National award for Yorkshire-based contractor

South Yorkshire-based commercial cleaning company, Solutions 4 Cleaning, has picked up a top UK industry award for customer care. The company won the national award for ‘excellence in customer service’, sponsored by AXA PPP Healthcare, at the British Chambers of Commerce business awards. The accolade comes at the climax of a year that has seen sales turnover at the company grow to just under £2 million.

Judges were impressed with the company’s growth in both turnover and client retention and its focus on developing its 400 staff, as well as the way it interacts with customers.

Managing director Kevin Kerley, who received the prize in an awards ceremony at London’s Connaught Rooms, said: “I am extremely proud to be the recipient of this prestigious national award. It is great recognition for all our employees who work relentlessly to consistently deliver the highest levels of service to our clients.”

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Solutions 4 Cleaning has done exceptional work to ensure it delivers what its customers want. Through training and relentlessly monitoring the work its staff produces, it has achieved an outstanding level of customer satisfaction and it has been able to retain existing customers and generate new business through word-of-mouth recommendations.”

Solutions 4 Cleaning provides daily cleaning services for commercial clients throughout South and West Yorkshire including IKEA, Doncaster, Pontefract and Market Rasen racecourses as well as NHS health centres among its portfolio of over 200 clients.

Staff at the company receive training to British Institute of Cleaning Science standards, as well as the opportunity to develop via bespoke training. The company also runs an in-house trainee manager apprenticeship over two years.

Orange Leader of the Year award for Mitie CEO

Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO of Mitie Group, was awarded the Orange Leader of the Year accolade recently at the National Business Awards in partnership with Orange, at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Now in its 10th year, the annual event which recognises excellence, innovation and ethics among UK plc, saw the best of British business celebrate the hard won achievements of exemplary organisations and individuals throughout the public and private sectors.

One of a small number of women holding the position of chief executive in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, Ruby McGregor-Smith was voted Orange Leader of the Year by an expert panel of judges from across the business community, as well as by public vote. She was presented her trophy by Martin McCourt, CEO of Dyson and last year’s winner of the accolade.

Ruby McGregor-Smith joined Mitie in 2002 and was appointed CEO in 2007. She has taken a business founded on entrepreneurial principles and transformed it, evolving Mitie beyond the provision of single services such as cleaning and security, to become one of the largest integrated facilities management providers in the UK. During her time at the company, she has grown the business from £0.5 billion in revenue to nearly £2 billion, witnessing its entry into the FTSE 250, and profits reaching in excess of £100 million.

Martin Stiven, vice president of business at Orange, said: “Ruby McGregor-Smith has had a stellar year. Mitie Group has gone from strength to strength under her guidance. By combining vision, ambition and an innate ability to get the best out of her people, she has demonstrated true leadership. On behalf of everyone at Orange, I’d like to congratulate her and look forward to watching Mitie Group’s continued success.”

George Osborne MP delivered the welcome address to over 1100 UK business leaders and entrepreneurs in attendance. He said: “The National Business Awards are a celebration of the very best in British business. They are a unique opportunity to recognise the hard work you all do, as small businesses or multi-national companies, to achieve commercial success. Day in and day out I meet the sorts of businesses that are up for an award this year and they all have one thing in common: a relentless capacity to focus on results. It is from that effort and endeavour that great things emerge - new ideas, new products and new jobs.”

Baroness Virginia Bottomley, chair of judges, said: “The National Business Awards are unique in that any organisation - from the smallest SME to the largest FTSE, and from charities and social enterprises to government agencies - can compete for recognition on the same playing field. It’s vitally important, as many seek to transform in the post-recession economy, that good ideas and approaches are shared between the public, commercial and third sectors.”

MITIE’s winter team gears up for snow and ice

The winter services team at MITIE is geared up and ready for another harsh winter. Last December alone, the team carried out over 60,000 commercial grits on client properties, cleared over 180,000 tonnes of snow and is looking to beat that figure this coming winter. The team, operating out of the strategic outsourcing and energy services company’s landscapes business, has already started to deliver its nationwide gritting service.

Enhancements to the Masternaut satellite tracking system, which is installed in all MITIE gritting vehicles, plus a doubling of its fleet of ‘extreme weather’ Land Rovers equipped with gritting bodies and snow ploughs, have all helped to mobilise the team.

Richard Hughes, general manager of the winter services team, said:  “We all remember last winter - the worst for 30 years, with major roads and airports closed, nationwide grit shortages and weeks on end of snow which ravaged the entire country. Our business is once again up on last season as customers brace themselves for another possibly harsh winter. Our investment in the service this year runs into the millions and, while most people are hoping for a mild winter, our team is ready for whatever nature throws our way.”

MITIE’s winter gritting and snow clearing service has grown at an average of 60% each year since it was established in 2006.

www.mitie.com

Carpex/Windex 2012 - The countdown begins

The organisers of Carpex/Windex 2012, being staged at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on 8-9 March 2012, are reporting strong stand sales across both events.

Martin Scott, exhibition sales director, said: "Carpex/Windex is tailor-made for carpet & upholstery cleaning equipment and window cleaning equipment manufacturers and suppliers to market, sell and promote their products and services to a highly targeted audience - and the 2012 event will have more to offer than ever before. I am delighted to report that stand sales in both events are ahead of scheule, with considerable interest in the small amount of remaining stand space."

Carpex/Windex is organised every two years by Quartz Business Media, publisher of C&M, with the support of the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) and the Federation of Window Cleaners (FWC).

The programmes for both the Carpex and Windex free seminar sessions have now been confirmed, and are set to be compelling and useful attractions for everyone involved in the window and carpet cleaning cleaning sectors.

In addition to the free seminars, the Federation of Window Cleaners will be organising a 'window cleaner of the year' competition, with the winner announced at the awards dinner. The winner of this year's Window Cleaning Innovation Award will also be announced at the awards dinner. The Window Cleaning Competition will take place over the two days, again hosted by the world's fastest window cleaner - Terry 'Turbo' Burrows - and the FWC. There will be cash prizes for the winners on both days.

Combined attraction

Carpex and Windex 2012 are sponsored by the NCCA and FWC respectively.

The two associations will be organising seminar programmes during the event, and attendance to both is free of charge. In summary, the combined events comprise:

• Carpex 2012 provides a unique opportunity for companies involved in the cleaning, maintenance and restoration of carpets, upholstery and flooring to market, sell and promote their products and services to a truly targeted audience - from contractors and distributors to end- users throughout the private and public sectors.
• Windex 2012 is for everyone involved in the window cleaning industry and its subsidiary services. The event offers companies in the window cleaning industry the opportunity to demonstrate and sell products and services to targeted buyers of window cleaning equipment and services.

Visitors can register for tickets free of charge on the websites:

http://www.carpex.co.uk
http://www.windex.co.uk

A ‘right royal’ service

Queen Alexandra College (QAC) in Birmingham, a national college for people aged 16 plus with visual impairment, other disabilities, or both, has recently extended its facilities services contract with OCS for a further five years. Over the past 12 years, OCS has provided catering, housekeeping, pest control and hygiene services across all facilities and residential areas to help the college support the student experience.

“We are delighted to extend our relationship with OCS,” said Hugh Williams, the college principal.  “They have provided us with a quality, value-for-money service and support us in our aim to couple learning excellence with top-class facilities.”

QAC is a leading independent specialist further education college. It provides structured, guided learning in workshops, classrooms and residential houses, helping people with disabilities to progress towards independent learning, living and working. Some 160 learners, many of whom are residential, are supported by around 160 staff, including learning support and residential care teams, as well as nursing staff.

www.ocs.co.uk

£2 million investment for skills to drive growth

More than £2 million will be spent on projects to drive employer investment in skills across the Asset Skills footprint. The funding, provided through the Employer Investment Fund and administered by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, will help Asset Skills implement a range of employer-led programmes.

The £2,026,000 will be used across four projects over two years in facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking. The projects include:
• Establishing clear routes to employment across the UK with pilots.
• Developing strategies to help employers identify and develop talented people.
• Increasing investment in relevant higher level skills.
• Providing relevant labour market information and careers advice to support employers with their strategic planning.

Chris Cracknell, chief executive of OCS Group Ltd and chairman of Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the above industries, said: “We hope this funding can help build further capacity for employers to take ownership of the skills agenda within each industry Asset Skills represents. This investment shows skills improvement will play a key part of the growth agenda and in helping lift industry out of recession.”

Richard Beamish, chief executive of Asset Skills, said: “This is really welcome news for the sector and means we can continue to develop new apprenticeships and work-specific training that will strengthen the workforce and help employers through this difficult time.”

The UK Commission received 109 proposals into the fund totalling over £119 million. Following a rigorous assessment process, commissioners chose 63 of the best solutions with the greatest potential to drive growth and employer investment in skills.

www.assetskills.org