Planteria Group Growing Staff

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Introducing two of our newest employees at Planteria Group: Bronwyn Anderson and Casey Gill.

Please join us in welcoming them to our growing team! To get to know Bronwyn and Casey a bit better, we asked a few questions and we’ve included their answers below.

 

Bronwyn Anderson:

Bronwyn’s role at Planteria Group is Executive Assistant and she joined our team in March 2017.

Q: What is your home town?

A: Buckhurst Hill

 

Q: What are 3 things people might not know about you?

A: 1) I wear Versace perfume

2) I love playing volleyball!

3) Worst food: peas!

 

Q: What is your favourite plant?

A: Ficus Ginseng

 

Q: What are your favourite flowers?

A: Hydrangeas

 

Q: What is your favourite thing so far about working at Planteria Group?

A: There is a good work ethic and culture!

 

Casey Gill:

Casey has also been with Planteria Group since March 2017 in her role as Social Media Coordinator.

Q: What is your home town?

A: Houston, Texas

 

Q: What are 3 things people might not know about you?

A: 1) I’ve lived in 3 different countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

2) I’m a certified yoga teacher and run a small yoga studio nearby.

3) Favourite colour: green! How fitting!

 

Q: What is your favourite plant?

A: Anything to do with succulents! I love all different types of succulents for their unique shapes and easy-care.

 

Q: What are your favourite flowers?

A: Lilies – particularly Stagazer Lilies for their gorgeous colour and powerful fragrance.

 

Q: What is your favourite thing so far about working at Planteria Group?

A: Everyone is so friendly and there is a great atmosphere in the office, it’s also a pleasure being surrounded by so much greenery!

 

Thanks Bronwyn and Casey! Welcome to our family.

Our team is growing like a Kentia Palm (aka: Big Ken) and we are proud of our core values.  If you are interested in a career with Planteria Group, please see our job openings and apply within.

In Safe Hands Across The UK

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Proud to be a national provider of corporate planting and floristry services

We often tell our clients that we are a National Provider and we do so with some pride, but why does that matter, who does it matter to and what does it really mean?

We are currently 65 staff strong including a team of 31 technicians and florists covering 1700 client sites for both planting and floristry services. We cover the whole of the UK which currently means Dundee to Exeter, though we’ll happily go further.

Our technicians are directly employed by us, they are not contractors. We see this as important to providing the very best service and accountability to our clients. Our team receive full in-house training working to the Planteria standard.

We have long lasting relationships with our technicians who are part of the Planteria family. Many of our technicians hold long service awards with Planteria, for more than five years continuous employment, and the majority have impressive knowledge of, and experience in the horticulture industry. One has even published a book on the subject.

Our technicians are the face of Planteria Group and we know that they, in turn, build lasting relationships with our clients who sing their praises, some have also won industry recognised awards for their work. Furthermore, our team are incentivised on a customer feedback score. We use a tried and tested scoring system, the Net Promoter Score -read more about it here NPS and customer service.

Many of our clients have multiple sites. For them, having one provider for plants and plant maintenance is a sensible move. The benefits include having one point of contact and having one invoice if required. We provide them with a client web portal to view visits to all sites in one place. They also get consistent maintenance and consistent plant designs and styles, if that is something that is important to them. We take the time to understand our clients, who conversely could have a completely different requirement for corporate planting and floristry at each location and need a bespoke approach. Consolidation of contracts eases admin, simplifies life and creates cost savings.

To mention just a few examples, we are currently serving 57 locations for a well-known brewery, 12 locations for a luxury hotel chain, 66 client locations for a leading Facilities Management Company and 25 buildings for a property management company with our services for plants and flowers.

What can we do for you? – Please get in touch with us for a free quotation or when you are next putting your contract out to tender.

Contact us today.

Press Release: Planteria Group Acquires Jungleworld

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Planteria Group Acquires Jungleworld

In a move that makes them one of the largest privately-owned plant services companies in the UK.

Planteria Group, nationwide corporate planting and floristry experts, and provider to the FM industry,has acquired competitor Jungleworld, a specialist in the hospitality floristry sector. Both companies have a wealth of experience and a strong client base, which will combine to greatly benefit both customers and companies.

Family run Planteria Group established in 1977, made the strategic decision to buy Jungleworld. Planteria’s Managing Director Matt Anderson said, “The acquisition complements Planteria Group’s current operations, increasing our staff by 20% at our head office near Stansted with easy transport links across the UK. The move allows for an increased offering geographically for our floristry services, strengthens our buying power and sees us increasing our presence in the hospitality market sector. The coming together of the two companies has been seamless, we purchased our head office in 1996, with ambitious stretch goals in mind and had ample space for the expansion of our business.”

Both companies will run under their existing names for the current time.

NPS & The Importance of Customer Service

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‘Our customers are at the heart of all we do. We enjoy the feel good factor and sense of achievement in a job well done and we like to think there is no circumstance that we cannot handle.’

‘Nurturing is natural to us: plants, flowers, clients. It’s all in the attention to detail. This is why people who choose Planteria, stay with Planteria.’

This is reflected not only in our core values but also in the care we offer to all of our clients no matter how large or small, new or old. We always strive to go above and beyond what is expected and we’re so committed to excellence that we select a number of clients each week and ask directly for feedback.

At Planteria, we measure our performance using a simple, non-biased survey to measure customer satisfaction and also understand whether our clients like us enough to recommend us to others. This is pretty powerful stuff.

Our customer satisfaction is measured with something called Net Promoter Score®, or NPS® for short.

NPS measures customer experience and also reveals how likely our clients are to suggest our services to others. This proven metric provides the core measurement for customer experience and the surveys are not only straightforward, they are also easy to understand and complete without taking too much time from our clients.

The most important question asked is: “How likely is it that you would recommend our company’s product and services to a friend or colleague?”

In other words, the question asks what is the likelihood of promotion? As such, the question not only gives an indication of customer satisfaction with the brand, but also the level of customer loyalty.

Respondents answer by choosing a number from 0-10, with 10 being the most likely to recommend.nps benchmark formula

Depending on the score our customers give, they are then classified as promoters (score 9-10), passives (score 7-8) and detractors (score 0-6).

The scores from all customers are then aggregated into one single number, which is our overall Net Promoter Score. Here’s the formula for calculating the NPS score:

NPS = (% of Promoters) – (% of Detractors)

NPS score can range from -100—if all customers are Detractors—to 100—if all customers are Promoters.

So why do we care about this so much? According to npsbenchmarks.com, the key benefits of NPS are:

· NPS scores can be used as a predictor of future customer actions

· Higher response rate due to the simplicity of the survey

· Ease of use – NPS practitioners can conduct the survey via various channels – phone, SMS, or Web.

· Quick follow-up – NPS practitioners can quickly share the customer feedback with frontline employees or managers, who can follow up with detractors and address their concerns. LEGO®, for example, address low NPS feedback in as little as 24 minutes.

At Planteria Group, our current NPS Score is 65 and we are proud to be in the top percentage of companies with strong customer loyalty. (Update: as of September 2017 our latest NPS score was an impressive 91).

For comparison, below is a snapshot of NPS scores from other companies you may be familiar with. Planteria Group rank exceptionally well by comparison. (Below data correct at time of publishing.)nps benchmarksAnd for comparison by industry, it’s nice to see that we are well above the various averages shown below:nps benchmarks(Above data correct at time of publishing July 2017)

Although our NPS scores are incredibly valuable, perhaps the most valuable aspect of the NPS surveys is the written feedback we receive from our clients. It’s hugely beneficial and rewarding to see the positive feedback and if ever there is a problem or a comment that strikes us as needing attention we can quickly respond.

Planteria Group are committed to excellence. Anything less is not an option. We believe a job is only worth doing if it’s done properly. We employ rigorous training and procedures to ensure everyone at Planteria is an expert in their field. This culture of excellence ensures our clients are consistently satisfied.

In addition to our commitment to excellence, we are also relentless to improve. We love to challenge the status quo and constantly push the boundaries of industry standards. We explore and innovate to discover new concepts, and diligently fight the resistance to change. This forward-looking, enthusiastic approach keeps us ahead of the game.

Image credits: all visual charts shown come from npsbenchmarks.com

Planteria’s Superhero

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We have a fantastic team of technicians at Planteria, who deliver and maintain plants and flowers for our clients. But there is a special role that one man has… Tom Evans our ‘superhero’ dons his cape whenever there is a cry for help.

Tom has his own regular clients, who he visits for routine maintenance of their plants and flowers but, should there ever be an issue requiring a non-routine solution, it’s Tom who is sent to save the day!

Thankfully, Tom only needs to be a part-time superhero, but there are occasions when a plant fails, or an installation needs rescuing. We talked to Tom to find out more about his role and how fulfilling it is helping us to keep our clients happy.

 

Q: Tell us a little about yourself?

A: I have now been with Planteria for over 10 years. It’s been a rewarding experience from day one. The old greenhouses at Chigwell were great for me (having been brought up in a flower shop as a child) but the new greenhouses at Henham are truly fantastic.

 

Q: As a fully trained and experienced florist and plant technician you’re capable of dealing with anything the job throws at you, what do you enjoy about the role?

A: Working with nature every day for me is fulfilling and I do enjoy solving problems for our clients. It’s a great opportunity to get to know the client, understand their issues and put things right. As the trouble-shooter I get to meet so many more customers than I did before I took on the role. I like to resolve issues fast.

 

Q: You travel around London all the time, do you have any memorable moments?

A: I certainly see some interesting people driving around London every day. The most memorable were David Cameron jogging one morning in Mayfair, and being introduced to Yoko Ono (of The Beatles fame) at the Jet Centre as she was about to fly out of London.

 

Q: With customer service a key focus for Planteria, we aim to provide solutions to all queries as soon as practically possible. How does this affect you, and your day?

A: It’s been interesting to see how technology has helped improve everything for me in this regard. Communication at Planteria through the use of smart phones and the Protean system has been a game changer, we can deal with issues quickly and make our clients happy.

 

Q: What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you in your role at Planteria?

A: Early one morning I was busy tending plants in an empty office room. Behind me I could hear an employee enter and strike up a conversation.

Client: Hi! How are you this morning?

Me: Great thanks. How was your weekend?

Client: I had a brilliant weekend thanks. We had a barbecue….blah blah

After a brief outline of their weekend and a few encouraging comments from me about the weather the conversation began making less and less sense. I turned around only to realise the client was on the phone to someone else! We were both in stitches after they hung up.

Planteria Round Up 2016 With a Celebration of Success

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Thursday 22 December was set aside in the Planteria Group Calendar for the end of year, Whole Company Meeting, kicking off at 7:45 with a full English Breakfast. The Company have now grown so large that there isn’t a big enough meeting space within our offices to house us all, so the meeting was held off-site at the Hilton Hotel Stansted.

Our Chairman Phil Anderson opened the meeting, welcoming and thanking staff for a successful 2016. Department heads of; Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Floristry and Installation then gave a round-up of achievements for the year and shared their own vision, strategic plans and goals for 2017.

Feedback from this section, during the coffee break, was enthusiastic. “It’s so interesting to hear what goes on in each department, we get so busy with our own work that we don’t have time to think about what other people are doing”

“It’s good to hear that the company is doing well and there has been so much growth in the past few years”.

After the coffee break, the Employee of The Quarter Award was presented by Phil Anderson. The worthy recipient of this Award was Marian Varvari. “Marian has an excellent work ethic, he just gets on with whatever is required of him. He is a great team member and frequently goes beyond his remit to make things work for both his colleagues and our clients.

An example – back in October, one Sunday, he could not complete his floristry round as most of the roads in his delivery area were closed, he was told they would reopen at 6pm. So, after starting at 7am at the nursery and completing 2 deliveries he went home and then went back again at 6pm and finished the round. He then did his Monday round as usual. He did not complain he just said that he did not want to let anyone down – this is true dedication”.

Long Service Awards were given to Karen Norman and Martin Collins for five years’ service.

In the final session of the day Matt Anderson, our Managing Director shook things up a bit and took the opportunity to make the most of having all our staff in one location. Matt screened a thought provoking video based on a factual customer service story. After the video, using a random numbering system, Matt put teams together of people who don’t usually work together. The groups discussed creative customer service ideas. The benefit of this was to get staff talking to one another and bonding over their work experiences and thought processes. A whole raft of ideas got generated, and the diverse mix of job roles in each group meant that the ideas generated were informed, relevant and workable. We look forward to seeing some of the ideas becoming a reality in the coming months.

The meeting was a great success and we’re now raring to go and looking forward to a flourishing 2017.

Meet Phil, our Chairman and Founding Partner of Planteria Group

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Founding partner and Company Chairman, Phil Anderson started out in true entrepreneurial style as a sole trader in office plant maintenance. He later partnered with his brother, Brian, and grew the company to the market leader it is today, servicing around 900 sites across the UK. With a career spanning nearly 40 years Phil has undoubtedly learned a lot and seen quite a few changes. I caught up with Phil to ask him to share his experiences and advice.

 

Q. What was your inspiration to work with plants and flowers in the first place?

A. I had worked for a wholesale flower and plant nursery and had developed a love of flowers and plants so it seemed a natural progression.

 

Q. What has been the toughest part of growing your business and how did you overcome it?

A Starting out on my own, with no capital or income. I didn’t join my brother financially for a few years, so I didn’t milk his profits. It was a stressful time and I got shingles through the worry of it, but the sheer need to succeed drove me on.

 

Q. What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?

A. Constantly look at your cash flow.

 

Q. If you could go back and give some advice to the 20 year old you, what would it be?

A. Don’t try to start something in half measures – give it your all.

 

Q. What has been the biggest contributor to the success of Planteria?

A. The next generation being given a free hand in the business.

 

Q. What has been the biggest change in the industry during the 39 years Planteria has been running?

A. Customers’ expectations are always increasing.

 

Q. What are the most exciting developments in corporate horticulture?

A. It has become the accepted ‘norm’ in office, you no longer have to sell the concept, you just have to understand your clients’ needs and show them why you are the best provider.

 

Q. What is the thing you are most proud of about your business?

A. Our level of service and our staff.

 

Q. When do you want to retire.

A. Never, completely!

NPS score still on the up!

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Our Net Promoter Score system (NPS) tracks the level of satisfied clients by asking them the vital question (“how likely are you to recommend us?”). We are very excited about our progress over the last year and are pleased to show you this graph showing the results of all our training and effort in striving for the ultimate customer service. Many thanks to all of you who contribute to this – we love to hear your feedback, whether it be positive or negative – as it allows us to be true to our core values and continue to improve.

More efficient, more effective. Never say Die.

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With the wild weather that has recently hit this country, we suffered, along with many other companies, several power-cuts which disrupted the progress of day-to-day work. Rather than sitting tight and just waiting for them to happen, we have installed a substantial generator to ensure we can keep rolling through any power-cut! ‘substantial’ is the operative word – our operations manager reckons it has enough power to keep the local village going!

We’re on a high for the End of the Year!

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Over the past year we’ve been busy. Our No.1 focus was to get our service from a good standard, to a great standard, to exceed all expectations…it’s been hard work and our service team have really dedicated themselves to creating ‘raving fans’! And look at the results!

Our ‘10 minute response time to all service queries’ has increased by 40%!

Our ‘solution to query provided within 2 hours’ has increased by 32%!
…in just 6 months.

We think they deserve a large pat on the back! Watch this space for next year – we’re on our journey to create raving fans…

Instant Transparent Reporting – a Win-Win Solution for Our Clients and Us!

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Planteria implemented an ‘Open Reporting’ Software tool – providing instant, transparent access about our service visits. This is a ‘must have’ for Facilities Managers with multi-site responsibilities.

Lindsey Anderson, from the Service Management team explains more about our reporting tool, the benefits for our clients and its impact on our business processes.

“We went live with our new software in May 2013. In a nutshell it works from the technicians smart phones and it records technicians’ time on site. The software also runs the work flow processes seamlessly, recording any replacement plants used and ordering plants required for the next visit to a client. The technician writes a brief ‘report’ on his visit, and then it captures a customer’s signature. All this information gets collated into a client visit sheet and sent through to the client after each visit.

Our clients love it! It keeps them totally in tune with our service visits and provides a medium for the technician to communicate directly with the site contact, even when they are in and out before office hours. Multi-site managers can now benefit from instant reporting from all of their buildings, keeping them up-to-date every day.

As well as greatly increasing our communication with our clients, it has streamlined our internal ordering processes, and automatically runs a P&L report for us which helps with accounting.

The new system of working has improved things for our technicians too. No more scrappy bits of paper, everything they need is all there on one device. They can order plants quickly and smoothly, knowing they will be there labelled up with their name, and the customer’s name, ready to collect within the next few days at our nursery.

Finally the system has been a great advantage to me in managing the scheduling of maintenance rounds. Everything is all there on one system, with an easy to use drag and drop planner board all synchronised with the technician’s Smartphones. The technology allows real time allocation, updating and completion of field service maintenance jobs, linking the technician to the office based system, making processes much more efficient with less margin for errors”.

We hereby announce our New Cold Store open!

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To aid our rapidly growing floristry division, we have just doubled our chiller store capacity, which gives us more ability to keep our flower stock at optimum freshness…as you can see, it is a great moment for our team and will massively assist them in their work!