Tower Bridge White Badge

For Tower Bridge, the partnership with the Institute has been a fundamental cooperation to train, develop and assess on guided tour content and delivery for the benefit of our customers.

For Tower Bridge, the partnership with the Institute has been a fundamental cooperation to train, develop and assess on guided tour content and delivery for the benefit of our joint customers.

Guided Tours have been organised at Tower Bridge for more than 15 years and maybe as far back as 1982 when the Bridge first opened as a visitor attraction. A guided tour offer review was carried out in 2013 to assess on the products delivery and quality monitoring in place.

The review highlighted that:

  • The guided tour delivery and styles varied greatly between guides. While some guides did give their tours structure and theme, others tended to deliver speeches in a more haphazard style with little or no structure.
  • There was no review process in place, and no mechanism that assessed the guides.
  • Little feedback was received in the general visitor comments. Occasionally a letter or email was received praising a guide for a particular tour. These tended to be for the same individuals highlighting the difference in standards between guides
  • There was no guided tour training framework, no support to assist guides and to ensure information accuracy
  • There were no guided tour delivery standards.

We wanted to keep delivering paid guided tours, align with competition, ensure value for money and guarantee an excellent and consistent delivery of service, however changes had to be considered.

The Institute of Tourist Guiding Level 2 accredited qualification was chosen by the management team at Tower Bridge for several reasons:

  • It offered a professional approach with experienced and accredited guides
  • It was flexible and could adapt to staff working patterns
  • The training and qualifications were opened to all. No specific prior educational experience, knowledge or attainment is needed.
  • Opportunity for progression to level 3 badge – so far 5 level 2 guides have ascended to level 3 since the introduction of the Institute's accreditation at TB
  • Exciting challenges for the team due to the training requirements but also the exams to gain the accreditation.
  • It gave clear objectives from the very start of the training.

Since the introduction of the Institute accreditation at Tower Bridge in 2015, the visitor feedback has been extremely positive. The accreditation gave confidence to the workforce to develop new talents and vocation such as preparing and gaining level 3 accreditation and supporting management in developing & delivering guided tour training content.

The training encourages teamwork and collaboration.

The accreditation process provides a robust and reassuring framework including contact hours and practical sessions. It also involves management in developing
training sessions and delivering constructive feedback. The Institute supports management to define training needs and it monitors the training delivery quality.

If an attraction wants to develop an interactive guided tour to ensure excellent customer service, audience engagement, staff individual development and team cohesion, I recommend working in partnership with the Institute as it has been extremely beneficial at setting up standards and developing our visitor offer.

Nathalie Rebillon-Lopez, Exhibition Manager Tower Bridge & Monument.