Quality counts for man of the people

Published on Sunday 20 August 2006 00:46

HANS Rissmann is hurrying through the second floor of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre with a sheepish looking photographer in tow. Deep in concentration he heads to a window that overlooks an EICC motif and in his soft, clipped German accent politely informs the photographer that this is the best shot.

The German hotelier, who for the past 13 years has been busy running Scotland's premier conference centre, is clearly a man who likes things done his way.

Back in his office overlooking Sir Terry Farrell's circular dome, just a stone's throw from Edinburgh's booming financial district, Rissmann is eager to share his management philosophy.

"We are hugely successful, we are top of the range. Why? Because we have introduced a philosophy of business excellence that is based on the customers, the clients and quality. To reach a level of excellence in any sphere, financial services, bio-technology, tourism it is very easy. All you have to do is turn your back on mediocrity. The way we have done it is by embracing various quality standards."

Rissmann believes in management systems. He runs a flat, open and what he describes as "creative" environment for his employees. He likes to include as many people as possible in any decision-making process and makes sure every employee is consulted on how things can be improved.

He gives an example of what he calls the "wee Jimmy scenario" where a firm in Scotland introduced a suggestion scheme for its employees. A man working on the shop floor made a suggestion that saved the business 165,000 a year. The boss quickly summoned him to his office, congratulated him, said he was in line for a bonus, and then asked him how long he had been with the business. The answer came back: "Seventeen years, sir." "And how long have you had this idea?" he asked. "Seven years, sir." "So why didn't you tell us before?" asked his boss. "Because nobody asked me."

"Unfortunately, this is still far too often the case with many companies in Scotland," says Rissmann. "The rapport between the individual and the leadership of the organisation is very, very important. My door is always open and it is very important that the staff challenge my decisions."

All this may seem a long way from the day-to-day running of a conference centre but it is crucial in understanding the make-up of Rissmann. He's proud of the fact that the EICC is the only conference centre in the world to be recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management as an "excellent company" and he has chaired the strategic leadership body for employee development, Investors in People Scotland, since December 2001.

To top it all, last week he was awarded an OBE, not for services to conferencing, but for services to workforce development.

Next year work starts on an 80m expansion of the site. In the car park next door to Farrell's dome, a seven-story office block will be built with an underground area, large atrium and huge retail development. The project will mark the end of a 20-year project to create a business and financial hub off the Lothian Road and will enable the EICC to attract major sporting events, accommodate television production facilities and run parallel conferences and exhibitions. Rissmann believes it will "double" the economic benefit the EICC already brings to Edinburgh.

"We have been hosting conferencing for 10 years so we now have a little bit of experience. Our clients have said to us that they like Edinburgh but their organisations are growing and it has become apparent that we need to grow with them.

"The quality that we have achieved in the EICC will be continued in the extension. The high point will be a moving floor where we can press a button and the floor will configure itself into various concepts like a theatre, an arena and various other things. It will be the world's first."

He clearly has the World Snooker Championships in mind after its contract with the Crucible in Sheffield ended this year. "We will now be able to address sporting events like snooker which requires 1,800 seats in a nice, clean environment. We are looking at the snooker, but we need to talk to the right people."

Latest figures show the EICC made a profit of 395,000, up from 177,000 in 2003. It is the economic impact that is important. Rissmann says the EICC has confirmed bookings through to 2015 that will have an economic impact for Edinburgh and Scotland of 35m.

It has come a long way since Heidelberg-born Rissmann took over a building site in May 1993. Happy running the 645-bedroom Penta Hotel at Heathrow, he received a call from a headhunter asking if he wanted to run an international conference centre in Edinburgh.

"The first question I asked was how many bedrooms does it have?" he says. "I was told none so I said I was not interested."

The headhunter was persuasive, however, and a few weeks later Rissmann arrived in Edinburgh to meet the committee in charge of the project. In characteristic style he had prepared a brief presentation centred on three strands: construction period, sales and marketing and operation.

His meticulous approach clearly impressed, as he was handed the job. "I remember my first day. I went to the offices at Melville Crescent but I forgot it was a Bank Holiday, it was all locked up so I went home again."

The EICC has grown enormously in that time. Over the years it has played host to a range of dignitaries and VIPs including the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chancellor Gordon Brown and the former South African president Nelson Mandela. Its core target markets are medical and scientific, IT and telecoms, financial, pharmaceutical and government.

It has also staged a number of highly esoteric events including the Third World Congress of Vet Dermatology, the Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy and the Thirteenth International Congress of Dietetics.

This year it will host the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association and Symposium on Dendritic Cells.

Perversely, in recent years it has benefited from the increase in international terrorism. "After 9/11 the conference industry turned away from the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East and moved towards northern Europe," says Rissmann. "Cities like Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Edinburgh have all picked up business from that shift.

"We rate very highly against London primarily because we are very easy to get to. Secondly, we have relatively few distractions for the delegates."

Rissmann believes Scotland has a great deal more to do if it is to retain its place in the international marketplace. "In terms of infrastructure we still have a lot to do. The A9 in my opinion is well below international standard. The railway system is also well below that on the continent. Sometimes I wish I could a fill an aeroplane full of politicians and take them to Europe and show them the railway system they have there. It's crazy that we do not have a fast link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Crazy."

But it's the subject of the hospitality industry and the Scottish workforce that really ignites Rissmann's passion.

"It's absolutely ridiculous to say that the Scots are not suited to the hospitality industry. They are friendly, open-minded and hard-working. At any given time there are 100,000 jobs available in the British hospitality industry and presently we are filling these positions with people from eastern Europe. Now they are doing a very good job but what we must do is persuade people in Scotland that this is an exciting sector to work in."

With that he leaps up from his desk and marches down to the lobby. Gesticulating across the room he picks three random employees and asks them to describe what it is like working for him.

They describe a non-conformist environment where personal development and responsibility are rated very highly.

As Rissmann disappears round the corner one adds: "People usually stay here for a few hours or a few years. But then if they don't like it they can always knock on his door and tell him."