Adult Education College

Fircroft College

Fircroft College is a residential college providing adult education in Selly Oak in Birmingham.  Founded by one of the Cadbury family it was created to provide education for disadvantaged and excluded people and this still continues today.  Courses range from improving skills and confidence levels for those with no formal qualifications, through to access courses for those wishing to go onto higher education.   

The brief agreed with Fircroft College was to conduct an operational review for the in-house catering service.  The requirement was to understand the following:

  1. Where cost efficiencies could be made
  2. Consistency of delivery compared with similar organisations
  3. Whether the staffing structure was appropriate

A mystery shopper audit was initially carried out followed by stakeholder interviews to obtain feedback from the end users and catering team.

As a result of the review, changes were proposed to revise the food offer and opening hours along with improving cost control monitoring.  These were duly implemented and met the requirements of the brief.

Fircroft College at a later date asked for further assistance with the recruitment of a Head Chef requiring specialist knowledge for finding an appropriate candidate.  The insight of the operation gained during the review was extremely valuable ensuring the service continues to move forward.