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    Traditionally the Dee Richards Pride Awards programme recognises individuals who have excelled within their roles throughout the previous 12 months; however Dee always recognised the importance of ‘Team Work’ and in 2020 we were delighted to initiate the ‘Team Pride Award’!

    As with the individual award, the Team award is presented as a result of unwavering dedication and outstanding service over an extended period of time… with this years winners being none other than our fantastic HORIBA MIRA Cleaning Team!

    Our exceptional Cleaning Team at HORIBA MIRA in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

    HORIBA MIRA is unique amongst our client portfolio, with nowhere else having such a high concentration of individual building units sprawled across a vast expansive area.

    MIRA is located in the heart of the UK, nestled within the peaceful North Warwickshire countryside and this innovative campus is Europe’s largest automotive R&D cluster, offering a range of serviced offices, workshops and R&D facilities for automotive companies.

    Boasting over 30 different companies along with 38 major testing laboratories and 100km worth of test track, the MIRA Technology Park has grown to become a leading centre of excellence and a proving ground for the world’s engineering elite.

    The HORIBA MIRA and we clean working relationship dates back to early 2015 and wit

    Paul Concannon and David Harker, We Clean and Jean Green, Assistant Site Cleaning Manager and Karen Lord, Site Cleaning Manager.

    h a full time Site Cleaning Manager, Karen Lord, plus Assistant Site Cleaning Manager, Jean Green and 20+ Cleaning Operatives, this large and detailed contract is one which we are immensely proud to be associated with.

    As a team our Cleaning Staff are immaculately presented in corporate branded uniform and possess great experience, enabling Karen and Jean to delegate complex cleaning schedules to meet the demands of the world-leading tenants who operate within diverse facilities whereby no two units are the same and there are a whole host of different floor finishes and hi-tech equipment.

    Our partnership with the MIRA Technology Park has been truly collaborative with us fully aligning with their own sustainability goals and as a result we now deploy 4 fully electric vehicles allowing the team to manoeuvre around site in a sustainable manner.

    Karen Lord, Site Cleaning Manager and Jean Green, Assistant Site Cleaning Manager.

    Following the award presentation we spoke to Karen and Jean who were thrilled to be the recipients of this years Dee Richards ‘Team’ Pride Award:

    “We couldn’t be more pleased and proud to have achieved this fantastic recognition and are so happy for the team who are also over the moon.

    Even though we are such a large team of 20+ Cleaning Staff, we are very close knit and count ourselves as a real we clean / MIRA family.

    We have worked immensely hard for this award and couldn’t be prouder. A lot of the team have worked with us for a long period of time so it is great to receive this recognition from the senior Management Team at we clean.

    We would also like to thank everyone involved at MIRA Technology Park for their continued support and for trusting us to carry out essential daily and periodic high-quality cleaning.”

    In agreement is David Harker, Director:

    “As an organisation we are immensely proud of the longstanding achievements of our Management and Cleaning based at MIRA Technology Park. We have successfully managed this complex cleaning operation covering 70+ individual buildings for approaching 10 years.

    We were delighted that our clients Mark Rogers and Mark Colton invested their time to applaud and celebrate the teams fantastic achievement.

    A huge well done to Karen, Jean and all of our on-site Cleaning Team!”  

    The Dee Richards Pride ‘Champion’ Award is the highest accolade an individual within our organisation can receive.
    Now into its 9th Year the annual Pride Awards programme is a lasting memorial to our ‘Dee’ who more than anyone epitomised the unique we clean ethos and to be recognised as a ‘Dee Richards Pride Award Champion’ clearly demonstrates an unwavering dedication and commitment to delivering service excellence to our clients.
    Over the past 12 month’s, no one within the we clean team has been more deserving of this recognition than Peter Lloyd, Team Leader for our Arcadian Estate Cleaning Contract in the heart of Birmingham.

    We Clean Directors Paul Concannon, David Harker pictured alongside Debbie Rhodes and Pride Champion, Peter Lloyd.

    The Arcadian is an incredibly popular mixed-use estate, with a buzzing and vibrant night-time economy plus numerous eateries and no two days are ever the same for Peter and his we clean colleagues who provide daily estate cleaning.  

    Peter knows the site like the back of his hand with his Arcadian journey dating way back to 2016 before he TUPE transferred into we clean in 2020.

    This high profile and public facing contract is overseen by Contract Manager Debbie Rhodes but it is Peter who plays the important and critical ‘team leading’ role in which he brings a great deal of adaptability and commitment from 6am in the morning whilst much of the City sleeps.

    The presentation of this year’s Pride Champion Award has been extra heartfelt for the we clean management team with Peter tragically losing his son just over 12 months ago. Understandably, it has been an incredibly tough 12 months for Peter who has spent time mourning his loss whilst still trying to integrate himself back into work and play his part in leading the team to deliver service excellence across the Estate.

    Peter with his Pride Champion Award.

    Peter has had the company’s full support over the past 12 months with Debbie, her management team and Jo Kinsella Centre Manager for the Arcadian being particularly attentive and supportive of Peters personal needs throughout this unimaginably sad period for him.

    We recently sat down with Peter, to discuss his role, his vast experience on the estate and of course his recent Pride Champion Award:

    Thanks for your time today, Peter! How long have you worked on the estate here at the Arcadian?

    It feels like a lifetime ago, but I have been on the estate for just over 8 years, starting back in 2016 as an Estate Cleaning Operative before transferring across to we clean in 2020 following the successful tender process with managing agent LCP and taking on some Team Leading duties.

    That time has flown by but for the most part I have really enjoyed working here where Jo Kinsella, Centre Manager together with our Contract Manager Debbie have always encouraged and supported a ‘real team ethos’ which makes us feel very appreciated.

    Tell me about your role day to day here? I can imagine its rather varied and can be incredibly busy!

    Yes, it can be a bit mad here at times but that’s the way we have always liked it.

    Our main focus is the general upkeep of the centre, whether that’s the extensive car parking or central restaurant areas. We also liaise directly with each tenant to comprehensively manage the huge waste element which we ensure is properly recycled.

    We have a pressure washing schedule to efficiently keep large areas of the Estate looking good at all times but when it’s freezing like today, we have to switch our focus to chewing gum removal and general litter picking duties.

    The nature of the centre has changed over the past couple of years, with slightly less late-night dance venues and more restaurants which has altered the dynamic of the Estate – its probably a little calmer these days!

    All of our roles here have to be very flexible, and things can change day to day but that’s what keeps things interesting and we always just get on with it.

    Together with my colleagues we are pretty much round the clock with things ramping up on a Thursday through to Saturday dealing with the weekend rush.

    You have been through a very tough time over the past 12 months, what does the Pride Champion Award mean to you?

    I am really proud to receive this award and want to say a massive thank you to Debbie and Jo who have offered me so much support.

    It has been a really difficult 12 months, and I have experienced a great deal of pain and I am still trying to process all those feelings of loss. I don’t think that battle will ever end but I am glad to be back working it has given me a focus.

    I understand the importance of the award and appreciate the relevance of it all – what it means to David and Paul and the wider organisation.

    Thanks for your time today Peter, is there anything else you want to add?

    Just again a massive thank you to Jo Kinsella and the Arcadian Team who have offered real kindness and genuine friendship they continue to help me through the challenge over the last 12 months every day!

    Also to the we clean Management Team, Debbie and the Directors David and Paul for their on-going help.

    Nominated by Debbie Rhodes, she is full of praise and admiration for Peter, commenting:

    Pete’s strength of character has been truly amazing throughout the last 12 months. I have the utmost respect for Pete for what he’s been through and how he carries on after this awful incident.

    Pete has gradually returned to work but with his son Ryan also having worked here in the past it has been understandably hard, however he is coping in his own way and finding strength in his work and being part of a great Cleaning Team on site who are not just his colleagues but genuine friends.

    Pete has always been and still is one of the kindest, most reliable and hardest working person I have ever worked with. Nothing is ever too much trouble and his willingness to go above and beyond is second to none.

    A massive well done on your Dee Richards Pride Champion Award Pete, you are so deserving of it!”

    Peter pictured at the Arcadian Birmingham with his Pride Award.

    Director Paul Concannon echoes Debbie’s comments:

    “The Dee Richards Pride Champion Award is the highest accolade for staff recognition within our organisation identifying those unique group of individuals who really embrace our Company Ethos and who consistently go above and beyond to deliver service excellence to promote brand we clean.

    What Peter has achieved this year on site at The Arcadian given the tragic personal loss of his dear son Ryan is unbelievable, our admiration for Pete has no bounds, he is a consummate gentleman who takes his role incredibly seriously taking real pride in making the Arcadian Estate a clean and safe place for the people of Birmingham to enjoy.

    Peter we are immensely proud to have you in our team and even prouder to announce you as our 2024 Dee Richards Pride Award Champion, your commitment to your role is outstanding, and from the very bottom of our hearts – thank you!”

    They say all good things must come to an end and that certainly rings true as Gary Gallier, or Gaz as he’s affectionately known, retires from the Warehouse Managers role he has carried out so diligently for 18 years!

    Our first interaction with Gary actually arose as part of a client relationship way back in 2005 where Gary was our client contact at the Broadway Plaza Casino at Five Ways Birmingham, with the now-retired Contract Manager Marie Peplow having the challenge of ensuring we clean met Gary’s high personal standards!

    Gary obviously saw something in the we clean ethos he could associate himself with and 12 months later he was working for our business initially with Steve Rawlings & Tim Byng within the Specialist Cleaning Division but then quickly taking a position in our growing warehouse operation where the we clean Senior Management identified that Gary’s specific of skills sets were a perfect fit!

    A young Gary Gallier at the start of his We Clean journey!

    It was a key time for our young fledgling company and his timely introduction into the Warehouse / Stores operation brought a new level of professionalism and organisation to this critical internal function that supported the frontline cleaning teams to deliver our core services.  

    Over his expansive career Gary has diligently carried out his duties and evolved our Head Office Warehouse no end and the saying within we clean goes that ‘you only ever have to ask Gary (Gaz) once!’

    As well as seamlessly running the Warehouse, Gary alongside his wife Nicki Gallier, also provided a faultless daily cleaning service to Alison and Mike at the Ducklings Day Nursery in Hagley and the Clent Parochial School for a number of years where they both oversaw at the time the development of a very young Martin Barr!

    Gary and his wife, Nicki who also had a fantastic career with We Clean.

    To mark his illustrious career, we clean Directors Paul Concannon and David Harker together with Specialist Cleaning Directors, Tim Byng and Steve Rawlings and Director of HR Gaynor Powell presented Gary with a number of gifts, including signed authentic Memorabilia of his beloved Aston Villa 2000 FA Cup Final squad, a photo book of Gary’s journey with we clean over the past 18 years plus a much coveted Dee Richards Pride Award in recognition of his outstanding service and loyalty to we clean over so many years.   

    The We Clean Management Team celebrating Gary’s career and time with our organisation.

    For the curtain to come down on Gary’s career in front of the entire we clean Head Office Administration and Contract Management Team at the recent we clean Management at the mac was truly a fitting send off!  

    Director Paul Concannon commented:

    “Gary’s contribution to the growth and development of we clean has been outstanding -he has consistently delivered a faultless Central Support Service to our wider Contract Management teams. More importantly Gary has forged ‘genuine friendships’ with so many within our business and he will be sorely missed by all – he really was part of the ‘key furniture’ within our company for so long!

    “Testimony to Gary’s exceptional organisation and planning abilities as he brought his career with we clean to a close is ensuring that the Warehouse Operation moving forward will be in ‘safe hands’ by diligently developing Ray Janssen into an effective warehouse operator whilst also overseeing the recent recruitment of Stuart Basterfield who together will manage the this critical service delivery function for the years ahead!”

    “We very much wish Gary a very long, happy and restful retirement where hopefully he will get a bit more time to spend with his beloved grandchildren and have the opportunity to get all those jobs Nicki wants doing around the house!”

    Thank you Gary for the memories and good luck for the future from all at we clean!

    Winter has finally arrived here in the Midlands however the icy weather was no match for the we clean Management Team as we gathered for our annual Management Day at our longstanding contract, the ever-popular MAC in Birmingham!

    An integral part of the Company calendar, the day plays a critical part in fuelling our unique philosophies and enables the we clean Team to gather in its entirety, more important than ever as we grow year on year.

    Back in 2022 we held our first Management Day following the COVID-19 pandemic and Directors Paul Concannon and David Harker predicted drastic industry changes in the coming years… change has certainly occurred!

    True to form Paul and David kicked off the day with a presentation offering a full overview on company performance, including detailed financial reporting, operational information plus key industry trends which will be moving to the fore in coming months.

    We Clean Directors Paul Concannon (L) and David Harker (R) presenting at the We Clean Management Day 2024.

    Our mission remains steadfast, to empower our people to be the very best they can be and as always, Paul and David’s insightful presentation detailed what sets us apart and how we are going above and beyond to develop all of our 650+ frontline staff.

    Sustainability and CSR remain a crucial topic, likewise innovation and technological advancements. The Directors drilled into how we can press on with implementing the latest sustainable cleaning methodology as well as incorporating new technology advancements whilst still staying true to our values. This was supported by our special guests who we will touch on later…

    Following Paul and David were presentations from the wider Management Team on 4 key elements of we clean:

    • HR / Recruitment / Payroll
    • Health & Safety / Recruitment
    • Fleet Management
    • Sales and Marketing

    Stephanie Toone Payroll Administrator (L) and Jessica Powell HR & Recruitment Co-Ordinator (R) detailing the We Clean HR / Recruitment / Payroll function at the We Clean Management Day 2024.

    Jessica Powell, HR & Recruitment Co-Ordinator and new addition to the Head Office Stephanie Toone, Payroll Administrator took the Management Team through the functions of our HR Processes, the support we offer and also how we will be adapting to new government legislation. Stephanie then detailed our ever-growing payroll function and the importance of full due diligence on any New Starters to ensure that we are able to welcome all staff into we clean smoothly.

    Supported by HR Director Gaynor Powell our HR / Recruitment / Payroll Department are the backbone of the organisation and following heightened growth over the past 12 months this area remains as critical as ever.

    David Holmes McClure, Health & Safety Manager (inside L) and Duncan Thomson, Training Manager (inside R) receiving their certificates from We Clean Directors Paul and David.

    Up next was Health & Safety Manager, David Holmes-McClure. Health & Safety is the bedrock of our service delivery and a facet which we are continually evolving and striving to improve. The H&S Culture within we clean is testament to the stringent protocols put in place by David and Training Manager, Duncan Thomson throughout our 21 years of trading.

    As we diversify and operate across a wide range of client sectors, H&S is of the utmost importance but with David and Duncan’s passion and attention to detail, we are in good hands.

    To this end, David and Duncan recently underwent a WorkSafe Training Systems course to become approved First Aid Instructor’s with David also then completing a SFJ Level 3 Award in Education & Training – a fantastic achievement and real coup for we clean as we are now able to self-deliver and certify a wider range of training courses in-house.

    Ben Concannon, Procurement & Fleet Administrator presenting at the We Clean Management Day 2024.

    Third onto the stage was Ben Concannon, Procurement & Fleet Administrator who offered an update on our fleet status and how all company drivers can best look after their vehicles, ensuring our brand is represented in the most professional way possible.

    Ben then advised on how we are radically reducing our CO₂ g/km per mileand reducing our environmental footprint. With our fleet nearly 50% fully electric we are truly playing our part!

    Jack Dowdeswell, Sales & Marketing Manager and Matthew Wheeldon-Trigg presenting to the We Clean Management Team.

    Following Ben was Jack Dowdeswell, Sales & Marketing Manager and Matthew Wheeldon-Trigg, New Sales Professional. Jack kicked off proceedings highlighting significant contract wins over the past 12 months and a selection of the brands we are now proud to partner with. Jack also talked about our marketing function, including The Clean (our industry first in-house magazine) and the other channels we exploit to continue being the ‘go to’ company for those seeking a high-quality cleaning regime.

    Matt then rounded off the presentation discussing his outbound sales role, and how all those from frontline cleaning staff through to contract management can assist in efforts to drum up new business that is the right fit for our own goals.

    Our Special Guests then took to the floor to finish off a great day… Chespack Hygiene!

    Jasper McEwan, Chespack Hygiene presented on all things innovation and sustainability.

    Chespack Hygiene are a machinery and janitorial supplier – leading the way in innovative and sustainable cleaning practices.

    It is critical that we continue to evolve within what is a crowded marketplace and Chespack are enabling us to bring to market cutting edge technology, whether that be the latest machinery, cobotics or probiotics instead of traditional chemicals.

    Jasper and Shane McEwan offered real insight into emerging technologies, how we can integrate them into our daily cleaning practises and most importantly ensure that our frontline staff are comfortable delivering them to our client base.

    The Chespack pair then demo’d new equipment enabling the we clean Management Team to get hands on with new ‘chemical free cleaning’ products and advanced cobotic machinery – always a crowd pleaser!

    Lastly, we clean Directors Paul and David were presented with a certification from Chespack whereby they have recently donated 7,500 litres of water via the not-for-profit, Made Blue Foundation, on our behalf. An incredibly worthy cause which delivers critical drinking water to those in need across the World.

    Overall, it was another insightful and inspiring Management Day and the perfect opportunity to take a step back and review the past 12 months before looking ahead to the next 12 months and beyond – aligning our core values and ensuring we are all fully committed and steadfast in our desire to deliver absolute service excellence.