Safety is the first priority for my military cleaning team

28 years ago, I met my husband and I joined him in the British Army. We travelled to Ireland, London and Germany with the army before settling in Tidworth, England. We had our two daughters and I decided to take a part-time cleaning job at the leisure center in Tidworth where we were based. It was a role that would fit with my childcare commitments because at that time my husband’s career took priority.

On July 10th, 2006 Sodexo took over the management of the Defence contract which included the leisure center, so my employment was transferred to Sodexo.

After a few years, an accountancy role came up with Sodexo. My background is in book-keeping, so I was keen be considered for this role. However, the role was full-time, and I wasn’t yet able to work full-time as my children were still quite young. Amazingly, the management team onsite decided to make the role 30 hours a week to enable me to take the opportunity and progress with the company.

After a few years of accountancy, an opportunity came up to cover a mess manager role temporarily. My daughters were older, so I was able to take it on full-time. I really enjoyed this role and, when the temporary cover was no longer needed, I was promoted to the permanent position of cleaning manager.

I’ve been in this role for 7 years now and I love it. I manage a team of 32 people and together we take care of the cleaning of over 100 buildings.

I love the versatility of my job; no day is the same. On any given day, I can choose to be based in the office or be out and about with the client or, if we are short-staffed, I’ll take on some of the cleaning work myself.

Life experience and appropriate perspective

I think a key part of managing a team is spending time getting back to the floor. It’s the best way to truly understand the challenges your team face on a daily basis and quickly resolve any health and safety risks.

The attributes which are essential for a cleaning management role are patience, excellent time management and fantastic communication skills. Patience is absolutely key to managing a large team. It’s also essential to make time to speak with clients and consumers, as well as to plan tasks and ensure everything is completed.

Another attribute which I feel is essential for a role like mine is appropriate perspective. Cleaning can be a thankless task. You could clean an office perfectly every day for a year and nobody would notice or comment until the one day you forgot to empty the bins. Because of my life experience and perspective on the situation I don’t take feedback or complaints personally and this is so important.

I always like to make little gestures to ensure my team feels valued and appreciated; they travel across the site in all weathers making sure everything is spotless. I admire every one of them.

Health and safety come first

Cleaners on a military base frequently encounter health and safety hazards. It is my absolute priority to keep my team safe and going home to their families at the end of the day. It is more important than anything else.

I support my team by giving them the confidence and the license to politely challenge anything they feel is unsafe. I think open communication with clients and consumers on this topic is key to ensuring everyone’s health and safety.

Fortunately, health and safety are also a key priority for my client. I am the health and safety champion at my site and work closely with the client team to spot and quickly resolve anything which could pose a health or safety risk to anyone on site.

In this capacity, I’ve launched several initiatives to raise awareness of health and safety in the workplace. These initiatives have included health and safety fun days, quizzes, competitions, awareness days, pledge cards and even a drawing competition for children of employees. Each one was designed to be fun and involve as many colleagues as possible because health and safety is a collective responsibility.

Find out more about a career with Sodexo!

This article was created by Laura Pike, Cleaning Manager, Sodexo UK & Ireland