It’s that time of year and I don’t mean Christmas and all of the festivities. Towards the end of the year we have a number of accreditations that need to be renewed.
Blog
Early mornings, late nights.
Unfortunately the hours we work in the cleaning industry does mean that staff are out early and in late. As Autumn turns to Winter and the clocks go back, before long staff will be leaving and returning home in the dark. We would like staff to have as many ‘safeguards’ as possible, especially those travelling and/or working alone.
Tailor Made in Yorkshire
I meet hundreds of potential customers each and every year, who are all looking for the same thing….. A reliable cleaning company that can provide “Value for Money”, not just at the beginning but throughout the length of the contract. This sounds easy to achieve, but it actually takes serious investment and commitment to building a strong operations team. So where do sales fit into this “Value for Money” ethos that our customers are so eagerly demanding. It’s easy…. and it all starts with making sure we listen!
The Way Forward
The recent Referendum and decision for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union has created an amount of uncertainty both politically and throughout business.
Humbled!
Sometimes we lose accounts. Thank goodness more often than not there’s nothing we could have done to stop it and you just have to thank them for their business and hope that one day you get the opportunity to work with them again.
Sales and Service, Frenemies?
I never knew that problems between sales & service was a big thing, until I started working for a big corporate company back in 2012. Before this I had my own company, brought in my own sales and managed a service team without any of the complications some environments deal with today.
New Year, new challenges.
The reason I ‘fell’ in to the cleaning industry was firstly by accident (I was involved in selling cleaning franchises) and then stayed in the industry as it became blatantly obvious that the industry was amateurish, unprofessional and also an enormous opportunity for a company who could introduce better working practices, increase productivity, improve customer service and in some cases, save the clients money.
Spooky stuff!
I occasionally get asked questions about my time in business and apart from the usual “Why did you start up in business?” or “What’s the proudest thing you’ve achieved?” one of the most popular includes “Have you or do you clean anywhere that’s been haunted?”
The Living Wage Challenge
There is little doubt that the Governments announcement of the new Living Wage a few months back is great news for those working for or in the region of the current minimum wage.
I don’t like politics but….
When it comes to politics I tend to glaze over. I can’t get enthused about what they stand for, what plans they have or what they say they’re going to do for my region, my friends, my family, my business or simply, just me!
