In the Know
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 16
SPE CI AL POINTS OF INTEREST:
Bright Ideas
A note from Bernard
Message from Mary
Competitions
Staff News
Work News
Extra Mile Award
FunZone
What's Cooking
Notice board
The Social Committee
Charity
“I was born to make mistakes, not to fake perfection” Anon
Dear Readers, I am pleased to publish our final edition of Grosvenor in the Know for 2015. Now entering its 5th year, I would like to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am to everyone who has played a part in the growth and success of the newsletter. 2015 has presented all of us with plenty of challenges and opportunities. I would be lying if I denied that 2015 has presented me with plenty of challenges both in my personal and professional life, but looking back, I recognize how lucky we are to find ourselves in the company of those who care and understand and support each other every day. We have a fantastic network of colleagues and friends. This time of year is one of reflection, of wrapping last-minute gifts, spending time with family and friends, and making resolutions for the year to come and I hope that 2016 will be another year of what you’ve come to expect from us editorially—stories of growth, success and celebration. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Peaceful New Year! See you all in 2016. Happy reading!
Marianne x
Dec 2015
[Above] Save your-
self time searching for the right key by using regular nail varnish to decorate the tops of your keys making them easily identifiable. [Left] Shadow Profiles—take a photo and draw around the profile face. Cut out the face and use a stencil.
[Right] Brighten up your kitchen space or change the colour scheme of your kitchen worktop space by painting the handles of your wooden utensils.
If you have a bright idea or suggestion please do send it in for the next edition.
Hello everyone! As we are well and truly into the Christmas Season and the year is drawing to a close, may I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their commitment and dedication and in being an important and much valued part of what Grosvenor has achieved in 2015. The year was a good one for the Grosvenor Group. We acquired a new technology business, a first for our company and a chance to expand our service offering into technology services to new and existing clients. During the year as well, we started to offer other services including security and FM soft services into a range a clients. Following an intense tendering processes which absorbed much time and effort from the team, we were re-awarded the M&S contract in Ireland and NI. This achievement was important as we have an enduring relationship with M&S dating back 17 years. Another key client is of course Penneys/Primark and we were delighted to be awarded the new Arthur Ryan House which is the corporate head office of this iconic brand. Our operations teams are working hard to mobilise this contracts which starts on the 4th January and we will also continue to deliver services at Mary Street and in key Primark stores across the UK and Ireland. During the year, we celebrated 25 years in the UK and this was marked by a special event hosted by the Irish ambassador to London along with Enterprise Ireland, inviting Grosvenor and our clients to celebrate our success in the UK. I thank you again for all your efforts throughout the year and I am sure that by working together and keeping our focus on customer service excellence, we will continue to build on the solid foundation we have created. On a personal note, I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Bernard Mc Cauley Group Managing Director
A Christmas note from Mary Does anyone else experience moments of mild panic when thinking about Christmas? With just 10 days to go, there is so much to do, so little time! I have been shopping but seem to have bought all the wrong gifts. I have missed all the post deadlines for Christmas cards! The house needs to be cleaned and I am way behind with other preparations! And then there are all those work projects which need to be completed before the holiday or something catastrophic will happen. And yet somehow, Christmas has a way of arriving and the world does not fall apart because I left it too late to write those Christmas cards! A friend of mine who was very ill a few years ago and has since recovered from cancer says that she realised that the only important thing at Christmas was being thankful and letting people know how much they meant to you during the year. While holding that thought, I decided it might be good to offer my thanks for the good things and the successes we have experienced at work during 2015 at Grosvenor Services. Well done and thanks to the teams who brought success at M&S, Primark, P&G, Coca Cola and so many more contracts and services. Thanks to the team who launched our Technical Services business adding another service stream to our client offerings. A big “well done� and thanks to all the individuals who got nominated for extra mile awards during the year! Your stories brought a smile to my face each month. To those of you who went on a journey of learning during the year and achieved certificates and accreditations, I salute you and thank you for putting in the effort and for inspiring us by your achievements. As a colleague, I thank you for your diligent and professional hard work which makes a difference every day and ensures happy clients at Grosvenor Services. Your contribution makes me proud to be part of this team. I would like to say a special thanks to my HR colleagues who worked so hard during the year. Sometimes in HR we get involved when things go wrong or the work relationship is strained but everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. I am grateful that that even in difficult moments, we maintained positive relations with all our employees. Wishing you and your families a peaceful Christmas and I look forward to working with you in 2016!
Mary Horgan, HR Director
Our News Congratulations to... Caroline Hollywood
(Payroll, Dublin) who celebrated 35 years working in Grosvenor Services in Nov 2015.
Shree McKeever (EA to
Bernard McCauley) who celebrates 10 years working in Grosvenor Services in this month.
I'm the new mascot of ‘In The Know’ and I Need a Name
Women in FM With so many women involved in facilities management, BIFM, the UK based institute for Facilities management came up with the idea of having separate networking events to encourage women to share their stories and to make their voices heard. The Centre for Modern Environment (CME) and its CEO, Rebekah Lyons championed the idea in Ireland and for the last 3 years, there has been an annual women in FM event. Rebekah invited Mary Horgan our HR Director to speak at the event in September. Grosvenor Services hosted the occasion in Kildare Village which was a perfect setting for the occasion. Women gathered from various companies such as Noonan, ISS, Sodexo and Google along with Martina Culbert, operations and services manager in the Village and several of our own company women. Mary spoke on the topic of “escaping the middle management trap� sharing some insights and tips from her own career and the importance of having a mentor, self-development and networking. Her message was well received and clearly struck a chord with many of the women present. After the speeches, the women enjoyed an exquisite lunch and had a chance to mingle and chat. Kildare Village presented each woman with a gift bag with an invitation and VIP voucher for shopping. We would like to say a very special Thank You to Martina and the Team in Kildare Village for allowing us to host the event in their beautiful VIP facilities
The BSU As you may be aware from 1st Sept 2015 the Business Support Unit was set up in Grosvenor. As with any new business unit or service offering, setting up a new business function is a difficult and time consuming process and so while we are still in our infancy I would like to introduce to you the Business Support Unit Team. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank those who have helped greatly with the setup of the BSU. Your time and expertise is much appreciated. The Purpose of the Business Support Unit To improve efficiencies through standardisation and consolidation - Group Similar activities & Similar skill sets To create focus and clarity around processes and procedures To create a support network for internal and external partners To create a customer service “Value-add” Increase customer facing time for BDM’s & Operations teams To create an internal reporting structure to allow work to be delegated & Shared within the team To create customer libraries and databases Meet the Team
Charity Our Charity Partners 2015 We will host our annual Christmas Fundraiser at Head office on Friday 18th Dec. The Christmas fundraiser will be a good old fashioned Christmas jumper day and our chosen charity (in Ireland) this year is The Open Door Day Centre The fundraiser is open to everyone to join. We will host a lunch in the canteen at 12.30pm and this will coincide with our KK present giving and competition winner announcement. Your generosity for this special charity is much appreciated so as you always do, please dig deep.
Open Door Day Centre
Open Door is a charitable trust founded in 1984. Based in Bray the catchment area covers North Wicklow and South County Dublin and they provide facilities and activities for adults with physical disabilities as a result of multiple sclerosis, stroke, motor neurone disease, spina bifida, road accidents and others disabling conditions. Open Door provides members with a vital social outlet and also the opportunity to learn new skills in computers, art, woodwork, music and ceramics. Open Door Day Centre also provides carers and their families with a well-deserved break during the week. Open Door Day Centre operates on a daily basis, Monday to Friday.
Bosco for Africa
We have supported Bosco for Africa (through our partners in M&S). Setup in November 2012, Bosco for Africa bring aid, education and assistance to Tanzania on the East Coast of Africa. This project has been initiated by the Bosco Drama Group and Martin Morgan. A Group of people from the Bosco, under the leadership of Martin Morgan travelled to Tanzania in July 2013 to bring resources and assistance to schools and young people. The Group have commenced fund raising ventures to raise much needed money to assist in the education and training of young people in the Moshi region in the province of Kilimanjaro.
Charity Partners for 2015 Throughout 2015 the Management and staff of Grosvenor have fund raised for many charities across the UK and Ireland including:
Staff News Staff at P & G Cobalt helped in the product sale at the site on 19th / 20th November and contributed to the fantastic amount raised for P&G’s charity Save the Children. It is the responsibility of the Grosvenor team at Cobalt to prepare and arrange for the sale and ensure all sale items are placed accordingly. As mentioned, a two day event which always prompts great feedback from our clients as to how hard our staff work and how much they are appreciated.
AV and Conferencing at P&G Cobalt Our colleague Keith Irving works for Grosvenor FM. Working in AV and conferencing at P&G, Keith gives us an insight into a day in the life.. Keith leads the People First Meeting as technical expert along with one of our clients Guy Fleming Jones. “This meeting is run from P&G Brooklands in Surrey and we have a live link-up with 5 to 6 other sites via Blue Jeans [video conferencing] for one about hour. To run this meeting we require 3 computers, 1 set up for the video and audio, a 2nd for the presentation and the 3rd to keep in touch with all sites in case of any technical issues. A video is normally played locally in between the meeting we download. This is more reliable than playing from the host sight. The People First meeting has been running for 10 years and is an integral part of my job as the Audio Visual Manager on the Cobalt site. We also have a backup plan in case the live link fails, then we would switch to using WEBEX. We run a rehearsal the day before for 1 hour and a further 2 rehearsals prior to going live on the day. This is a monthly business update between each of the sites for their particular departments.”
Staff News Sharon Mason from Grosvenor FM based at the contract at P & G Newcastle (NIC). Sharon took over the role as Conference Assistant on 1st November 2015, helping to coordinate the facilities on site which entails scheduling, room moves, coordinating meetings and providing valued expertise for WEBEX and other important events. Sharon previously worked on the portering side of the contract however she jumped at the chance to move roles when it was offered and has made a real difference with her friendly manner and can do attitude. A recent e mail (see below) from 9th December an example of how much she is thought of by the clients at JLL and P & G.
!
Car Park Notice—Sandyford If you are visiting the office in Sandyford and the car park is full, please adhere to good car parking etiquette.
Be aware of others—particularly if you are blocking others in. If you must double park:
Please advise reception Do not leave the building (taking your keys with you) If you are unavailable to move your car if required, please leave your keys with reception (*note: your car may be moved) If the above is not acceptable to you, you must park on the road as ignoring car parking etiquette is disruptive, unfair on others, and potentially very distressing if there were an emergency.
HR Supervisor Skills Training Course Dec 2015 7 Grosvenor supervisors were recently presented with their certificates by our GMD, Bernard Mc Cauley at a ceremony in Magna Park, following their recent successful completion of the first ever Supervisor Skills training course. This course is a recognised QQI Level 6 qualification and it required huge commitment and hard work from all to get their submission completed accurately and on time. All our supervisors passed their final exam with flying colours. Two of the supervisors have since been promoted, Elena Costin is now Area Manager Dublin and Pawel Sadlak is now Site Supervisor, Kildare Village while Laura Ludwig has also successfully completed her Train the Trainer course with IBEC and is now a fully qualified instructor. Congratulations to all. Charlie Mernagh was the groups Instructor – he was also present at the ceremony but is absent from the photo as he took the shot! In the photo, left to right, are Bernard Mc Cauley (GMD), Liz O Connell (Debenhams, Newbridge), Colette Fortune (Debenhams, Blanchardstown), Caitriona Mullarney (M&S Blanchardstown), Laura Ludwig (HR & Instructor), Pawel Sadlak (Kildare Village), Brian Solan (HR), Elena Costin (Area Manager Dublin) and Maria Caniuca (Amazon).
Christmas Party Dublin 2015
Get little ones in the kitchen to assemble these cute festive biscuits - sticky fun for a wintry afternoon.
Method: 1. Put the icing sugar into a bowl and add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture is runny but thick enough to coat a spoon. 2. Snip the marshmallows in half using wetted scissors. 3. Spoon a little icing onto each cookie and attach half a marshmallow. Using a little icing, stick the other half on top at an angle. Drizzle a little more icing onto the cookie to make melting snow. 4.
Break the pretzel sticks in half and place on the cookie for arms. Stick orange chocolate beans on for the noses. Stick three chocolate beans on each cookie to represent buttons.
5.
Using the writing icing, pipe small blobs for the eyes and mouth. Leave to set.
Extra mile Award Congratulations and Well Done !! to all of our Extra Mile Award Winners. Thank you for your hard efforts and keep up the good work.
Sept: Alex Soikans (IT & Systems) Richard Lindsell Samantha Connors (only one in category) David McVeigh (sounds like a horror story) October: Mark Trotman (London Office) The Team At Kildare Village The Team at P&G Cobalt November: Conor Heavey & Alex Soikans (Sandyford Office) Lisa James (Procurement, UK): Simon Houghton & Paul Jones (GC2) Claire Imlach (Atlas Copco)
Well done to all who were nominated & Thanks for your hard work!
Knowing Me, Knowing you With Jill England, Area Manager UK 1. How long have you worked in the company?
Nearly two years
2. What did you want to be when you were little?
An actor or counsellor (I got to study one!)
3. If you could describe yourself in 2 words what words would you use?
Sentimental, maternal
4. If you could be a fictional character who would you be?
Harry Potter (I’m only watching the movies now)
5. Who would you get to play you in a movie about your life?
Susan Sarandon
6. If you could be anywhere in the world right now?
New York, at the Rockefeller tree with my husband
7. A Picture that sums you up‌.
G-Tech / GC2 Grosvenor Technology Services is Managed Service specialists across the built environment technologies (Security, fire & life safety systems, BMS, IT network infrastructure) which encompasses GC2 which deals with the testing, installation & project management specialist services across the security, fire & life safety and critical network infrastructure systems. The team consists of the following new staff headed up by Ian Campbell (Director of Grosvenor Technology Systems).
Andy Smith – Operations Director, leads the project managers and team and is currently responsible for running one of the biggest secure installations in the UK. Simon Houghton – Project Manager is currently running the project for a secure hospital in Liverpool and has managed many large security installation projects with Andy. Paul Jones – Project Engineer is currently assisting Simon and is an experienced site supervisor and has also worked with Andy and Simon on previous successful projects as well as running some smaller ones himself. Jon Cousins - Systems Consultant Business Development Manager looks after new business and developing GC2 relationships further and helping market the Grosvenor Technology brand into the market. Kieran Emm – Management Accountant looks after finance for Ian/Paul O’Brien for both security divisions including Charter. Sarah Smith – Projects Support Manager deals with all project admin but also assists with sales admin and looks after the Newmarket offices.
Competition Time / Fun Zone “Fir the Love of Christmas” Christmas Tree Competition 1. Athlone Office
2. Skegness Office 3. Magna Park, Dublin 4. Business Support Unit Office 5. Accounts, Dublin 6. Alex Soikans, Dublin 7. HR, Dublin 8. Marianne & Shree 9. Sales, Dublin
1 4
5
2
3
6
7
8
9
Santa's Grotto—Skegness
Christmas Jumper Day 2015
We want to see your cuter than cute pictures of you aged 5 so send us in your snaps for next edition.
Photo Competition Every quarter we will choose a winning photo to win a One4All voucher worth either â‚Ź50, $50 or ÂŁ50. This competition is open to everyone group wide (in Ireland, UK and USA). So go get snap happy folks! To be in with a chance to win, all you Note : There were no photo have to do is send your photos to us at entries for this quarter newsletter@grosvenorservices.com
Welcome Aboard! We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new colleagues to Grosvenor.
Find Us Head Office Ireland (Dublin):64C Heather Road, Sandyford Ind Estate, Dublin 18, Ire Phone: +353 1 295 4866 Fax: +353 1 2954301 Email: ireland@grosvenorservices.com
Dublin Stores / Training Centre Ireland:Unit C2, 14 Magna Business Park, City West, Dublin 24, Ire Phone: +353 1 421 5082
Lorraine Lewis PA to Ben McCauley
We would like to take this opportunity to say a fond farewell to some of our colleagues who have left Grosvenor for pastures new.
Athlone / Midlands Office:Magazine Road, Athlone, Co.Westmeath, Ire Phone: +353 906 490 748
Cork Office:Ground Floor, Unit 28, East Gate Drive, Little Island, Cork, Ire Phone: +353 21 435 5112
Belfast OfficeGround Floor, Unit 4, Building 9, Citylink Business Park, Belfast, BT12 4HQ Phone: +353 906 490 748
Marie Bourke Area Manager Dublin
Marie Kearns Area Manager Dublin
Please send in a picture of your new team members to mlambert@grosvenorservices.com
Obituary—Carlos Lages It is with sadness that I pass on the tragic news that our former colleague, Carlos Lages, passed away on the 14th November following a brain haemorrhage. We send our condolences to his grieving family and especially his young daughter, Elyana. May he Rest in Peace.
Head Office UK (Skegness) The Lodge, 10 Algitha Road, Skegness, Lincolnshire, PE25 2AG, UK Phone: +44 1754 879 080
UK StoresUnit 3, Hardwick Court, Alford, Lincolnshire, LN13 9JE Phone: +44 1507 466 388
Birmingham OfficeQuattro House, The Courtyard, Roman Way, Birmingham, B46 1HQ Phone: +44 121 366 0560