Redefining hospitality through a culture of innovation, sustainability and embracing diversity, equality and inclusion

Background

Glen Mhor, a hospitality business based in Inverness, is committed to redefining hospitality by fostering a culture of sustainability, green energy innovation, improved mental health and wellbeing, and embracing diversity, equality, and inclusion.
In 2006, Jon and Victoria Erasmus bought the Glen Mhor Hotel, and have since expanded by purchasing neighbouring buildings converting them into hotel accommodation and apartments. They have also built a low carbon Brewery and Distillery within the grounds of the hotel.
In 2022, they opened their river water source energy centre to decarbonise the hotel’s heating and hot water system. Through the construction of groundwater boreholes and the use of water source heat pumps, there is only one building left to connect in 2024 to see the business entirely gas free. This water source energy centre is the first of its kind in Scotland.
Their mission is to provide an exceptional guest experience whilst leaving a positive impact on the planet and community.

Challenges

Jon and Victoria were keen to explore two distinct areas of their business which they recognised would require external expertise.
The first, to develop a robust, evidence-based methodology for assessing and monitoring the new water source energy centre. As this is the first of its kind there is no data available to study the usage and contrast of how this compares from the old gas systems.
The second challenge focussed on their workforce and the adoption and integration of new workforce processes and practices to enable inclusive workforce onboarding and practices to support neurodiverse staff.

Solution – energy centre

Interface connected Glen Mhor to the School of Engineering, Computing and the Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) who have expertise in the area of energy management, carbon assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Professor Jim Baird undertook a detailed assessment of the metered energy systems and costs to develop an economic model for the hotel. The system analysis will also determine the amount of carbon emissions saved through the implementation of the energy centre.
This project was funded through a Standard Innovation Voucher designed to support the development of a new product, process, or service for a company.

Solution – workforce

Interface identified expertise at Edinburgh College from lecturer LizAnn Francis and Student Services Officer Rachel Robinson. Through this partnership, Glen Mhor and Edinburgh College devised a new recruitment policy and inclusive job advert template – both of which prioritise inclusivity, offering a sensory-friendly experience from application to employment.
This project was funded through a Workplace Innovation Voucher designed to develop a company’s internal workforce, including new or enhanced workplace processes, innovative workplace practices, or innovative business expertise.

Business Benefits

• Sharing best practices and looking at ways to future proof and develop its green vision further is core to Glen Mhor’s mission.
• Following the project with GCU Glen Mhor fully realise the benefits of their energy centre investment and are well placed to promote the project as best practice to the wider Scottish community.
• They have safeguarded and created jobs, increased turnover and reduced costs.
• For their work with Edinburgh College, early benefits include tailored support for job applicants and improved staff retention using health passports.
• Looking ahead, societal impacts are expected to include a more inclusive work environment, increased job satisfaction, and meaningful employment for neurodivergent individuals and those facing mental health issues.

University and College Benefits

• The project has offered Edinburgh College a greater understanding of workplace requirements to support neurodivergent people, mental health and disability employment. The cross collaboration within the college between the commercial department and the college student services provided real insight and practical solutions to what is normally theoretical HR policy.
• For Glasgow Caledonian University, their project has provided an opportunity to gain insight into the economics of transitioning low carbon solutions for heating commercial properties. It is hoped that further analysis can take place as more data is collected from the new system.

Background

Scottish Ballet, founded in 1969, is Scotland’s national dance company and one of five national performing companies in Scotland. It is a registered charity, employing 37 professional dancers, a dedicated support staff, and a freelance orchestra of up to 70 musicians.

Challenge

Within Scottish Ballet, training is entrenched in traditions that do not reflect other related performance domains (e.g., sport). Their dance artists have relatively brief careers because it is common for a career-threatening injury to occur as a result of incorrect technique execution. This comes at a cost to the organization and its artists.

Solution

Scottish Ballet and the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh connected as a result of a networking opportunity at an international dance science conference. Their collaborative project proposed that existing practices within Scottish Ballet would benefit from tailoring new ‘cutting edge’ evidence-based approaches, recently applied in other domains (i.e., golf and weightlifting), to enhance training outcomes.

As the company had previously received a Scottish Funding Council Standard Innovation Voucher for a project with the Glasgow School of Art, they were able to apply for an Advanced Innovation Voucher, administered by Interface, to fund this collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.

In contrast to traditional practices that copy an entrenched (but not always appropriate) way of teaching, this project was grounded in the view that each dancer possesses important characteristics (e.g., physical, psychological, social) that require bespoke teaching considerations. Understanding “what is required and why”, followed by consideration of “how to do it” reflects an “expertise-approach” that is currently not employed within Scottish Ballet. Work funded by the Advanced Innovation Voucher would introduce a model and its requisite thinking skills, using the expertise-approach, to enhance workplace practices.

This project provided insight into new, innovative ways of approaching training and performance within the realm of elite ballet. It will advance physical and psychological practices proposed by sport research and provide a template to guide new and safe workplace behaviours in Scottish Ballet. The framework is important when needing to adapt performances based on choreographic nuances, changes to performance space/surfaces/equipment/costume and avoidance of injury caused by existing bad habits. The project further strengthened the realisation of supporting their elite performers in a holistic manner.

Following this project, it is the intention of Scottish Ballet to further embed this work with the support from the University of Edinburgh. Once implemented with high efficacy, they expect positive outcomes towards the longevity of their dancers’ careers, improved safety and, ultimately, performance standard.

Once this has been achieved within Scottish Ballet, the plan is to extend such a service to other professional ballet companies and their feeder schools within the UK, in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. Currently Scottish Ballet work in association with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet, all of whom would benefit from this innovation.

Whilst there have been no cost savings as a direct result of this project, and during COVID-19 circumstances, Scottish Ballet anticipates that future collaboration with the University will lead to these being achieved.

If this framework were to be scaled up across other organizations, it could lead to savings for the NHS related to rehabilitation from injury.

For more in-depth information about the project, and a chance to hear directly from the partners, check out our webinar, Finding Funds and Expertise for Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport

Background

The Easter Ross Seaboard is a stretch of coastline approximately fourteen miles in length and the Seaboard villages of Shandwick, Balintore and Hilton are situated halfway along this coast. They are often referred to locally as ‘the villages’ or ‘the Seaboard’ and have a strong background in the fishing industry. The Seaboard Memorial Hall (SMH, also known as the Seaboard Centre), which started out in 1958 as a small village hall, was rebuilt in 2001 and is now a modern adaptable venue with excellent conference, training and arts facilities.  It is the hub of the local community accommodating regular user groups and a community café.

Challenge

Seaboard Memorial Hall Ltd (SMH) was looking to create a new and permanent Heritage Community Centre to serve the local community and attract new tourism to the area.  The Centre was to be based on the extensive and exceptional collection of paintings and memorabilia of John Paterson (1872-1945), a fishing station owner and amateur artist.  Over 200 paintings survive, many being portraits of local people who modelled for him.  The fishing industry that sustained the local community no longer exists but the family has retained a wealth of related materials that will form the core collections for the heritage centre.  The fishing sheds and studio are still in existence and form an integral part of the story.

The immediate aim of SMH was to develop a workforce plan for the centre, identifying the new skills and expertise that would be required for the successful and sustainable operation of the heritage centre.  Such a facility, through the development of a diverse and flexible workforce, both paid and volunteer, would benefit the local community by enhancing this area as a destination of cultural interest.

Solution

After being referred by Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE), the SMH contacted Interface, who were able to secure the expertise of the University of St Andrews Museums, Galleries and Collections Institute (MCGI).  The MCGI is the research arm of Museum and Gallery Studies at St Andrews. The Museum and Gallery Studies Masters course at the University of St Andrews is the longest running course in Scotland and over the past three decades has built up practical, vocational and research expertise in all areas of museum work.

Their collaborative project was funded by a Scottish Funding Council Workforce Innovation Voucher.

Benefits

The resulting products from this collaborative project were:

• A pilot exhibition
• A workforce plan detailing the future skills required to undertake the many and varied activities of a heritage centre for both current and future, paid and volunteer workforce, including digital opportunities.
• Enhanced leadership skills.

For the first time, the Heritage Centre will be able to tell the story of the Seaboard area and its past fishing industry, using the time capsule of one local man, his life and work as a lens to focus on and engage with the wider fishing community and society, bringing the rich history of the area to life.  It will bring in new visitor and tourist business, and it will enable the local population to use their personal knowledge of the area in different ways and pass on that local knowledge to visitors and the local younger generation.  It will also offer new workforce opportunities to develop expertise and practice in the many aspects of heritage management.

Impacts

• Increased tourist footfall
• Employment created as well as opportunities to acquire new skills
• Local economy stimulated
• Promotion of career opportunities in the arts and heritage sector for the area
• Fishing heritage of the community protected and preserved
• Links created with the academic community