be at the expense of rates of pay and benefits for staff. Outsourcing can give ready access to expertise and often can move faster to change e.g refurbishment; they also come with a full suite of systems to manage the operation. An inhouse operation gives more flexibility and the ability to respond to challenges.
When looking at all outsourced delivery clarity at the start is key, exactly what is wanted from the contractor and how this will be monitored and measured must be built in. Looking at how you will manage if it goes wrong as well as what you will achieve if it goes right.
A common mistake in outsourcing , especially going from in house to contract for the first time, is to TUPE all inhouse expertise to the incoming contractor. You need to retain sufficient in house expertise to manage the contract, having somebody who knows the operation and has sufficient knowledge to be able to hold the contractor to account.
Working with private sector accommodation providers in partnership –important factors when forging successful partnerships from a Higher Education perspective?
As with all contracts, it is a mutual understanding of desired outcomes and the flexibility to achieve them. In these challenging times accommodation providers need to understand the challenges in student recruitment and be prepared to flex their product to meet the needs of the students they are housing rather than the students they planned to house. Conversely Universities need to understand that the private provider has investors who expect a return on their money.
However, unless in a major city where there is an alternative use, the private provider needs to understand that nobody will benefit if the University is unable to meet its financial commitment through too rigid application of contract terms and have open conversations about the short term and long term.
EDI – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – adopting an inclusive model that welcomes students and employees from all backgrounds.
EDI is not a nice to have it is a business essential. In an ever-increasing diverse world if we are not striving to understand our staff and students and their individual needs we are not going to succeed. If we actively recruit staff from different backgrounds and characteristics this helps us understand our students, who will feel more at home and welcomed by an inclusive environment.
None of us can hope to be experts in everything. Having colleagues from different cultures and backgrounds and welcoming neurodiversity makes us stronger and should never been seen as an “add on” to the recruitment process.
Hospitality & Retail trends – changes of the Higher Education offering to serve the needs of a new generation of UK and international students.
We have an increasingly price-sensitive customer base, many working people who pre covid would think nothing of having a coffee (or two or three) every day have started to recognise how much they were spending and have cut back. A distrust of some large brands is emerging amongst students with a move to smaller eco-friendly brands that correlate with the students’ values. Conversely, other brands are booming, but it is a stark reminder that reliance on these brands can change very quickly. The move to working from home has moved the coffee shop coffee to an occasional treat rather than an every day essential. Coffee shops, once booming, are now closing or changing.
To capture today’s market, we need to think experience, personalisation, authenticity, sustainability, fresh, different, healthy, quality, available at all times and always affordable – a heady mix.
Delivery services are becoming the norm, and although these can be seen as the antithesis to healthy, environmentally friendly options that students are looking for this contradiction is not yet getting traction.
Food trucks are popular offering a wide variety of experiences, often freshly cooked, delivered in an authentic way but at times at a high price. The need to ensure that all students are able to access these services regardless of budget remains a challenge.
Consumption of alcohol has declined in recent years, with only 50% of 18-25 year olds reporting they have drunk alcohol in the previous month[1]. This is a long way from the traditional view of students as hard-drinking party animals. Students now work hard for their money, with 56% of students working during term time. [2] leaving little time for a party lifestyle.
[1] 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
[2] 2024 Student Academic Experience Survey
Thank you to Gillian Almond, Director of Commercial Services at Royal Holloway, University of London, for your insights.