Arc Inspirations – which operates its Box, Manahatta and Banyan bars across several northern England towns and cities – caught the eyes of the judges for the way that the work of the senior operations team impacts across the whole business, from the wellbeing and togetherness of staff through to an amazing customer experience.
Company expansion
The company expanded into new territory last year with the opening of a Manahatta bar in Birmingham, and added a Box bar to its existing portfolio in Manchester. This was at a time of big logistical and recruitment challenges, but the team hit its calendar schedules and beat revenue targets. Even taking the new openings out of the equation, Arc Inspirations managed to achieve impressive like-for-like growth in late 2021 at a time when many in the industry were happy to attain a status quo.
But it was chosen as the winner was chosen on more than just financial success. The judges were impressed by an almost obsessive passion for creating great customer experiences, and how this commitment ran through all levels of the operations structure from top to bottom.
Impressive dialogue
That structure combines both formal systems for regularly measuring staff engagement, with a more intuitive approach of watching and listening to what’s going on in the business day-to-day. There is clearly an exciting and vibrant company culture, supported by generous reward and celebration of achievement at every level. The company seeks to promote from within to help generate loyalty and commitment.
Judges were also impressed by an impressive dialogue around diversity, including strong support and development opportunities for female team members.
Overall, the Arc story is an inspirational one of authentic connections between team members contributing to a great company culture, fantastic customer experiences and commercial success.
