New Centre – ‘fresh start’Integrating technological and operational changes into new facility developments.

Group StructureThe Rochdale Borough wide Cultural Trust was launched in 2007 under the name of ‘Link4Life’ (with a trading subsidiary company ‘Link4Life Trading’)

Legal Framework15 year Partnership Agreement with Rochdale MBC

Service ProvisionArts and Heritage; Fitness and Health; Entertainment; Sport and Leisure

Key objectives • Develop new and improved facilities in the Borough• Create new and innovative cultural activities• Provide quality services that show continuous improvement

Link4Life

www.link4life.org

Facilities - Services

Sports & LeisureMiddleton Arena

Heywood Sports Village

Rochdale Leisure Centre

Littleborough Sports Centre

Kingsway Park Sports Centre

Bowlee Sports Centre

Marland Golf Course

Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre

Heywood Civic Centre

Castleton Baths

Arts and Heritage ServiceTIC

Touchstones

Resource Centre

Neighbourhood and CommunityHealth & Well-Being

Community Capacity

Children and Young People

Develop new and improved facilities in the Borough

• Rundown• High maintenance and general running costs• Poor access for families and disabled• Poor condition internally• Usage/Income relatively low• Changing Rooms poor• Fitness Provision in-adequate• Inflexible layout and design• Car parking insufficient

FacilityTownshi

pCapital

Value (£m)

Middleton Arena Middleton 14.00

Heywood Sports Village Heywood 10.30

Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre Pennine 0.31

Littleborough Sports Campus Pennine 0.60

Rochdale Leisure Centre Rochdale 10.00

Bowlee Sports Centre Middleton 0.08

Total Capital Costs £35m

Total Capital Efficiencies based on £19.5m Prudential borrowing over 25 year period

E.g. Heywood Sports Village efficiency contribution is £3.4m

The financial pressure to succeed was vitally important. Targets had to be met.

Littleborough Sports Centre

2008

Middleton Arena

2009

Heywood Sports Village

2010

Rochdale Leisure Centre

2012

Capital Programme

Middleton Arena £14m

The £14m sports, leisure and entertainment centre in Middleton town centre includes a 90 station fitness centre, 4 court sports hall, swimming pool with viewing gallery, dance studio, squash courts, youth gym, 550 seat auditorium and licensed bars. It replaced three separate and outdated facilities with a single structure.

www.link4life.org

Heywood Sports Village £10.3m

Situated close to Heywood Town Centre it comprises a four-court sports hall, a six-lane 25m swimming pool, two exercise and dance studios, a 110 station fitness suite with dedicated changing facilities and steam rooms, community and training rooms, outdoor and indoor changing areas, floodlit artificial and grass pitches.

www.link4life.org

Rochdale Leisure Centre £14m

Opened in July 2012, the centre incorporates a number of new innovations including a large learner pool with moveable floor and a high quality thermal suite. It also has an eight lane 25m, 150 station gym, a smaller activity gym for programmed sessions, and for the first time in the town, it has a fully accessible four-court sports hall.

www.link4life.org

2006-07 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

1881

5970

87799531

11023 Fitness Members

2006-07 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

979943

12450111352052

1605606

1828028 Usage

Central Rochdale Variance % Direction

Total Usage 145,630 422,442 276812 190.1% h

Total Swims 34,885 70,042 35157 100.8% h

Adult Swims 21,798 43,723 21925 100.6% h

Junior Swims 13,087 26,319 13232 101.1% h

Junior Swim Lessons 46,522 51,256 4734 10.2% h

Fitness Membership 1,498 4,151 2653 177.1% h

Rochdale Leisure Centre1st 9 Months Of Operation

Adapting For Change

Change

Planned

DesignedReactive

Planning For Change – Work stream

Business Support

Management & Operations/HR

Programming

Fitness

Swimming

Arts & Heritage

Marketing & Communication

Unique chance to influence and plan the Customer experience before opening and review current operating policies

• New Health and Safety Manual and Policy

• QMS Implemented• Duty Managers introduced• Event Planning revised• Booking Policy reviewed• Staff Induction re –written• Centre’s re-branded• Customer Care Policy• Staff Handbook• Financial Procedures

Planning For Change – Operations

Planning For Change - Budgets

• Significant change in the size of budgets both income and expenditure!

• Expenditure would be higher – Staffing, Utilities, Maintenance (service contracts)

• NO PRICE INCREASES

• Shift to greater emphasis on Fitness Income

• Pre sell of Fitness Membership – VITAL

• Delays to handover would potentially be damaging financially

Opening Day??

Get some more staff!!

Z z z z

Technology

• Focus on Reception - improve flow into building• Permit fast access to all areas with the use of Barcodes or

cards• Proximity used in 2 of the new sites, wristbands for Thermal

Suite• Goal to make jobs easier

• System works well……until it breaks!!• Reliance on network and technology can cause problems

when the systems fail.• Complicated!

Fast Track Self Service Kiosks

• Installed at Rochdale and Heywood• Introduced to assist Reception (not

replace!)• Reception free for face to face

enquiries

• Visit info recorded, receipts issues• Self register for classes• Admits to activities which are free• Re-book for next week• No need to queue• Attend for pre paid activities• Integrates with access control

The Online Bookings Service has seen an unprecedented number of bookings made, with an average of

50% of all fitness classes being booked via this method.

Customers also have the option to book classes outside of out normal

opening times.

Over 80,000 classes booked online in 2012-13

Online Bookings

Fitness Class Bookings

Online Bookings

49%

Kiosk2%

Recep-tion48%

Link4Life 12 - 13

Online Book-ings67%

Kiosk7%

Recep-tion26%

Rochdale QTR 4

In QTR 4 at Rochdale, 74% of bookings were made either Online or at the Self Service Kiosks

New Technology

Building Management System

• 3 sites, 3 different systems• Allows easy setting of room

parameter• Easy monitoring of environment• Time programmable• Easy look overview• Fault recording/alarms• Schematic approach• Remote access to issues

• Require a skilled operative – needs an IT and M&E expert on site. • High degree of reliability on installer to maintain systems• Identifies faults but staff often don’t understand problems.• Difficulty over riding settings• Staff not able to constantly monitor system.• Massive change from previous system

Messaging - Advertising

Messaging - Advertising

• Move away from standard ‘posters’, more paperless approach

• Made use of TV’s and usb input to display images. Used small screen display at POS (Rochdale)

• Ability to screen adverts onto the Fitness Machines

• More flexible – able to cross sell all our services. Emphasis fully on promoting Link4Life

• Other services can email promotions – complete and ready for the screens

• Professional feel to advertising – added to overall customer care and high standards set

All the Senior Duty Team members at the three new sites were asked what were the 5 major challenges and changes they had

experienced;

Customer expectations – went through the roof. From being ‘content’ in the older facility and accepting that sometimes things might not work, the expectation is that everything should work and if it doesn’t it should have been repaired yesterday!

Gary – Centre ManagerHeywood Sports Village

There has been a

noticeable change in

attitudes and behaviour as

staff take a greater pride

and ownership of their

workplace. This can be

seen visibly in the way they

deal with customers, rather

than referring everything

back to the managers

Changing staff attitudes to become

more customer focused and the

delivery of excellent customer

care. The feel of the centre

changed from a run down local

authority facility to a private club

overnight.

Andy – Duty Manager, Middleton

We went from approximately 4,000 customers a week to 12,000 in the space of a few weeks creating challenges for the reception team - main issues were answering phones and keeping queues down at reception

Donna – Duty Manager, Rochdale

Five Key Changes

1. Much more emphasis on Activity programme timetables, class timetable, holiday activity programme and pool timetables.

2. ‘Control’ of staff – bigger centre, more facilities and greater demand for immediate response to customer needs. Bigger teams to manage

3. Customer expectations/standards shifted greatly

4. Team Focus on sales opportunities. Staff morale also increased

5. Overcoming the pockets of resistance to change (both staff and customers)

What we have learnt!

Control the number of new technologies introducedSome staff will struggle! Provide training and support

Have a back up plan for the new systems

Customers will struggle tooProvide advantages, encourage use

Staff to help customersExplain benefits

Support process in placeBack Up Plan

What we have learnt!•

• Customer expectations to be managed• Understand additional costs – opening hours, energy, staffing • Transitional requirements from old to new build • Reporting arrangements/data collection – Scrutiny ,KPI’s, Grant

funders• Planned Preventive Maintenance programme in place• Life Cycle costs understood (300k to 400k per annum)• Don’t be afraid of changing – Middleton reception redesigned

twice!• Keep maintenance up to date to ensure warranties remain!• Ensure all team are fully committed, involve everyone (inc SMT)• Don’t do to much!!!! Plan for delays and problems.

Look Back and Be Proud!

Nathan MatleyBusiness Development Managernathan.matley@link4life.org