Over the last few months, members of our retail property management team stepped into housekeeping, car park operations, security, waste management and guest services, to see first-hand what keeps retail and leisure destinations operating smoothly At Touchwood, St Christopher’s Place, The Royal Exchange and Silverburn, our property management teams spent time shadowing the colleagues who keep each centre running day to day.

The aim was simple – to understand the real work behind the scenes, build stronger relationships across teams, and hear directly from colleagues about the work they do.

Richard Bielby and Bradley Payne stepped into the day-to-day roles of housekeeping, car park operations and security, gaining a hands-on perspective of the work that keeps the centre running and makes it such a popular, vibrant place to visit.

Thanks to Tony Elvin, General Manager, and The Westgrove Group – José Garcia González, Colin O’Neil and Adrian Reynolds – for talking our team through their day-to-day.

Richard Bielby, Bradley Payne and Charles Whiteley spent an afternoon shadowing the security team at The Royal Exchange, following the daily routine to understand what the role really involves.

What stood out was how much more security guards do than patrol. They’re a connecting thread through the whole building – flagging spillages to the cleaning team, knowing store managers by name, and often the first port of call when occupiers have an issue. The team also spent time understanding how security manages the portico terraces, which are occupied by Fortnum & Mason and Engel.

Thanks to Janet Leatherland, Centre Director, and the wider Royal Exchange London team for having us.

David McKay, Jennifer Haig, Ian McLean, Claire McGunnigle, Natalie Traquair, Andre Notman spent the day taking a hands-on approach at Silverburn. Teams were split across different departments,including, waste operations, internal cleaning, landscaping, shop mobility, mall security, the control room, and guest services.

Thanks to Diarmuid Donohoe, Clare Livingston, Alan Cook, Tiarna Currie, Craig McMahon, Lorna Macdonald and Darren McNally for showing us the ropes and letting us get stuck in.

Chris Church, Annika Bambi Männistö, Hanife Kussan and Francesca Saunders spent a morning at St Christopher’s Place getting stuck in alongside the teams that make everything work smoothly. They started with Tony and Edgar on the cleaning team’s daily rounds, working through task cards and helping out with the scrubber dryer. From there, they shadowed Theo Kouzoukakis and the On Time Cleaning Services team on specialist drainage work, seeing the equipment in action and the difference it makes to the public realm.

The morning finished with a full security patrol alongside Eric and Gerard from FGH Security, split across two teams – one covering the estate patrol and SIA licensing requirements, the other supporting queue management and the Neighbourhood Card at the WEAR pop-up in Gees Court.

Thanks to Adam Cummins for his time and for sharing plans for the estate, and to Tony, Edgar, Theo, Eric and Gerard for showing us the ropes.

Days like these are invaluable. They build stronger relationships across teams, give a real understanding of what people’s day-to-day work actually involves, and create space to hear directly from onsite colleagues themselves.

It’s easy to talk about the fundamentals of good property management. Spending time on the shop floor – even for a morning – is what makes the difference.