Background to the Case Study
Lambert Smith Hampton is on a mission…
That mission is to make your business thrive. We’re creating the UK’s and Ireland’s most progressive commercial property consultancy. One that relentlessly challenges the status quo, finding new ways to think and do things that shrug off convention and bureaucracy.
Formed in 1773, there is nothing old fashioned about Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). They dare to do things differently, allowing them to grow to become one of the UK and Ireland’s leading and most progressive property consultancies with 32 offices and over 1,000 staff.
With a reputation like this, they must choose a supplier whose values and aspirations match theirs.
LSH has been with Ligtas since 2002. This long-standing relationship is a testament to the quality of the relationship and service provided. When Ligtas and LSH originally began to work together, they needed support for all aspects of health and safety and fulfiling legal requirements for their 650 properties across the UK and Ireland. There wasn’t any in-house expertise back then, so they needed a partner to be their eyes and ears.
Some of the key highlights are that Ligtas has great national coverage of consultants. This assures LSH that they can get someone local to their team when it is needed. In addition, this ensures that things will be dealt with swiftly and by consultants who know the LSH properties. The roll-out of engagement through regional meetings has also been well-received as extra support to the team, providing additional assistance and regular updates so that everyone has an opportunity to speak to the technical leads.
Another key highlight has been Ligtas’ assistance with technology. For example, when LSH re-introduced the PropertyPlus Audit App, Ligtas provided all the support needed and worked with us to integrate this with our system was a very important aspect of the service.
Client requirements
Back in 2002, when Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) first approached Ligtas, they needed health and safety expertise to help ensure their clients fulfilled their legal requirements. They needed health and safety, fire, and legionella risk assessments for all their managed properties. This relationship has continued to grow since that date. Over time, as LSH developed its in-house expertise, the relationship with Ligtas developed, to where both parties now work as a partnership where, as Mark Stewart, Head of Health and Safety Property and Asset Management, says, ‘We put our heads together and roll out solutions.’
The requirements included:
- A technical partner who could present expert advice for their clients, ensuring that they could both comply with any legal requirements
- Comprehensive reports with relevant actions to address any issues raised
- A local presence that mapped their national offices, therefore offering their clients peace of mind
- An expert professional organisation to deliver a service that upholds its brand values
- An organisation that thinks outside of the box
- Integration with LSH compliance systems
When in house expertise was brought into LSH, this naturally changed the service dynamic and the relationship. This meant that the in house experts not only needed the continued day-to-day support that they enjoyed but an additional layer of flexibility in a world of ever-changing legal requirements and clients.
Mark comments that. ‘One of the main reasons we chose Ligtas is that we know, from working with them over the years, that the team are adaptable. When a change occurs or an incident arises, Ligtas are immediately ‘on it’ and provide LSH with a workable solution. So what we have in Ligtas is a technical partner that we can rely on.’
Take, for example, the recent Covid problem. In house, LSH were able to consider what they needed to support their clients and need the experts at Ligtas to support them with the immediate problems they faced.
Our solution
At Ligtas, we pride ourselves on responding quickly and efficiently to our client’s needs. Originally we provided a technical support service providing a local presence across the UK and Ireland. Over time as the in-house team developed, Ligtas were able to mold the service to meet the new requirements of an expert partner.
- Collaborating with LSH on any problems that arose so that the solutions were flexible and adapted to suit
- To provide a technical partner that LSH can rely on to be their eyes and ears on the ground, sound advice in the ever-changing world of health and safety
- Listening to the needs of LSH and being able to in partnership to communicate the best possible solution quickly so that LSH is always in the best possible position to mitigate risks in terms of their clients
- Comprehensive reporting system, which provides LSH with clear, consistent information
- Monthly regional meetings with heads of property management
- Training to ensure that the LSH team are always up to date with legal requirements
Benefits
- Adaptability. When LSH present an issue, they can rely on Ligtas to find an effective solution in a short space of time
- National coverage. Ligtas can provide a local presence matching the 30 regional LSH offices
- Peace of mind. Providing consistent advice to LSH so that they can provide that same peace of mind to their clients
Testimonial
We have found Ligtas, a good partner over the last 20 years. They provide a professional service, and the relationship has worked well. The main benefit of using Ligtas is their adaptability. We go to them with a problem, and Ligtas help us find a solution.
Our life has been made easier by having a provider who listens and responds, which gives us peace of mind. There is also the added benefit that Ligtas provide a local presence for our heads of property management which creates a good working relationship.
We already see the benefits of this. It has helped us in our pitches to new clients, in demonstrating the strength of our risk management arrangements, and in helping us secure new business.
Mark Stewart MSSc FdSc CMIOSH - Head of Health and Safety Property and Asset Management