The Symington Building Induction
Contents
About The Symington Building Accessing The Symington Building Health & Safety Shared Building Facilities The Symington Building Protocols Summary
Welcome to The Symington Building Induction Module!
This module is a compulsory module for all partners and Councillors based in The Symington Building. The module must be completed before you commence work in The Symington Building and for you to receive your building access card.
This module should take you approximately 30 minutes to read through.
About The Symington Building
Where is The Symington Building?
The Symington Building is situated on Adam and Eve Street in Market Harborough, LE16 7AG.
A Google Map showing the council offices is in the image above.
Adam and Eve Street is identified with the purple marker and The Symington Building itself is identified with the "A" Marker The History of The Symington Building
In 1861 Robert and William Symington took over part of a disused carpet factory in Adam and Eve Street. In this factory they produced corsets under their own name as well as those of their major clients.
In 1876 the brothers managed to raise enough money to buy all of the factory building and as this was not big enough for their expanding business, in 1884 they built a new factory on Church Gate over the road. This was what is now known as The Symington Building.
At the start of the First World War their business was an international concern with the reputation of a market leader and The Symington Building towered over the centre of Market Harborough.
R & WH Symington was for many years the largest employer in Market Harborough and the company and family had a great impact on the town and its people. The building was, for it's time, clean and light with good sanitary provision and drinking fountains for the workers on each floor. From most accounts, the factory workforce was a strong community and in 1901 the Symington Clubroom was added to the building and was the hub of the social life for the company, with plays being performed, concerts given and a weekly Saturday night dance. Factory staff would come together to celebrate major local and national events.
In 1967 the Courtaulds Group took over the factory and in 1980 the offices and some of the workrooms were sold to Harborough District Council to be turned into the Council offices, the museum and library.
The factory finally ceased production of underwear and swim wear in May 1990 and the factory closed.
In January 2013 work began on updating the building, which was renamed The Symington Building and so a new chapter in the story of this building begins... A Guided Tour
Over the next few pages, we will take you through a virtual tour of the building, starting with the ground floor and finishing on the third floor.
You will see images of the layout of each floor and will be able to see what is on each floor as well as some of the facilities Ground Floor
This is a diagram of the Ground Floor, which is mainly public access and includes Customer Services, Concierge, Toilets
First Floor
The first floor is available to the public and includes the Harborough Museum, the Library, Registrar services and Leicestershire County Council Adult Learning services.
This is the main museum area where you can see some exciting exhibits including
The Hallaton Treasure - found in what turned out to be one of the most important Iron Age Sites in Britain, you can see the remains of an ornately decorated Roman silver- gilt helmet, over five thousand silver and gold coins as well as some mysterious silver finds! The Battle of Naseby Harborough Rubber Company Harborough during the wars And in homage to our previous occupiers - a display of Symington's corsets and exhibition of life working in the corset factory!
The Library is situated on this floor too and has a wide range of fiction and non fiction books for adults and children alike, as well as other useful resources
There are PC's, printers and photocopiers available for customers to use. The Library also runs special themed events for all users and also provides a Tourist Information Service.
There is an area in Museum which is used for Special Exhibits Information will be available on the Symington Intranet site so look out for what's coming up.
Leicester County Council Adult Learning Service are also based on the first floor, shown in green above. This will be used for learning events and advice and support for adult learners. Information on the services and courses available can be found on the Leicestershire County Council website.
There is a kitchen area for staff use and an accessible toilet facility with baby changing for customer use.
The Registration Service is on the first floor. This is where customers will come, by appointment, to register births and deaths and where marriage ceremonies will take place. The blue area is a meeting room predominately for use by the Registrar services.
There is also the original ornate staircase where wedding parties will exit after their ceremony. It will also be used for photograph
Second Floor
On this floor you will find the Harborough District Council Civic Suites, Leicestershire County Council Office accommodation and touchdown desks, the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Job Centre Plus.
Kitchen and toilet facilities are available for colleagues working on this floor and for those using the Civic Suite.
Third Floor
This floor is the Harborough District Council Offices and is for staff only, not open to the public.
Accessing The Symington Building
When is The Symington Building Open? Due to the nature of the different businesses and services within the building, different parts of the building will be accessible at different times.
Retail Outlets All Retail Outlets have the option of being open 7 days a week. They will determine their own opening hours and these should be displayed by the retail outlets. Some of the outlets may be open until late in the evening, depending on their business.
HDC Customer Services The face to face Customer Service on the ground floor are open to the public Monday to Friday from 08:45 to 17:00 except Wednesday when the opening time is 09:30.
The Library & Museum
The Library and Museum will be open at the following times
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Wednesday 10.00pm to 6.00pm
Thursday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Friday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Saturday 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Sunday Closed
Registrar
The registrar is open at the same time as the Library and Museum. An appointment is usually required for this service.
Office Accommodation
Generally, office accommodation will be open from approximately 7.00am until approximately 7.00pm Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 6.00pm on Saturdays. At the moment, office accommodation is not open on Sundays. If this is required, please speak to the Building Management team on 01858 821021.
There will be regular meetings held in the Civic Suite which last until approximately 8.00 pm so you can stay on to work later if you need to. You are encouraged though to leave the office accommodation by 7.00pm. If you do need to have access to the office area after this time, please inform the concierge. Getting into the Building - Access Cards
Everyone working in The Symington Building will require an access card to enter the building. These cards will be provided by the Building Management team after approval from your organisations' HR department/Senior Manager. The cards will be provided at the end of your induction tour. The card you receive will be set up to provide you access to the areas relevant to your organisation.
The card system is computerised and keeps historic records which can be accessed by managers. If you need to amend the areas you have access to, this can be done by the Building Management team. The cards will have time restrictions for example, you will not be allowed access at 2.00 am unless this is a requirement of your job! Any access required out of hours must be approved by the Building Management team.
You will not be permitted to enter the building unless you have an access card.
Any defective cards will be replaced free of charge but a £10 charge will be made to the partner organisation whose employee has lost their card. If a card has been lost or stolen the Building Management team must be informed and in the event of theft a crime number obtained from the police, a £10 charge is also valid unless the card is found.
Getting Into the Building - Which Entrance do I use?
The Symington Building has several entrances and exits. All external doors apart from the main entrance doors are secure at all times with magnetic locks.
Some of the doors are accessible using the access cards. The entrances and exits are shown in the ground floor image in the "About The Symington Building" Section.
You will be shown the staff entrances on your induction tour and these are situated at the rear of the building, from the Mill Hill and Fox Yard car parks.
Staff may use the front entrance of the building to access the office areas, but as customers can access all floors via the lift, it's important to be vigilant when entering access restricted areas and if you are unsure whether someone works within the building ask them to show their pass.
Concierge and Building Security
On the ground floor is a concierge desk which will be staffed during office accommodation opening times and will be available to welcome visitors to HDC and partners working within The Symington Building.
Part of their role is to welcome and register visitors to The Symington Building and contact the person they are meeting or to direct them to the self check in facility.
Visitors who choose to go to the concierge will be issued with visitors badges and directed to the relevant waiting area.
The concierge service is provided by Harborough District Council
Building Alarm
Once the building is locked, it means the alarms are set and anyone left inside will trigger an alarm and the out-of-hours response via the central control centre will call the police. The cost of the out-of-hours service will be charged to the partner whose employee caused the alarm to trigger.
Occasional earlier access times or weekend working can be arranged in advance with the Building Management team although there may be a charge if additional resources are required. Customer Areas
As you saw earlier, the retail outlets in The Symington Building will be open 6 and possibly 7 days a week and the Library and Museum will be open 6 days a week.
The Customer Service area will be open Monday to Friday and access will be prevented by means of shutters from the rest of the building when closed.
For this reason, no one working in The Symington Building outside of these days will be able access into the office areas through the HDC Customer Service area. This will also be the case on Wednesdays as Customer Services is closed until 9.30am please use either Fox Yard or Mill Hill entrances. The only exception to this would be during an emergency.
Disabled Access
Permitted wheelchairs are able to access each floor by using the lift on the ground floor behind the meeting room.
There is also access to the building from the rear entrance and main entrance for staff.
The general public will be required to use the lift in the main reception area to access the library, museum and other public areas on the upper floors.
Manual and battery powered wheelchairs can be easily used within The Symington Building.
Accessible toilets are located on all floors. In addition, there is a fully accessible shower room on the ground floor, near the entrance from the Mill Hill staff car park. Lifts
There are three lifts within the building
Lifts can be used by staff to access their relevant floor of work. The platform (glass) lift in the main reception area serves the ground and first floors only, and is for use by customers and visitors. NO electric scooters are allowed in this lift. Electric scooters must use the lift in the main central lobby. The main public lift to all floors is in the central lobby behind Customer Services.
In addition there is a staff only lift which will be available to Councillors, Civic Suite and Adult Learning services out of normal office hours. This lift is situated near the staff entrance from the Mill Hill staff car park.
Travel and Parking
The Symington Building is located on Adam & Eve Street in Market Harborough town centre. The Museum and Council Offices are signposted throughout the town centre.
The post code is LE16 7AG.
The Symington Building workers will be arriving by a variety of means, so this page provides you with information you need about getting here.
Click on the headings below to find out more information.
Public transport
Market Harborough Train Station is situated about 15 minutes walk from The Symington Building. To walk from the station simply turn onto St Mary's Road then turn right at Starbucks into Adam and Eve Street.
There are several buses from local towns and villages into Market Harborough. Buses stop in the centre of town by the Market Square and The Symington Building is a 2 minute walk. Arriving by Bike
For those who like to cycle to and from work, there are bike racks at the rear of the building near the staff car park. The gates are locked by a combination lock, please ask HDC’s Building Services Team for the combination. Any bicycles parked here must be chained using your own locks and are left at the owner’s risk.
Whilst we want to encourage people to cycle to work, any bicycles found chained to or against the perimeter, railings or lamp posts will be removed. Bicycles are not permitted inside the building.
There are shower facilities and lockers located on the ground floor near the Mill Hill entrance for your convenience.
Walking (or running)
If you plan to walk or run to work, there are shower facilities located on the ground floor for your convenience.
Car Parking
For those colleagues who need to drive to work and are eligible for a parking space, there are a number of parking options.
There is a staff car park located at the rear of the building and accessed from Mill Hill Road. This is for permit holders only and is free, however as the car park is enforced by HDC Regulatory Services Team, you MUST have registered for an E-permit which is completed by the Corporate Support Team otherwise you could receive a parking ticket! You need to provide the Corporate Support Team with your car registration number so they can register it.
This Mill Hill car park is only free Monday to Friday, it reverts to a public car park at weekends and therefore your parking permit will not be valid.
As the car park is provided on a first come first served basis, if the car park is full, you can find alternative parking on Symington Way and at other sites within town, however these are pay and display car parks and you must pay and display a valid parking ticket at all times. Your Symington Building parking permit IS NOT VALID!
Staff who are eligible to use the Mill Hill staff car park need to be aware of the information here.
Parking bays for HDC staff will be colour coded blue. Parking bays for LCC staff will be colour coded Green Parking for the Citizens advice Bureau and retail Units will be coded yellow Parking for other partners will be red.
Parking is very tight for all users of the Symington Building therefore, please park in the coloured bays for your organisation. Do be aware that Parking Services will be enforcing this car park to discourage members of the public from parking there during the week and will be checking to see that partners are parking in the correct colour spaces!
Health & Safety
General Health & safety
Every organisation is responsible for their own Health & Safety policies and procedures, and everyone is responsible for their own Health & Safety, however there are some commonalities for each organisation working in The Symington Building. These are detailed below.
If you are a people manager, please ensure that everyone in your team and all new starters are aware of your organisations' Health & Safety policy.
Everyone is responsible for their own health and safety.
This includes keeping work areas, facilities (eg kitchen and toilets) and walk ways free of slips and trips hazards. Make sure you keep your work station tidy and you are not blocking any walkways or fire exits with any boxes, bags or equipment.
Ensure any spillages are cleared up immediately and appropriate signage is utilised where appropriate.
Smoking is not permitted in the building. If you do smoke, then we ask that you go to the top of the Mill Hill Staff Car Park, away from all entrances. More information on this comes later in the module.
It is essential that you participate in any Health & Safety training provided by your employer.
Accident Reporting
If you do have an accident in The Symington Building, this should be reported in accordance with your organisations' Health & Safety Policy.
If the accident becomes reportable then you must also inform the Building Management team.
Reporting Problems
When moving into a new building there are bound to be some "snagging"(teething) issues however if you discover anything which is faulty or dangerous then this must be reported IMMEDIATELY to the Building Management team.
If a "building" item or facility is faulty, for example an electrical socket is not working or a door will not shut properly, this should be reported to the Building Management team via the Facilities Helpdesk If however you have an item of equipment that is faulty for example a printer or telephone, then this should be reported to your own relevant department e.g., your organisations ICT team.
First Aid
Each organisation within The Symington Building is responsible for ensuring they have their own First Aiders.
You should follow your own organisations' procedures for contacting a first aider. If a member of public visiting The Symington Building requires First Aid attendance, then it is the responsibility of the organisation they are visiting to provide First Aid assistance.
In an emergency you should dial 9999.
Panic Alarms
Several areas in the building have Panic Alarms for the safety of employees.
If pushed, the Panic Alarms will trigger an alarm and there will be a response as agreed with each partner.
Fire
There are fire alarms points throughout the building which, if triggered will automatically alert the fire brigade. Further information about what to do in the case of a fire is below. The Building Management team will also ensure each partner is familiar with the evacuation procedure and will involve you with any training or updates as necessary. If you are an employee of Harborough District Council, and are classed as a Fire Marshal or Fire Co-Ordinator, you should familiarise yourself with the Online Fire Marshal module in the Corporate e-Learning section of Learning Matters. Bomb Threats
Bomb threats are very rare. The majority are made over the phone and the overwhelming majority are hoaxes, often the work of malicious jokers, although terrorists do make hoax calls with the intent of causing alarm and disruption. Any hoax is a crime and, no matter how ridiculous or unconvincing, must be reported to the police.
The main consideration must always be the safety of staff and of the general public.
If you come across a suspicious object or package DO NOT TOUCH OR MOVE IT.
If a Bomb threat is made to The Symington Building, the fire alarm MUST NOT be set off unless the police have instructed that you do so. Once the police are in communication/on site, the directions of the senior police officer must be complied with.
Customer Service staff on the front desk and in the call centre, based at Charnwood, are the most likely individuals to receive a bomb threat message.
If we receive a bomb threat, a communication will be sent to all staff based at The Symington Building advising that this is the case.
You will be asked to evacuate the building immediately using the nearest fire exit, ensuring any staff and members of the public/visitors also leave. You could potentially be informed to avoid certain locations. Once you have evacuated you should assemble at the top of the Mill Hill staff car park just inside the gates. Be prepared that you may have to move further away from the building on instruction from a member of the Incident Team or the emergency services.
DO NOT use mobile phones or radios. Do leave doors and windows OPEN. Only take personal belongings with you if close by.
Disabled persons and their evacuation buddies should descend the stairs - do not use the lift (Wait for assistance in the refuge area if necessary).
Fire Marshal should undertake a sweep as normal and report to the Fire Co-Ordinator to let them know which sectors have been swept. More information on Bomb Threats is available on the HDC Intranet and in the Resources section. Shared Building Facilities
Building Facilities
There are several areas around the building that have shared facilities. Please note that any facilities within the retail areas are for sole use by the retail organisations.
Civic Facilities
There are Civic facilities for the use of the General Public and for HDC Councillors.
The Ceremony Room is for Weddings and Naming ceremonies.
This is situated within the registrar area on the First Floor through the main entrance and then either up the stairs or glass lift in the entrance vestibule.
Once events have been held, visitors are encouraged to leave via the wooden curved staircase and exit directly onto Adam & Eve Street. Please be aware that it will be possible for weddings to take place through the week, so you may find yourself walking past a Bride or Groom in the vestibule!
Use of the Ceremony Room has a cost associated to it.
The Civic Suite rooms are situated on the second floor. Although predominately for use by Harborough District Council and its Councillors, the Civic Suite is also available for partner organisations to hire for events.
Please note that there is a cost associated to use this facility for non HDC users. Further details can be obtained for the Building Management team or from the Symington Building Website, http://hint.harborough.gov.uk/thesymingtonbuilding/
Shared services
There are some services that are shared by everyone working in the building and these include the Building Manager, the Concierge service and the Facilities Management Service.
The Concierge team will be available to meet and greet visitors and will contact the person they are meeting on their arrival. If you are expecting a visitor, please ensure the concierge is aware by 5pm the previous day at the latest in order to ensure smooth check in.
The concierge desk will be open from 08.30 to approximately 19.00. They can be contacted preferably by email [email protected] or 01858 82 (1010). Please note, the Concierge cannot leave the desk at any time.
The Building Management team are responsible for the smooth running of the building and for overseeing the Facilities Management contract, tenant liaison, concierge/meet and greet service, room booking system, issuing of access cards, Health & Safety matters relating to the building, access arrangements (building opening and closing) and ensuring adherence to the building protocols.
As the building is newly renovated, it is likely that there will be a few "snags" or teething problems and we may find that some things don't work as they should, for example heating, lighting, lifts (hopefully not while we are in them!). The Symington Building Management team are available to contact on 01858 821021Carol Bierton [email protected]
FCC have the contract to deal with any of these issues as part of the Facilities Management Service. FCC are responsible for all maintenance and cleaning within the building and will provide a helpdesk facility for reporting of all faults in the first instance. All facility or cleaning request need to be logged through the Symington Building website under ‘report a building issue’. Please DO NOT, try and fix the problem yourself!.
Similarly we ask that you don't make any alterations to the building yourself for example, putting up a shelf. If you think you need to make an alteration of this sort, then this must be discussed and arranged with the Building Management team.
The cleaning of the offices, customer service and public areas is undertaken by FCC Cleaners will clean toilets, empty waste bins, clean flooring, light dusting of desks.
Cleaners will not remove and wash up dirty cups, empty fridges, they also will not tidy up after you.
A member of the cleaning team will be in the building from early morning to early evening.
Meeting Rooms
There are several meeting rooms available to people working within the Symington Building. Some of the meeting rooms will only be available to the staff within that area, however some will be available to everyone.
Where are the Meeting Rooms?
There are 22 meeting rooms around the building. Full details of where the meeting rooms are and the facilities within them are on the Symington Building Website.
How do I book a Meeting Room?
There is an online booking facility called Qmatic. Information on how to do this is on the Symington Building Website.
Can I have refreshments?
Jugs of cold water are available for loan to use in meeting rooms free of charge. These are available from FCC. Please request them at time of booking the room on line.
If you would like tea and coffee, there is a charge and you will be advised when booking the room.
Booking AV and other equipment?
The Civic Suite (Council Chambers) has a portable microphone system which links to the hearing loop systems and switches on with the AV system.
Extension leads are available for loan in meeting rooms, and can be requested from FCC. Some meeting rooms are equipped with AV equipment and have laptop connection leads connected.
Table-top projectors and laptops are available for loan for use in meeting rooms without AV equipment. Please request these from Harborough District Council ICT team by emailing [email protected] or contacting the ICT helpdesk on 01858 82 1313.
Portable projection screens can be provided where wall surfaces are not suitable, and again are available from the Harborough District Council ICT Helpdesk.
Flip charts / writing boards are available from FCC
As demands for meeting rooms and equipment can be high, please remember to cancel the meeting room if you no longer require it to enable others to use the facilities.
If you do not use the room and forget to cancel then you may still be charged (if a cost is applicable)
The Symington Building Protocols
Why Have Protocols
As well as Harborough District Council, there are a number of different partner organisations working within the building and therefore there are some protocols for the building that it is important we all adhere to.
The protocols are there to ensure consistency for the smooth day to day working in the building. A copy of the protocol document (Occupiers Manual) can be found on the Symington Building Website. It is updated regularly, so keep checking the contents. Please ensure you familiarise yourself with the information provided in the booklet. Building Protocols
Notice boards
The walls in The Symington Building are newly plastered and painted and we really want them to stay clean for as long as possible, so we respectfully ask that you DO NOT stick anything onto the walls around the building.
There will be notice boards at briefing areas and around the building, so if you feel the need to hang a sign, or notice or piece of information for staff, you MUST display it on a notice board. Please pass any notices for display in public areas to the concierge team to organise.
Any thing that is stuck to the wall will be removed.
Toilets & Showers
Showers are situated on the ground floor. You will need to bring your own toiletries and towels.
There are toilets and accessible toilets on all levels. Staff toilets will be cleaned as part of the cleaning contract however we do ask that you keep the toilet facilities clean and tidy.
If you discover there is a problem with any of the toilet facilities, please report this immediately to the FCC team. Kitchens
The Kitchens in the office areas are for the use of colleagues working in this area, so there are a few housekeeping rules.
Please keep the kitchen areas clean and tidy. This means clearing up after you have used the kitchen and washing your own cups up! Cleaning products and washing up liquid will be provided.
Staff are responsible for providing their own tea, coffee, milk and sugar or squash etc. Teams should decide how they want to organise these items.
Although there will be some mugs for visitors, staff should provide their own mugs.
Where possible, please recycle any waste (e.g. plastic milk bottles)
The cold water is drinkable.
A fridge is provided to keep milk and any food. In interests of Health & Safety, please ensure you remove food or milk when finished with to keep the fridges clear of smells!
To prevent any accidents, please ensure you clean up any spillages.
If you take drinks back to your desks, please use a tray and carry them safely in order to prevent slip hazards (and spilling coffee on our lovely new carpets!)
Recycling
We want to be as paper light as possible so we ask that you only print when absolutely necessary, and as storage space is minimal, we encourage everyone to store documents electronically.
If you do have waste then we ask that as much as possible of this is recycled. Waste Bins will be provided for anything that can not be recycled, but there will be recycling facilities throughout the building for plastic, glass, paper and cardboard, so hopefully, other waste will be minimal.
Not only is this great for the environment, but it helps our recycling statistics as a District!!
Desks
We operate a clear desk policy in the HDC Offices and would respectfully ask partner colleagues to do the same. A clear desk policy will also ensure that we adhere to our relevant data protection and confidentiality polices.
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the building. There are public entrances to the building at both the front and rear of the building as well as retail outlets, so we respectfully ask that if you do smoke, you move away from entrances and ideally away from the building, using the area at the top of the Mill Hill staff car park.
Cigarette butt bins are provided so please use them!
Visitors
Unless an alternative process has been agreed, anyone who comes within the office areas who is not employed by HDC or a member of staff from a partner organisation within The Symington Building is classed as a visitor, and they need to be registered as being onsite. This could be visiting colleagues, interview candidates, suppliers, service users, clients etc. who have meetings with advisor on floors other than the ground floor.
If you are expecting a visitor, please notify the Concierge team by 5pm the previous day by emailing [email protected]. Your visitor will need to register with the Concierge in the reception area on the ground floor, or by checking in on the self service terminals if your organisation is using the Qmatic system. The concierge will have a visitor badge ready if you have already notified them of the appointment.
On your visitors arrival you will be contacted by the concierge. There will not be many seating areas for visitors to wait at and they will be waiting in the communal public areas, so please collect visitors promptly. Due to access card restrictions, they will not be able to come up to the office areas unattended unless specific processes have been agreed with partners.
Contractors
Any contractors coming on site MUST have prior agreement through the Building Management team and the facilities team. This will ensure that we have the correct documentation and Health and Safety paperwork is correct and all in order. Please email [email protected] and o [email protected] to notify them of any expected contractors and the purpose of their visit.
All contractors with prior agreement to work on site must report to the concierge desk who will arrange with them to sign in with facilities and undergo an induction before being issued with pass and a safety tour of the work area. All contractors who sign in must also follow the same process to sign out and hand back the lanyard and pass. The contractors will sign out stating whether the work that was agreed to take place has been completed or not.
Post
Incoming Post
Royal Mail deliveries for HDC and partners will be received to Fox Yard entrance by HDC staff in the post room area. Deliveries are normally received once per day between 08:30am and 09:30am.
HDC Corporate Support staff will ring a nominated contact in partner organisations advising that post has arrived and is ready for collection. Partners will collect from post room promptly. Outgoing Post
Partner organisations which is postage paid should be delivered to the post room on the ground floor no later than 3pm.
HDC staff can place small quantities of outgoing mail in the outgoing post box located in the rd central area of the 3 floor and this will be collected by CS staff and taken to the post room for franking at 3pm daily. If post needs to go out that day after 3pm it will need to be taken down to the post room by the service area. Any bulk mail should be taken directly to the post room and not left in the box on the third floor.
Deliveries
Deliveries will be made to the Fox Yard entrance (this will be detailed on the purchase order). All HDC orders should be made using a purchase order. Please ensure delivery details, contact name and organisations are included for all deliveries.
A keypad on the Fox Yard door will alert the partner who will need to go to the Fox yard door to take delivery (there will be separate buttons for HDC, LCC and the retail units). Other partners processes to be agreed individually.
Any bulky deliveries will be placed in the secure storage area adjacent to the Fox Yard entrance and the service area alerted to arrange transfer to final location by FCC please note, there may be a charge for using the services of FCC to move large items.
Deliveries taken by the Concierge Team
The concierge team are able to take letters but not parcels due to lack of storage. Therefore, please ensure ALL parcels are delivered to Fox Yard. Any letters received will be logged and the relevant person contacted to collect.
Confidentiality
Within the building, there are several different organisations working together. The building has been designed to be open plan, and many of the facilities are designed to be shared, for example meeting rooms and public areas.
This also means that as you move around the building you may come across scenarios and conversations that are sensitive or confidential and for this reason it is vital that confidentiality is respected and maintained.
Anything confidential should be sent via secure mail or e-mail. Data protection rules apply so please ensure that anything confidential, whatever organisation you work for, stays safe.
Both Leicestershire County Council and Harborough District Council have e-learning modules on information management and data protection, so if you have not completed these modules, you should do so to ensure that you are working to your organisation's confidentiality policies.
There will be a number of break out areas across the second and third floor, although these are not necessarily confidential if other people are using them. There are also meeting rooms which will need to be booked. However, due to the nature of working for a Council, many of your colleagues have to make or receive confidential or sensitive phone calls or have difficult conversations in the office, often these are not planned.
We all work for organisations who have to deal with sometimes difficult or sensitive situations, and therefore if we hear or see anything that could be considered sensitive or confidential, either move away from the area if possible for the duration of that conversation to give your colleagues some privacy or respect the nature of the conversation and keep it confidential. There are some break out areas and meeting rooms that you could move into if they are empty.
Due to the different organisations working within The Symington Building, you may on occasion come into contact with members of the public who are in a particularly vulnerable situation or who are involved in distressing personal circumstances.
Unless you are personally involved in dealing with these customers, please respect their situation and conversations and remember that whilst this may be upsetting for them and perhaps for you, trained officers will be dealing with the situations, so there is no need to be involved.
Meeting rooms for these situations are provided in the public areas, although it is possible that customers could visit and rooms may not be available.
If you do find yourself coming into contact with this sort of situation then please act in a respectful manner and don't get involved or put yourself in a vulnerable position. Equipment
There are various pieces of equipment in the building that you will need to use regularly. Information on these is below.
Working together
Whilst it is really exciting moving into the new building and working with new organisations, there are more than likely be a few concerns about how things will work; and whether different organisations with different ways of doing things can all get along together.
Everyone who has been involved with the setting up of The Symington Building has emphasised that the aim is to have a team approach rather than "us and them".
There are bound to be some teething problems as we get used to each other, and as we get used to the building, and the Tuckman Team Formation Model helpfully explains, in a simple way, how teams form and develop after experiencing significant change.
You may recognise yourself or team members experiencing these behaviours!
In the Forming stage, people tend to be positive and polite and sometimes over apologetic. There is usually a buzz of enthusiasm and excitement about what's ahead, however it is important to remember that there can be some people who are anxious and who haven't yet worked out exactly what might be involved and how things operate. There will be politeness between individuals, a sense of unity in the face of adversity!
In the move into The Symington Building, this might mean people helping each other find their way around the building, moving desks regularly to let others work in a particular place, a sense of comradeship in working out how the phones work, where the cups are kept, how to use the access cards and more importantly the photocopier!
The Storming stage often comes in after teams have settled into their new environment or new change and reality sets in. At this stage you can find that colleagues or different teams vie for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation to other teams, setting up a new unwritten hierarchy and ways of working. Managers might find themselves receiving challenges from team members. You often find at this stage that there are uncertainties and cliques may form. Teams should focus on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues and compromises may be required to enable progress.
It is important to understand that some members may feel overwhelmed by how much has changed or uncomfortable with how things are working, how much there, or uncomfortable with the approach being used. Some may react by questioning working approaches and may be resistant to undertaking certain things in a certain way. This is the stage when many individuals may feel that they are on an emotional roller coaster, as they try to focus on the job in hand whilst still managing to get used to the changes.
At this stage we also come across the BMW syndrome - the Bickering Moaning and Whining - This is where we complain about each other and that so-and-so did this; so-and-so did that, etc, etc, etc... Why should we do such-and-such when so-and-so doesn't, etc, etc, etc. Every little issue becomes a major issue, things get blown out of proportion and tasks become a real chore!
Not a lot gets done as the team's focus and energy is wasted on "fighting" the BMW! You experience BMW's within as well as across organisations.
So now we are aware of BMW's, we need to try and ensure that we recognise when this may be happening, realise that whilst it is inevitable, we stop, reassess and resolve the situation properly!
When all the BMW's stop, and the in-fighting and back-biting settles down, we move into the Norming stage. In Norming, people will be in their newly created environment with their set of new ways of working and behaviours. Within organisations, people will support each other and will respect and appreciate others roles as well as their own and this may transfer across organisations too.
At this stage people are familiar and comfortable with how things work and the protocols and procedures in place to make things run smoothly.
Decisions which affect everyone may be made by group agreement. Smaller decisions may be delegated to individual organisations or individuals and here we have mutual respect for each organisation.
Commitment and unity is strong, and within Norming, you find there is a sense of belonging and engagement in fun and social activities.
The Performing stage is where quite simply, teams become cohesive, supportive and fully participative. The individual team members and teams instinctively know what needs to be achieved and how they as individuals will support the whole team in achieving what needs to be achieved. The team is more strategically aware, understanding why it is doing what it is doing.
The team has a shared vision and there is a focus on exceeding expectations.
Disagreements still occur but now they are resolved positively and necessary changes to processes and structure are made co-operatively.
Thank You for taking the time to complete the Symington Induction module. We hope you have a better understanding of what to expect working in The Symington Building.