The changing nature of cleaning presentations

ONE thing I have always loved about tender presentations is that they are a chance to develop personal chemistry with a potential client, expound your technical knowledge in areas where you have spotted opportunities for improvement and make the general case for why a client should appoint you ahead of your competitors.

I was, therefore, interested recently when looking at the agenda for certain presentations to note that the balance of questioning is noticeably switching towards what we are all coming to know as ESG (environmental social governance) issues and, in particular, questions around equality, diversity and social inclusion. How do you propose to ensure diverse ethnic participation in cleaning teams at individual site level? How are you going to add value to the local community? How will you measure these? I decided to attend one of the presentations myself to gauge the tone and, sure enough, the focus was very much on ESG-style questioning rather than on technical expertise, service delivery, or what most of us think of as the quality side of things.

ESG is a concept born out of the financial services sector to help guide investment decisions, but its focus on social issues has made it a welcome and particularly relevant topic for the cleaning industry. Which leads me to ask what is the best way for both clients and contractors to deal with this in presentations? On the one hand cynics may say it will be nothing more than a tick box exercise in which contractors deliver politically correct answers against social value objectives. On the other, there is no doubting that we work in an industry where staff can be vulnerable to unfair or unequal treatment, however unintentional, across recruitment, promotion and general man management, simply because the procedures are not in place to stop it happening. As a result, it makes good sense for us, as contractors, to address the social issues referenced by ESG. We do, of course have an in-built advantage as an industry. Cleaning is probably the most ethnically diverse and gender-equal industry in the country because of the historical composition of the available labour pool. What’s more, I am proud to say that, at least as far as DOC is concerned, diversity and equality does not just happen at the coal face - it percolates right the way up through the company as front line staff are promoted to management. In the background, however, is the reality that when a company takes over a new contract, it cannot socially engineer the make-up of the on-site team, nor might it

Kingdom Cleaning appoints new MD

KINGDOM

Cleaning has a new managing director at the helm following the recent promotion of Peter Buff. Buff, who was formerly operations director at Kingdom Cleaning, has been with the company for over four years, and has 25 years’ experience in leadership. He has previously held senior roles, spanning operations, account development and sales, for firms including Johnson Controls GWS (now CBRE), Engie and Mitie.

Peter Buff’s position as MD commenced in February following the departure of JanHein Hemke, who had led Kingdom Cleaning for over 17-years. Peter Buff said: “Following want to if there is stability and a strong work ethic. And then there is the major challenge we are all facing at the moment, namely the tightest labour market in probably 30 years. I have heard contractors say it sometimes feels like a case of ‘needs must’ when it comes to recruitment and if that means relying on a good supervisor to recruit from their local community, even if pro tem it leads to a slight bias in one or more areas, then that may be the most effective way to get the contract staffed and running smoothly to the client’s satisfaction.

So, I feel there is an interesting debate to be had. As contractors, we acknowledge the importance of diversity, equality and inclusiveness, and at the same time we face certain realities. Working with sustainability and social value consultants, as many contractors do, we all need to find ways of delivering against key ESG objectives whilst maintaining an effective workforce. My hope is that those charged with the responsibility of procuring cleaning contracts will engage with the cleaning industry, through the medium of tenders, to recognise that our objective must be both to provide a first-class cleaning service and to deliver on ESG, not one at the expense of the other.

WWW.DOCCLEANING.COM

People

Jan-Hein’s inspirational leadership, I am delighted to be stepping into the role of managing director for Kingdom Cleaning. The business has been a key player in the cleaning and hygiene industry for decades, from our roots with the Facilicom Group, to being part of the Kingdom Group family today, and I am excited to take it to the next level in my new role.”

WWW.KINGDOM.CO.UK

Airdri appoints head of UK and European sales

OXFORD -based hand dryer manufacturer Airdri has appointed Jethro Lee as its new head of UK and European sales. Lee joins the company from appliance manufacturing giant Electrolux Professional and has previously worked for Dyson. He has been brought on board to grow Airdri’s business in the European export market as well as to increase sales of the company’s expanding product range here in the UK.

Steve Whittall, COO at Airdri, said: “In order to deliver on our growth strategy, we need a forward thinker to join our team, somebody who can help us expand into Europe while strengthening our position in the UK market.

Jethro was an excellent fit for the role with his demonstrable history of working within businesses expressing high levels of innovation…I would like to welcome Jethro to the Airdri team. His appointment will provide invaluable experience and we hope, be an additional driving force to the commercial team that will contribute to the continued expansion of our product footprint across the UK and Europe.”

WWW.AIRDRI.COM