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    We are delighted to welcome the latest addition to our Operational Team – Contract Manager Ryan Halford!
    Birmingham born and bred, Ryan joins us with a wealth of cleaning industry experience and will be managing our contracts across Warwickshire, Worcestershire and North Staffordshire reporting directly into Operational Business Manager, Richard Wharton.

    The role of a Contract Manager is fast paced and varied and no two days are ever the same. With a daily focus on effectively managing and motivating our cleaning teams whilst delivering service excellence to clients, they play a pivotal role in the success of any Contract Cleaning Organisation. 

    Ryan shone throughout the recruitment process as somebody with a clear desire and passion for our Industry and with his vast experience working within a similar sized organisation as we clean, he was identified as the preferred candidate.

    Ryan Halford, Contract Manager, We Clean Limited

    We sat down with our newest Contract Manager to discuss his early years in the industry, and why he chose we clean to continue developing his professional cleaning career:

    “I have been in the industry for 15 years now, working across the cleaning and facilities sectors, within a similar sized Midlands business to we clean. This experience has certainly helped me and held me in good stead, I have seen it all and therefore have a good understanding of people management and the importance of maintaining positive client relationships.

    My first Contract Manager position came along ten years ago, and I immediately enjoyed all the different aspects of this role where no two days are the same! Whether it is managing larger teams or 1 or 2 Operative contracts they are equally as important and it is our role to ensure each and every staff member feels supported and appreciated!

    When my previous cleaning company was bought out I researched the market sector and was immediately drawn to we clean. The cleaning industry can sometimes be let down by Cleaning companies who fail to see that their staff must come first however I could tell straight away just by browsing their social media and website that we clean is a company with the right culture and an ethos that I personally enjoy working within where ‘people matter’!

    Throughout my first two weeks it has been immensely busy and I have been getting my teeth stuck into some of the larger contracts such as Muller Milk and Ingredients and Doncaster Precision Castings in Droitwich!

    I am working closely with Richard Wharton and learning the specific policies and procedures operated by we clean and I am really looking forward to furthering my career here and helping to make a difference.

    So far it has been a genuinely positive experience and there is a real family feel around the Office!”

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    The Cleaning Industry is a sector that is often tarred with a reputation for high staff turnover and lack of career opportunity where Cleaning Operatives hop from one job to another due to companies offering little in the way of progression or longevity.

    Here at we clean we take great pride in ‘bucking’ this trend by championing staff to form longstanding careers with our business and developing as individuals, encouraging all staff from the frontline operation through to senior management to evolve, grow and progress within our organisational structure. 

    With this in mind, we are always delighted to present ’10 Year Service Awards’ to our valued employees and with over 40% of our 580+ frontline cleaning staff now having been with we clean for over a decade this is something for us to really shout about!

    Even more pleasing is that these recent milestone awards hail from key we clean contracts where we operate large cleaning teams and carry out a range of different cleaning disciplines:

    Brindleyplace

    Our relationship with Birmingham’s premier leisure and business estate, Brindleyplace, dates back to 2009 initially tendering for the Internal Common Area cleaning across all managed buildings. Following on from this positive introduction we were then awarded the External Estates Cleaning Contract in May 2013 – a significant contract win for we clean at the time.

    Following an extensive TUPE process we gladly welcomed the 12 existing Estates Cleaning staff at the time into our organisation – with 6 staff still working with we clean to this day and Rob Parkes now boasting a continuous service length at Brindleyplace of over 25 years!

    David Holmes-McClure, we clean Health & Safety Manager who initially transferred across as part of the TUPE process back in 2013 is immensely proud to have been part of the team and to have now been with the organisation for over a decade, forging a career at the Birmingham Hippodrome as Site Manager and now as Company H&S Manager, he commented:

    “I can’t believe I have been with we clean for 10 years – I don’t know where it has gone. If I look back on that 10 years so much has changed but I look back fondly on those early years at Brindleyplace, when I was just 32. I think we all really enjoyed our time there – it was a great place to work.

    For myself, Darren, Ken, Rob, Pete and Anthony to still be with the organisation is a testament to the ‘people first’ culture we have developed here and I think it speaks volumes of the ethos Paul and David as Directors have developed.

    Here’s to the next 10 years!”

    Our Brindleyplace Estates Team receiving their 10 Year Service Awards!

    Solihull School

    Founded in 1560, Solihull School has been part of the fabric of Solihull for over 450 years. In 1882 the school moved to its present 50-acre site on the Warwick Road where it continues to grow, and it now educates 1000 pupils with an additional 250 in the Sixth Form, aging from 7 all the way up to 18.

    Within the 50-acre site their currently sits over 20 buildings, including a Junior School, High School and Sixth Form as well as facilities for science, design and technology, music and modern languages. There is also a new sports pavilion and an impressive in-house theatre which holds regular performances.

    As an organisation we are proud to have formed a decade long partnership with this prestigious educational facility – where we deliver a comprehensive cleaning service and cater to the unique needs of this wide and varying site.

    Our presence on-site is overseen by Robb Paton, Contract Manager and he was delighted to award the following members of staff 10 Year Service Awards, commenting:

    “Joanne Cooper is Location Manager within the School for the evening cleaning regime managing both the Junior and Senior areas of the school having a tremendous work ethic. She is a great extension of the we clean management team on-site and has built a very good rapport with our client contact Chris McCall. Jo has great organisational skills and ensures that all areas are covered and ticked off.

    Joanne Cooper being presented her 10 Year Service Award by Contract Manager, Robb Paton!

    Christian Markham is a model Operative, he is one of those that simply ‘cracks on with the job’ and is very much a no fuss member of the team. He carries out his job to a consistently high standard and is a very well-respected member of our on-site cleaning team.

    Christian Markham and we clean Directors Paul Concannon and David Harker plus Solihull School Marshal, Chris McCall!

    Gary Cooper – full credit to Gary for his decade of commitment to Solihull School and we clean where he also works within the Junior and Senior areas. Gary is always one to step up and cover if required and is a genuine team player. His role can vary due to the nature of the school however he is always able to adapt and deliver when required.”

    Jennifer Anderson – Birmingham Hippodrome / Colmore Gate / Lombard House

    We are Birmingham born and bred and our continued growth has been built on forming longstanding partnerships with facilities across the city.

    For example, we have now operated within the Birmingham Hippodrome for over 15 years, carrying out a vast range of disciplines, 7 days a week, ensuring we support this ever-popular theatres busy schedule.

    Jennifer Anderson has worked within this high profile we clean contract now for over a decade as well as our Cushman & Wakefield managed contract, Colmore Gate and more recently Lombard House, on the Great Charles Street Queensway through managing agent Gerald Eve LLP.

    Jennifer works across three different city centre contracts for we clean and reports into Contract Manager Debbie Rhodes, who oversees our Birmingham City Centre portfolio. Debbie is full of praise for Jennifer, describing her as a ‘real character’ but integral part of her team:

    “She is always very approachable and friendly – she has a positive manner and is always smiling. Jennifer is certainly a real character within the different cleaning teams in which she works but our company is built on characters and she genuinely means well and will always do her utmost to ensure service levels are required.

    With her positive manner she has developed good rapport with our client base and the we clean management team and she is a pleasure to work with.

    Jennifer is always very presentable and her 10 Year Service award is a testament to her work ethic – well done Jennifer!”

    Jennifer Anderson receives her 10 Year Service Award at the Birmingham Hippodrome!

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    At we clean we are proud to be on a sustainability journey of dramatically reducing our environmental footprint through tangible operational improvement within the framework of our internal Environmental Management System (EMS) we clean GREEN.

    As part of this ongoing management process we are delighted to announce the introduction of a further three British-built Nissan Leaf electric vehicles into our company vehicle fleet, taking the total number of company owned EV’s to 10 which is over a third of our total company fleet.

    We understand that as an organisation it is our responsibility to ensure that we align ourselves with our clients own ESG goals, whether that be cleaning geared towards sustainability, adhering to strict recycling channels or owning certain accreditations such as ISO 14001 and so we are pleased to have a number of the EV’s we have introduced dedicated to contract sites such as HORIBA MIRA and Chesterford Research Park.

    According to independent research from the European Climate Foundation, smaller electric vehicles produce around 15 tonnes of CO2 from construction through to scrapping, compared to an average of 32 tonnes for the equivalent petrol or diesel car, halving greenhouse gas emissions produced during the lifetime of the vehicles.

    The latest vehicles are equipped with a 40kWh battery, 200-mile range and produce zero tailpipe emissions and the introduction of EV’s has helped slash our CO2 per mile from 135.2g in 2018 to 82.2g in March 2023, a 38.5% reduction propelling us forward on our journey to be Net Zero by 2030!

    Birmingham introduced a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) as well as upgrades to charging infrastructure in early 2020 and the continued investment in electric vehicles is part of our plan to further benefit clients in the city and exceed the requirements of achieving cleaner air across the region.

    David Holmes McClure our Company Health & Safety Manager who has driven a company provided fully electric vehicle now for over four years, commented on the latest Nissan Leaf’s:

    “As an organisation we are doing our utmost to push sustainability and environmentally friendly cleaning organisation and these three new, fully electric Nissan Leaf’s reinforce our position as the Midlands leading environmentally friendly cleaning company. Through our Environmental Management System, we clean GREEN we are always benchmarking our footprint and striving to reduce it and these new additions certainly bolster these plans!

    I am proud to be driving a vehicle with zero tailpipe emissions and contributing to our green agenda when carrying out my professional duties!”

    Our we clean GREEN EMS was introduced in 2014 and thus far has enabled us to focus on reducing our Carbon footprint in a structured and meaningful way with the implementation of other environmental improvements to our operational processes including:

    Our journey to ‘Net Zero by 2030’ will ensure that our services will continually evolve, ensuring that we remain the go-to cleaning company for organisations across the Midlands who are looking for a genuine sustainable cleaning solution!

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    In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing cleaning industry, one facet will always remain absolutely critical – good ‘customer service’!

    We now service over 250 key clients, inputting 12,000 cleaning hours per week, many of which are worked within very public facing contracts such as:

    With this in mind, a number of Contract Management / Contract Management Support, Location Managers and frontline Cleaning Staff were enrolled on to a Customer Service Course with local training body, Environmental Excellence.

    Contract Management / Contract Management Support, Location Managers and frontline Cleaning Staff taking part in the Customer Service.

    A Customer Service course is designed to teach individuals the essential skills needed to provide excellent customer service that will ensure client retention remains paramount. The course covered various topics such as understanding client’s needs, effective communication, problem-solving, and handling difficult clients. The course also emphasizes the importance of empathy, patience, and active listening in customer service.

    First impressions count and we understand that for those of our staff in client / public facing roles, presentation and effective communication is vital to ensure a consistent client centric message is delivered.

    We always strive for best practice and in order to fulfil this, constant training and evolution of our much valued employee’s skillsets is required. We have partnered with Environmental Excellence on a number of different courses in recent years ranging from the importance of cleaning science as basic discipline through to the growing awareness of environmental / sustainable cleaning and infection prevention control cleaning management systems!

    Jo Dunn who carried out the course at our Birmingham Head office commented:

    “The group were very interactive and really bought into all aspects of the course, asking lots of questions and diving deeper into the theory behind some of the customer service fundamentals.

    The course is very much geared towards how we clean as a business manages their client base and deals with both the public and client contacts.

    It is important for those in the cleaning industry to take a step back and think about how their decisions can affect ‘the bigger picture’ but also how to deal with both clients and colleagues with different emotional intelligence to that of themselves.”

    The day also focused on heavily on the aspect of client retention and how all staff from frontline cleaning staff to management staff can positively affect this critical factor that has been the bedrock for the long-term success of the we clean brand!