Multi-Site: Guest Services and Launching a New Campus (part one)
Q:
When the Summit launches a new campus, what role does your Guest Services team play in that process? Training content, schedule, plans, etc..
[Question submitted in a recent Connections Confab]
A:
Once upon a time a member of our steering team (what the cool kids these days call an executive team) told me the following I’m-trying-to-be-encouraging ancedote:
“If I asked the average person what the Guest Services Team does, they’d tell me that you’re the people who get the first-time guest tent outside on Sunday morning. Now, I know there are 10,000 steps to get that tent outside [and another 50,000 once the tent is set up], but not everybody else knows that.”
…and it works the same way in campus launches. Whether we’re starting in a school or building a facility from scratch, our central Guest Services Team plays an outsized role in helping that campus get established…roles that don’t fit neatly inside of the “parking and seating people” narrative. In fact, our list doesn’t fit neatly inside one blog post, so I’m breaking this up into a rapid-fire three-part series.
In this and the following two posts, I’ll share with you the things we handle for portable facilities, permanent buildings, and both:
Site plans
Early in the process, we’ll review site plans to examine general building layout (at this point, the specific blueprint is typically not ready), parking lot layout, and overall ingress / egress as it relates to surrounding roadways. We’ll give input on potential changes where allowable with local building codes.
Blueprint plans
Usually there’s a year (or more) gap between our input into site plans and input into the our team’s first viewable round of blueprints. At this point, we’re looking closely at the auditorium layout, proposed seating grid, lobby spaces, outdoor allocation for a first-time guest tent, and indoor spaces that we’d contribute to, such as Volunteer Headquarters, storage closets, Next Steps, etc.
Facility prep
Our central team will generally “get the keys” from our contractor 8-12 weeks before the building officially opens, and 4-8 weeks before handing things over to the campus staff. During that time, AVL systems are being installed, artwork is going up, and nursery items are being assembled. Our Guest Services Team typically manages and resources the following areas:
- Guest Services storage closet
- Volunteer Headquarters
- Lobby (specifically Next Steps and related displays / storage)
- First-time guest tents outside
- Restrooms
- Auditorium storage closets (pipe & drape, etc.)
- Auditorium seating
- …and any exterior storage, like a utility building.
We’ll spend at least two weeks – and usually more than that – outfitting all of these spaces with items that have been ordered in the previous months (more on that in the last post in this series).
Related posts in this series:
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