1. business and industrial

December 2014
Message from Roderick Arnold, Managing Director
By the time most of you read
this newsletter Christmas will
all be over…for those of you
who celebrated with your
families I hope you had a
lovely day and are not suffering with indigestion from
overindulgence! I know for most of you
working at Interr the Christmas break will be
very short with ‘all hands on deck’ for the
Winter Sales all starting on Boxing day, and
we are very grateful for all of your efforts and
hard work over what is always the company’s
busiest time.
As it’s the end of the year it is also a good
time to have little look back over a few of the
highlights from 2014. One of the biggest
successes was to achieve our amazing score of
+166 for the SIA ACS, this put us in the top 5%
of all security suppliers in the country and was
well worth all the hard work and late nights
that the team put in to achieve this, and as if
this wasn’t enough we were also nominated in
2 categories for the IFSEC awards last month
(Security Guarding Company of the Year, and
Security Manager of the Year).
We have also started to work
with some fantastic new
customers this year including
Uniqlo (in Germany & the U.K),
John Varvatos and American
Eagle. Sports Direct have continued to give us more responsibility for their
business over 2014 by giving us more West and
Eastern European stores and their H.O building, we have opened new J Crew stores in both
Hong Kong and London and just this month we
were trusted by Victoria’s Secret to provide
ALL the security for their famous Fashion Show
(the worlds largest fashion event) at Earls
Court in London. This was the biggest single
event we have ever worked on and the entire
management team were involved over a 5 day
period from moving 45 supermodels and diamond jewellery to securing hotels and VIP CP.
The actual show on December 2nd used a huge
security team and was a resounding success with
a very happy client that was very clear proof that
your company has a management team that all
lead by example and do whatever it takes to get
the job done!
Aside from the company
success you will have read
in various places about our
charity work with both
‘KidsOut’ and ‘Hounds for Heroes’. This is work
that we are all extremely proud of, not only
because we are giving money to charities that
really make a difference to peoples lives, but
also because we can give something even more
important…..our time. The time we volunteer to
‘KidsOut’ actually means that groups of children
can go on a fun day out, its all very well having
the money to pay for days out but if there is
nobody to take them it just wouldn’t happen.
The Winter Wonderland day at the end of
November was both rewarding and emotional for
all the Interr staff that attended, I personally am
attending another kids party in Birmingham in a
few days and will continue to support both
charities in a very active way throughout 2015.
If anyone would like to volunteer a day of their
time to this very worthy cause then please
contact me through the office and we can discuss
upcoming dates for events.
2015 is already set to be another incredible year
for Interr. We have many new opportunities for
all divisions of the business including Reception &
Concierge, Security, Cleaning and Consultancy.
Existing clients are opening more locations across
the World and we have a newly appointed Head
of Overseas Operations starting with us in
January to ensure our International business
continues to grow. We could not do what we do
without you, so I would like to make sure that
you all know how valuable you are to the company and how much we appreciate your hard work
in providing the highest standards possible…..the
very thing that makes Interr different from all
the rest!
Contents
Special Interest Articles
Welcome to December’s Newsletter 1
Message from Client Director
Darren Leigh
2
Health and Safety at Work by
Deborah Sheath
3
Message from Client Director,
Yolande Frederick
5
Employees of the Month
6
Security Workshop
6
Top Scores
6
Message from CCO Tony Sheath
7
Message from Sandra Zschoke
7
Message from HR Director,
Sarah Pucenot
8
Message from the CFO,
Chris Dean
9
Corporate Social Responsibility by
Liboria Cannatella
10
Contact Details
Linton House
39-51 Highgate Road
London
NW5 1RT
Telephone:
020 7837 2012
Fax:
020 7837 1221
Email:
[email protected]
Web Site:
www.interr.com
Wishing you all and your families a very Happy
New Year.
Mission Statement
To develop and supply outstanding and innovative solutions to diverse customers through dedication and
a companywide commitment to excellence.
2
Message from Client
Director, Darren Leigh
Incident and Accident Reports
It is important to know the correct escalation for incidents at our sites especially over the upcoming holiday period where a lot of sites will have their staff away for the holidays. It is also very important to remember that all
incidents must not only be escalated correctly but that a full detailed incident report must be completed and submitted to Interr as soon as possible but no later than 12 hours after the incident taking place. This escalation and
reporting process is in place not only for our clients’ protection but insurance purposes as well.
Please see below our standard escalation chart and guidance on what constitutes an incident. There will be some variation on
this dependent on client requirements (where this is the case you will be trained). The Interr operations team must be informed of any incident at the same time as the client being notified if the standard escalation route is amended due to client
requirements. If you are in any doubt if something is an incident while on duty please call our operations team is on call 24
hours a day to support you.
Site Incident Escalation Route
All incidents must be reported following the below escalation route. The more serious the incident the more urgent it is that
you report it to the operations team as quickly as possible.
Guidance notes on Incidents:
An incident is an occurrence that interrupts normal
procedure that needs to be brought to the attention of
either the client or Interr management.
You must phone through to report immediately and
complete accurate paperwork at the earliest opportunity
within 12 hours of occurrence or awareness.
Examples:
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
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Bomb threats
Fire/ building evacuations
The calling of the emergency services
A maintenance issue
Attempted burglary out of hours
Assaults on personnel / customers
Actions resulting in temporary closure
Theft resulting in loss/persons detained
Accidents resulting in serious injury
Staffing issues that require head office support
Any incident which could impact on the reputation
of the client / company
Remember any incident that occurs must be accompanied by a report whether it’s major or minor. An incident report must be
completed in full detail and received by operations within 12 hours of the incident taking place.
3
Health and Safety at Work by Deborah Sheath CMIOSH, Director of Risk, Interr Group
Understanding Human
relation to Accidents
Behaviour
in
How often have you heard it said after an
accident ‘well, it was just down to human
error’…….?
Actually, 90% of accidents are caused by human failure.
BUT 99% of human failure is caused by the prevailing
conditions, i.e. something has caused that human
failure. No-one gets up in the morning intending to have
an accident, or even to consciously break the rules, but
it happens every day. Why?
The Bystander Effect
Milgram, a known behavioural scientist, conducted an
experiment in which participants were encouraged to
give others an electric shock when they failed to answer
a question correctly. As the questions progressed, the
strength of the ‘apparent’ electric shock given increased
to what were labelled as, ‘dangerous’ and ‘fatal’ levels.
Participants continued to press the button and ‘shock’
others, despite thinking that they were causing pain or
injury, because they believed that this behaviour was
obviously acceptable to the researcher running the
experiment. They did as they were told.
Milgram’s conclusions were that:

People will often do what they think you want
them to do

People are often unwilling to stop something if
everyone else is carrying on

The more you become focussed on the task the less
you see of the danger
Try to relate this to your work environment. For example:
regular maintenance is required at high level. Your maintenance man has a small stepladder and a full ladder at his
disposal. Although the set of steps isn’t really high enough,
he finds that he can reach if he stands on the top step, and
this saves him having to go out into the tool store to fetch
the ladder. His manager knows he does this, but has never
challenged him on it. He’s never fallen off yet, has he?
The next time he carries out this activity, he loses his balance and falls, injuring himself quite badly. His manager
disciplines him for not following procedure, as he feels this
has caused the accident. But, is this the correct action?
Will this prevent him, or others, doing the same thing
again? Or will they continue to work in the same way, as
long as the manager doesn’t find out?
How do you change behaviour?
If you punish someone for doing something wrong, you will
only ever achieve minimal compliance. People will only do
things because they ‘have to do it’. If you celebrate positive behaviour in those people who are doing it right, then
more people will want to do things correctly. For this to
work, though, your positive messages need to outweigh the
punishments by a ratio of 4:1.
4
Health and Safety at Work by Deborah Sheath CMIOSH, Director of Risk, Interr Group
Risk Creep
How did these workers ever think that this was safe?
Well, when they started building the Empire State
Building the beam was much closer to the ground!! Not
only do we get used to a risk, once we do, we’ll push it
further and take a greater risk.
One of the most important questions to ask is ‘would the
next person do the same thing?’ (the substitution test).
If the answer is yes, then it’s not the employee that’s the
problem.
Conclusions

We have accidents simply because we are human

Punishing errors increases the belief that you will
be blamed for doing something wrong but does not
automatically change behaviour

So, what should you do?
Look at the behaviour of your employees using this
model, and this will help you identify what action you
need to take to minimise the risk of further incidents.
Learning from accidents means you can attempt to
design them out
At Interr, we have an exceptional record in reacting to
any accidents, incidents and safety issues, and this helps
us ensure an effective 'no blame' safety culture exists. If
you feel that there are improvements that can be made,
either as an Interr employee, or as a client, then please
do not hesitate to contact me at:
[email protected]
5
Message from Client
Director, Yolande Frederick
Exit Bag Checks
I have receive a number of calls and emails from
Officers request form store management to step
up the bag checks with purchasing
customers
due to time of year. There seems to be some
confusion on the process and the legalities of
bag searches for exiting customers. Depending on how the
officer approaches the situation some customers may be offended at having to stop and have their purchases checked off
against the receipt before exiting. Many felt it was a simple
intrusion while others felt it was a total violation of their privacy. Some customers even felt like they were being falsely
detained, unjustly accused of theft, and wanted to complain.
So what’s all the fuss about?
Most retailers already have lots of anti-theft procedures in place
that customers endure. There are video surveillance cameras
and undercover officers that watch you shop. There are little
plastic devices attached to soft goods called electronic article
surveillance tags (EAS) that must be removed by a salesperson to
prevent an alarm from going off at the exit. There are items
displayed under lock and key that you can’t access without assistance. None of these procedures are consumer friendly, but are
deemed necessary by some retailers for survival.
Are Door Bag Searches Legal?
Not all of the complainants were from overly sensitive
customers. The stores have had complaints from seemingly
intelligent and thoughtful persons with retail experience.
Perhaps, it was the officer’s mannerism that made them feel
forced to submit to the search that was bothersome. The
approach, tone of voice and body language are vital mixture
of ingredients that must be right to ensure the outcome is one
that leave the customer and the client happy.
Bag Check Policy
What these customers are complaining about is a local store
policy where an employee or security officer will check
customer purchases against their receipt. This loss prevention
tactic is usually used in high-ticket or specialty stores who
have experienced large stock loss. This bag check applies to
store purchases only and not to other items a customer might
be carrying. The store management knows that the door bag
check procedure is not customer friendly, but it is a necessary
step.
Can Our Client Do This?
Yes, as long as the procedure is voluntary. The bag check
should occur past the last point of payment solely for the
purpose of verifying the sales transaction that just occurred.
The officer completing the bag check is looking to see that
the cashier correctly charged for all items in the shopping
bag. Once this is done, the officer should thank the customer
and ensure the receipt is returned and the purchase handed
over.
Our clients are free to put procedures in place to help curb
their losses due to theft. It is estimated that £4,699 million
was loss due to retail crime +6.8% higher than the previous
year. These unchecked losses will soon put many retailers out
of business unless they take some proactive step. This bothersome procedure is very effective in preventing employee
theft, shoplifting, and refund fraud.
Yes, as long as the inspection is voluntary. No, if the bag check is
involuntary or coerced. This is a rather fine legal distinction that
is subject to misunderstanding and abuse. Basically, nothing in
the law gives the merchant the right to detain a customer for
the purpose of searching a shopping bag unless there is a reasonable suspicion of retail theft.
A customer can refuse to have their bag checked and simply walk
out the door past the officer requesting the bag check. Hopefully
this individual has been trained to know that they cannot force
anyone to submit to a bag search without cause. This is
important because the expectation of the officer is that all bag
contents have been purchased. The worst thing that could
happen is that an over enthusiastic officer would forcibly detain
or threaten a customer who refused to comply with the
voluntary search.
How Should the Bag Check Proceed?
The bag check procedure should be routinely handled just like
the till point checkout process. Most customers don’t give it
another thought as long as there isn’t a long delay. It is helpful if
the officer checking the bag is non-threatening in manner and
appearance. Many stores make the mistake of placing someone
at the door that looks and acts like a bouncer with aggressive
body language that sends the wrong message.
I am continually championing a positive approach to loss prevention that is awareness and great customer service. Why awareness, no thief be there opportunist or intentional wants to be
recognised? The initial greeting with eye contact at the door and
around the store send a message that you are alert to a shoplifter and welcoming to a genuine customer. I sincerely hope this
goes some way of clarifying the process of bag searches on
purchases made and gives you the confidence to carry them out
in an efficient and professional manner.
6
Vacancies
We are currently recruiting for
the following positions:
RETAIL LOSS PREVENTION
OFFICERS
Employee of the Month
CORPORATE & HOTEL
SECURITY OFFICERS
Congratulations Georgi Fotev
COVERT OFFICERS
Georgi Fotev joined the company last December, since then he worked
at A&F, Porsche Design, J.Crew, Emporio Armani and recently with the
team at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. His commitment to work
and flexibility are a treat for the operations team and the clients.
LICENCED LEISURE DOOR
SUPERVISORS
OPERATION MANAGER
SCHEDULER
CLEANING SUPERVISORS
CLEANERS
If you know anyone that is /
will be looking for a full time
or part time security or
cleaning position who you feel
is a good fit for Interr and has
the relevant knowledge and
experience, please ask them to
send their CV to:
Moreover, the feedback we always receive about Georgi is always
highly regarded from the clients and his peers. Recently at the
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Georgi was responsible for the front
entrance of the Hair & Make up area, he did his duty on excellent level and he managed
to stop, and catch an imposter with a false credential trying to enter the area, even
after a very lengthy shift.
Employee of the Quarter
Congratulations Andre Preve
We would like to congratulate Andre on becoming Employee Of The
Quarter. Andre's appointment into his Supervisory role has been
outstanding. He continues to lead the way on behalf of Interr to
satisfy both client and officers needs. Andre has recently supported
with the very prestigious Victoria Secret Event. His professionalism
and focus over the very long days were duly noted by our client and
the Senior Management.
[email protected]
or in writing to our
HR department
Top Scores
Employee of the Month
Recommendations
If you are a member of staff, a
client, customer, consumer or a
wider stakeholder we would
love to hear from you.
We value your opinion and if
you think that a member of the
Interr Security team deserves to
win Employee of the Month
please send an email with the
name of the employee, the
reason for your nomination to:
[email protected]
These are the scores given by our clients for the security teams of each location. These
are based on performance, time keeping, reporting and communication. Feedback is
collected from our clients each month based on performance, timekeeping, reporting
and communication skills.
Well done to this months top scorers at the following locations:
November’s Top Scores:
Tiffany Harrods
Tiffany Royal Exchange
Tiffany Westfield
Ted Baker Cheapside
7
Message from Tony Sheath,
Chief Compliance Officer
Hygiene Failures leave Wedding Party ill and
food business director banned and fined
The owner of a London catering company has
been banned from running a food business after
a wedding party was served rice contaminated
with E. coli and bacillus bacteria. The local
Environmental Health Officer estimated that the large
majority of the party’s 470 guests had contracted food
poisoning after attending the event in Hertfordshire.
The owner of a London catering company has been banned
from running a food business after a wedding party was
served rice contaminated with E. coli and bacillus bacteria.
The local Environmental Health Officer estimated that the
large majority of the party’s 470 guests had contracted food
poisoning after attending the event in Hertfordshire.
An investigation confirmed that 93 guests who came forward
had contracted food poisoning, which was linked to the
consumption of cooked rice. The rice had been prepared in
advance by the Royal Club restaurant in Greenford.
Interr Risk Management advise a number of food business operators around the UK on food safety compliance and can assist you
with auditing, policy development and training if you need it.
Please contact Tony Sheath, Chief Compliance Officer on
[email protected] for more advice.
Message from Sandra Zschoke,
Operations Director, Interr Cleaning Services
Kitchen Deep Cleans – Hygiene Starts Here
It has always been important, but recently the pressure on food
business operators to have spotless kitchen hygiene has moved
up another gear. The Scores on The Doors initiative is forcing
companies to display how hygienic and safe they are and a large
part of that score is dependent on the cleanliness of where the
food is produced. The increase in “fly on the wall” hidden camera television programmes also love to highlight poor cleaning
and operating practices. Most businesses do not fully recover
from such exposure and many ultimately close.
Tests on the food by a Public Health laboratory found
contamination by both E. coli and bacillus bacteria. It was
judged to be ‘potentially injurious to health and/or unfit for
human consumption’.
The Royal Club was prohibited from providing outside
catering after an inspection of the kitchen revealed ‘serious
food hygiene violations and inadequate food safety management procedures’.
The business did not have refrigerated vehicles to safely
transport food. Only one member of staff had been trained
in food safety, and the head chef had not received any food
safety training at all.
A prosecution was brought to Ealing magistrates court on 25
November 2014. B&T Catering Limited (who own the Royal
Club) and their company director Mr B Thapa pleaded guilty
to five offences under the Food Hygiene (England)
Regulations 2006 and a single offence under the General
Food Regulations 2004.
The company was fined a £20,111.44, Mr Thapa was ordered
to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and was banned from
being a director of any company for five years.
Interr Cleaning Services work closely with our clients to ensure
that either nightly, in some cases, or periodically in others, our
team of specially trained staff go in after closing and strip back
the layers of grease and grime that result from hard worked
kitchens. We remove the baked on dirt, chemically scrub the
floors, soak and clean the filters and clean behind the heavy
cook line to make sure it looks as good as it can be for the next
morning.
It’s dirty work and best left to the professionals – why not have a
chat to me on [email protected] to find out more! It
may cost less than you think and just imagine the peace of mind
too!
8
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ctor, Sa
m
not
Communication
Good communication across any company is essential to business success. A good and constant flow of communication
eliminates barriers, resolves problems, builds stronger workplace relations and ensure all feel heard and valued.
At Interr, we want to ensure that everyone continues to feel comfortable asking questions, speaking to each other and
finding the best way to work and resolve any issues that arise.
The head office team receive a very high volume of calls and emails on a day to day basis, each one being just as
important as the other. To ensure we are all communicating in the most efficient way and that your expectations are met we as k that
you be aware of the following:

When contacting the office, if the person you wish to speak to is not available, we advise you
ask if there is someone else who can help.

Be aware that if an issue or questions is communicated to the office, it will usually take time to
look into the matter.

If a member of staff needs to call you back a realistic response time will be given. We ask that
you please give us the time to look into your concern.

If you are ever unhappy with information given to you or the information given is unclear, ask
questions.
SIA Update – New Training Courses for 2015
The SIA have announced that current SIA licence training courses will be updated from 1st January 2015 for any new applicants wishing
to obtain an SIA licence for the first time.
The aim of these changes to the current training courses is to ensure the course contents are up to date and relevant to what is going
on across the security industry today.
The courses that will be updated are: Door Supervision, Security Guarding, Public Space Surveillance (CCTV), Close Protection, Cash &
Valuables in Transit, and Vehicle Immobilisation (in Northern Ireland only).
There is no implication at this time that these changes will effect those who currently hold the relevant SIA licence.
For further information, please visit the SIA website.
Communication
To book your place on a workshop, please send an email to Simona Capogna, HR Officer [email protected]
Date
28
th
January
5th February
th
24 February
Time
Course Name
2015
14:00
Customer Service
2015
10:00
Report Writing
2015
11:00
Security Awareness
Please include your name and the course(s) you would like to attend. Please note booking is done on a first come first service basis.
Therefore please do not show up for a workshop without a confirmation email from Simona.
R co
nd
F
nd Sc
9
Contact Details
Linton House
39-51 Highgate Road
London
NW5 1RT
Fax:
020 7837 2012
Telephone:
020 7837 1221
Select from the following
options:
1. HR & Recruitment
2. Payroll
3. Security Operations
 Option 1—Retail &
Residential
 Option 2—Corporate and
Hospitality
Message from the Chief Financial Officer, Chris Dean
Informing HMRC and your employer about a change of personal details
Many employees are under the impression, quite understandably, that if they
change their name and / or address and tell payroll and HR then we will advise
HMRC. This is not the case and was never the case, even in the days before we
started sending information in real time (RTI). Personal information changes
are a personal responsibility. If you as the employee give your employer information to be
recorded, it is still your obligation to tell HMRC to change your records. This is even more
important following the introduction of RTI.
With the advent of reporting in real time, aligning information between the employer and
HMRC has gained more significance. When we send in our Full Payment Submissions, HMRC
‘match’ employee information from the FPS to their own records that are stored on the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS). When the information matches, the information
from our FPS updates the individual’s record on the NPS – no match equals no update or,
even worse, the possibility of the creation of a duplicate employment. The key matching
information is your name, date of birth and National Insurance Number but your address also
pays a part in the matching process and HMRC have always said that inconsistencies between
the employer and the NPS cause the majority of their problems.
Therefore, both employer and employee have a part to play in trying to make this matching
process as smooth as possible. We are therefore advising employees how you can easily update HMRC’s records if there is a change to your personal details. HMRC have an online form
that you, the employee, can use to update your information at HMRC. This will update the
following services in addition to those held on the NPS for tax and NICs:

Construction Industry Scheme

Child Benefit

Child Trust Fund (though individuals will still need to update their account provider
separately)
6. Cleaning Operations

Student loan (though individuals will still need to tell the Student Loans Company
separately, as HMRC is unable to pass your change details on to them)
7. Accounts

Tax credits
4. Reception & Concierge
5. Risk Management
Email:
[email protected]
Web Site:
www.interr.com
Payroll Cut Off Dates
Pay day will continue to be 1st of each month with pay period 11th of
the month to 10th of the following month. For example:
Pay Period
Pay Day
Where the pay date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday the pay day
11th November 14 – 10th December 14 - Paid Friday 2nd January 15
11th December 14 – 10th January
15 – Paid Monday 2nd February 15
th
th
11 January 15 - 10 February 15 – Paid Monday 2nd March
15
will be on the next working day. Should you have any
questions
about your breakdown, wage slip or payment, you should call the office or make an appointment with Payroll and they will be happy to
help you.
Remember to
‘Like’ us on
Facebook and
to send us a
’Tweet’ on
Twitter.
10
Corporate Social Responsibility update by Liboria Cannatella, Commercial Director
As you are aware from last month’s
newsletter it was agreed by the Executive
not to hold a staff Christmas Party this year
in favour of making donations to our
nominated charities. This was extremely
well received by our staff who decided
instead to hold an office party with a
difference. Employees brought their
children along to the office, as well as a contributory
festive dish to make this Christmas party a truly
memorable event.
Interestingly, the carbon footprint during December is 6 per cent
higher than in most other months, because of the amount of
presents people buy, the extra food
they consume and waste, and the
extra car trips to visit relatives and
friends. Food for thought!
As you can see from the photos we were privileged to be
able to host Santa Claus, aka Tony Sheath, who came all
the way from the North Pole to bring presents to the
children.....and what a wonderful Santa Claus he made
too! Thank you Tony.
Some interesting facts.....
Now that Christmas is well and truly over I would just like
to share some interesting facts about the Christmas tree.
Did you know that an artificial Christmas tree, which has
become increasingly popular over the last few years, has
a carbon footprint at least ten times larger than a real
tree?
Buying a 6 foot fake tree, made from plastic, is as
damaging to the environment as toasting 5,222 slices of
bread or driving 120 miles in an average-sized car. A real
tree of the same size creates carbon emissions the
equivalent of toasting 418 pieces of bread and driving less
than 10 miles.
What a fantastic start to the season William Hall
is having! Last month we saw him move up to play
in the under 12s due to his outstanding skill and
ability, and this month.....well I can tell you that
the winning streak continues for the team, with a
3-2 victory away at the weekend.
In addition to the team win, William was awarded the gold award
as judged by the opposing team officials which not only takes into
account William’s skills but also his attitude and team spirit. Well
done William!
Previously the team played in the Hampshire cup in Portsmouth
which saw them march on to the quarter finals following a
thrilling victory over their local opponents on penalties.
William will not be playing in the last match this weekend as he is
taking a well-deserved break for Christmas! Happy Christmas to
the team from Interr.
For more information please visit: http://junior-premier.co.uk/
MatchDay/TeamPage.aspx?tid=1226