We have been providing a daily cleaning service to Black Country law firm Higgs & Sons since March of 2015, within their newly refurbished Head Office situated on The Waterfront, Brierley Hill, as well as their sub-office in Bridge House, also on the Waterfront.
Overseen by our Black Country Contract Manager, Lynn Gill, we have a Location Manager and a team of 7 Cleaning Operatives working 6pm-8pm, Monday-Friday in Higgs’ Head Office, as well as 2 Operatives in their sub-office.
Contract Manager, Lynn Gill with her team of Cleaning Operatives at Higgs & Sons Head Office.
As a public facing, professional institution, Higgs & Sons expect a top-quality cleaning service, and standards have to be exemplary. Since our inception in 2003, we have always strived to meet such standards, and are confident that this is what we deliver to each and every client.
With this in mind, we were incredibly pleased to learn that we achieved a score of 96% in the recent on-site audit carried out by our client contact, Teresa Hughes.
Director, Paul Concannon joined Lynn to present the team with chocolates to thank them for their ongoing commitment to delivering these excellent standards, and achieving such a fantastic score. Paul commented:
“This excellent audit score is a result of consistent hard work by Lynn’s cleaning team, and a particular thanks goes to Adrianna Winiarczyk, our Location Manager within Higgs’ Head Office. Originally from Poland, Adrianna has settled into life in the UK and alongside brilliantly carrying out her Location Managers role she is also studying for a law degree. Well done everybody at Higgs!”
Director, Paul Concannon pictured with Adrianna Winiarczyk, Location Manager and Lynn Gill.
As a 10th generation, family-run organisation, Salts Healthcare has been helping people live longer and happier lives for over three centuries. We are immensely proud to have formed a long-term relationship with Salts, providing them with Daily Cleaning Services since 2004, when we were initially awarded the contract for their Head Office at the time, on Lord Street, Birmingham.
Believed to be one of the oldest family run business in the UK, with ties running back to the 1700’s, they have grown exponentially over the past decade, mainly by being selective in the markets in which they choose to operate, and this has led them to employing over 600 staff and developing their business internationally. Salts as an organisation focuses heavily on staff training and retention, looking to internally promote staff rather than recruiting externally, where possible.
Over the past 14 years we have worked and grown with Salts providing services across their 3 separate operational premises, and are thrilled to have now been selected to work within their latest brand new, 94,500 sqft facility in Aston, a purpose-built hub which will house Salts Hi-Tech Manufacturing and Assembly operations, presenting an exciting challenge to the we clean Operatives on-site, who must adapt and ensure they meet the exact specification requirements set out by Salts on site Building & Facilities Team.
Neil Bromley, Head of Logistics, commented:
“We have been delighted with the standard of the service provided by We Clean and are pleased to have built a long standing relationship over the last 14 years.”
In order to assist with the opening of the new Facility the we clean Specialist Cleaning Team carried out an extensive Deep Clean of key areas within the building over an intensive 10-day period. High level works which included cleaning to air vents, gantries, suspended lighting and external / internal window cleaning was accessed using specific high level access equipment such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers whilst the manufacturing floor area was intensively scrubbed to remove dust and particulate matter with heavy duty ride on scrubber driers. Steve Rawlings, Director of Specialist Cleaning Operations who oversaw these works enthused about the new Salts Healthcare facility:
“It was a real pleasure to carry out these critical works and play our part in bringing to life this amazing new facility developed by Salts Healthcare in Aston and it is particularly satisfying given the long standing relationship we have had with this client over so many years!”
Once fully up and running, we clean will be working 24 hours Monday to Friday in order to meet the needs of Salts core manufacturing staff who will be working around the clock. Therefore our 3 Full Time on site operatives will provide hourly inspections, cleaning and consumable product replenishment to the factory Washrooms and Changing Room Areas, whilst the main staff canteen area will be constantly cleaned to maintain exemplary housekeeping and hygiene standards throughout the day and night. In the early evening a team of 5 part time Cleaning Operatives will clean reception areas, staff and visitor washrooms and the extensive office space and kitchenettes located on the 1st Floor.
A critical aspect of us being able to deliver an exceptional cleaning service on a consistent basis is our ability to tailor our own Internal Training schemes for Cleaning Operatives to meet the specific requirements of each contract location and this has been particularly relevant in meeting the demands of Salts Healthcare management and their aspirations for this new state of the art production and warehousing facility located alongside the A38 the main artery into our great city of Birmingham!
We last featured Keith Dixon, our Non-Executive Director, back in June of 2017, where we detailed Keith’s vast business experience, and the key values and skills he possesses to help drive we clean forward.
We recently sat down again with Keith, as he has just published his 11th book, which he co-authored with none other than the footballing legend, Trevor Francis.
As a lifelong Blue Nose, Keith was inspired to first write books when he realised there weren’t any books written about his beloved Birmingham City, something he quickly changed by self-publishing his first book in 2003.
One in a Million, Keith’s latest book takes the reader through Trevor’s career in which he shot to fame as the youngest player to score four goals in a match, before continuing to break records as the very first £1 million footballer, a mind-blowing figure at the time. He then went on to have a glittering career, most notably at Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest as well as various other clubs, whilst also picking up 52 international caps for England. Trevor then stepped into the world of football management, where he took charge of Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace and Birmingham City, who he took to the final of the League Cup in 2001!
We spoke to Keith to gain insight into his time as an Author, and of course to find out more about his new best-selling book:
So how did you become an author? What inspired you to begin writing books?
“I became irritated when there were no Blues books, and so I was very keen to change this. My first book was written to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of St Andrews, and I’ve been fortunate to continue writing books, with One in a Million being my 11th!”
How was the idea for this book generated? Was Trevor immediately on board or did you have to persuade him?
“I was very fortunate to have Trevor’s contact details, and I approached him in 2017 to write the foreword for a previous book of mine, The Blues Insider, and to my surprise he said yes.
So, a year later, I approached him once more to see if he would be interested in an autobiography on his career, although he was uncertain about this as he had already had two books written about him. I briefed him on a story but I really had to persuade him, as you can imagine he is a busy man but eventually he came around, and agreed to a book which would be chronological and encyclopaedic and talk about every aspect of his footballing career, including many fascinating revelations and it really does take the reader into every aspect of the game. It’s a proper football book!”
Who chose the name for the book?
“Trevor chose the name for this book, something which is usually done by the publisher, and we then worked tirelessly for 14 months, we’re both fastidious people and scrutinised over every word – of which there ended up being over 60,000!
This book contains 100% truth, its exciting and gripping, and Trevor doesn’t hold back within some parts, where other people may not name names, Trevor does, which I really think adds to the book.”
Can you sum up your overall experience of co-authoring this book with Trevor?
“I’m really proud of this book and incredibly grateful to Trevor for giving up so much of his time and working so hard on the book, we both feel like we’ve really produced a great body of work, which is compelling and exciting, and hope that people enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!”
To be in with a chance of winning a copy signed by Trevor Francis, ensure you ‘like’ our Facebook page, follow the instructions and answer the question on our Facebook post!
In the modern world where the workplace has become a very transient place and longevity at one particular building or organisation is either a distant memory of how things used to be for some, or seen as a lack of ambition by others, Lynn Gill provides a refreshing example of how both ‘ideals’ can be achieved with the right application and dedication to the job!
For over 20 years, Lynn Gill has worked with The West Bromwich Building Society, starting initially in 1999 as a stand in Cleaning Operative at the old Head Office facilities in High Street West Bromwich, before quickly progressing to Cleaning Supervisor for the onsite team at the time.
Lynn Gill with her celebratory cake!
In 2007 we clean were awarded the Cleaning Contract for the West Brom Building Society and quickly identified the extensive capabilities of Lynn to not only manage a team of Cleaning Staff, but to effectively liaise with the onsite client facilities team to ensure that service expectations were always met in full. Consequently, during her time with we clean Lynn has progressed to the role of Contract Manager where she not only looks after the new prestigious West Brom Head Office facilities in Providence Place but also their entire 39 Local Branch network together with other key contracts held by we clean across the wider Black Country area!
Lynn and her Cleaning Team at The West Brom’s new Head Office in West Bromwich.
It’s a testament to Lynn and the partnership approach she has cultivated at the Building Society that the Facilities Management Team at the West Brom wanted the Directors of we clean to share in this special 20 Year Service Award presentation to Lynn, where they could formally mark the fantastic contribution she has made to this well known, well respected and long standing financial and community based institution.
Mark Brayford, Corporate Facilities Manager presents Lynn Gill with a bouquet of flowers.
Speaking after receiving her award, Lynn said:
“I can’t believe its been 20 years, I can remember starting out with The West Brom and it feels like ages ago, but they’re a fantastic organisation to work with, it’s never been us and them, we always feel like one team, and both myself and our Cleaning Operatives really appreciate that. To receive this recognition from The West Brom and for we clean to share it with me means a lot and it’s a very special occasion which I’m very honoured to be a part of!”
Lynn’s Long Service Award Badge, presented to her by The West Brom.
Paul Concannon, Director commented:
“What a fantastic achievement for Lynn to have been working with The West Bromwich Building Society for 20 years! This Long Service Award reflects the outstanding commitment and desire Lynn has shown consistently over many years ‘to get the job done right’! Lynn’s outstanding professionalism, enthusiasm and overriding integrity means that both The West Brom and ourselves at we clean are very proud to have her in our team!”
