New Contracts ETAP Bradford

Accor continues to expand the new and cutting-edge ETAP brand throughout the UK, and WGC have been awarded

the contract for their latest opening in Bradford, adding to our growing Accor portfolio. Working closely with the on-site ETAP team, WGC’s management and new

Housekeeping team – headed up by Margaret Dent – achieved a seamless launch. Recently promoted, Margaret has transferred from ETAP’s sister hotel Ibis Bradford, where she worked for WGC as the Deputy Housekeeper.

Referring to the launch, the new General Manager, Paul Upton commented: “I would like to thank Margaret and WGC for their continued support during the pre-opening, and

look forward to working closely together in the future to achieve the best possible results for our guests.”

Ramada Salford Quays

This brand new four-star hotel is set in the heart of the bustling Salford Quays regeneration area. Great care has been taken to ensure furnishing and fittings lend themselves to efficient housekeeping whilst creating a stylish, contemporary layout. A hugely successful opening got the hotel off to a great start.

Jean Aglin heads up the housekeeping team and joins us with a wealth of experience. Jean and her new team are already achieving excellent results.

Mercure

Accor recently acquired a substantial part of the McDonald hotel portfolio, ranging from new-builds to country

classics and are marketing them under the internationally renowned Mercure brand. WGC has been awarded eleven of the sites to run, all with a full housekeeping service, an achievement that we are very proud of.

Week2Week Apartments, Newcastle

With around 50 serviced apartments in their portfolio, we are pleased to have become part of the housekeeping operation for this highly renowned company.

Each apartment is lavishly appointed and described by the designer/owner Janet Jackson as a home from home. They are the perfect short or long term stay for their discriminating client base. We look forward to working together with Week2Week and assisting them with their new Hanover Mill project, which will contain 23 luxury units.

Newsletter, Summer 2008

Summer is upon us and we are delighted to be issuing the latest edition of Reflections. We are all aware of the tough economic climate and have in one way or another felt the effects of this slowdown. Prudence and careful management is our current ‘motto’ to ensure our clients and staff are protected for the future. In this vein, we will continue to drive the training and service excellence initiatives we have introduced, directed at maintaining WGC’s status as the preferred choice.

Our new Personal Productivity Tool (PPT) has been launched; we have a new Customer Care Programme; and a new operating framework is being developed to help attract and retain staff. You can learn more about these innovations in this issue. We also celebrated the significant contribution our staff make to the company’s success at the 2008 National Awards Ceremony – this exciting event is also featured.

As the company continues to grow nationally, we are being awarded contracts by several new brands, and are thrilled that we can add the new Hilton Garden Inn to our substantial portfolio, as well as those noted in the article below. So, although we all need to tread cautiously, WGC is optimistic and positive about the future.

Enjoy the newsletter…..

Martin Birch, Managing Director; Warren Martin, Chairman

Welcome to the latest edition Inside this issue:

Page

Welcome 1

New Contracts 1

New Customer Care Initiative 2

Fulfilling Staff Expectations 2

Don’t Slip Up 2

National Awards Ceremony 3

Keith Williams - Profile 5

PPT - New Monitoring Tool 5

Who’s Who in WGC….? 6

Did You Know? 6

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Training & Development - New Customer Care Programme

In the second of a series of articles, James Baker, Training & Development Manager, reports on a newly launched Customer Care Programme being introduced across the company.

“For those of you lucky enough to have seen it in full swing, Customer Service at Disney theme parks is second to none. Focused on

customer needs, every minute detail of their operation is perfected into an art form, and customer care is at the heart of their industry.

Comparing WGC’s operation, it’s not as different to Disney’s as you might think; every single task carried out by a member of staff is a process – and Disney processes are mapped out in order to ensure efficient delivery!

To explain our new initiative, I’ve broken down the CCP into three areas: Staffing, Customer Service and Setting the Scene: -

Staffing – Recruiting the right person for the job is paramount in any business. We will be training our senior on-site staff in the use of enhanced recruitment techniques, providing them with new ‘tools’ to help drive the Customer Care Programme forward.

Customer Service – Understanding and identifying what our customers want is crucial from the word go. By clearly defining and vigorously promoting WGC’s Customer Service ethos to our staff – always targeted at matching or exceeding our customer’s expectations – it will permeate throughout the company in a more active way.

The new programme will focus on an organisation-wide set of image and behaviour standards making a clear distinction between core tasks and ‘the extra mile’. And, very much at the centre of the programme, staff will be shown how to achieve these standards, providing them with the opportunity to excel and recognise their achievements.

Setting the Scene (I don’t apologise for using this Disney term) – as part of ongoing training for staff, we are clearly defining how we should present ourselves to the customer. Much like the swan, in housekeeping we all know that sometimes things don’t always go as smoothly as we’d like behind the scenes. However, by utilising the practice and understanding gained during the Customer Care Programme’s image and process training, we can ensure that staff continue to merge seamlessly into hotel teams, upholding their ethos and brand standards and positively contributing to their reputation and profitability.

The bottom line? Fulfilling and exceeding customer expectations is one of the most important factors involved in successful businesses, and WGC is no exception. The Customer Care Programme is designed to make sure WGC stays at the forefront of the very competitive hotel and office cleaning industry, continuing to be the company of choice.”

Fulfilling Staff Expectations Flic Henry, HR Manager The National Awards Ceremony has pride of place in this issue and so it should in my view. What a wonderful evening; celebrating the diverse and remarkable performances our staff consistently achieve for our company and clients, 52 weeks a year.

I believe success should be recognised in public ways like this. In doing so, it sends positive messages to all company members, and demonstrates that WGC really does appreciate its staff on both an individual and collective level.

As is often said in business circles, the most important asset of any company is its staff. With this in mind, WGC is continuing to explore means of enhancing the working environment, in order to maximise staff retention. This is a win-win for all concerned – the company gains continuity, skills retention and lower recruitment costs; clients receive higher quality service; and staff experience higher levels of job satisfaction. The Awards system is one such example.

Formalising the process, we are currently establishing a core set of guiding principles that will further help attract staff and make WGC an appealing and exciting organisation in which to stay and work. One key element we have identified involves publicising the variety of career opportunities which exist within the organisation. Many staff have progressed to management level or made a positive change in career direction within the company, and we wish to ensure that the company responds in an enabling way when staff want to follow this path.

With HR and Training & Development practices developing at an ever increasing pace (as can be seen opposite), I am confident that WGC will continue to fulfil staff and clients expectations well into the future.

Don’t Slip Up Since 2005, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs) have been jointly developing better ways of collaborating with each other to achieve enhanced health and safety outcomes. Increasingly we will see joint local initiatives to increase awareness and reduce the incidence of certain types of accident.

To illustrate the importance of this work, during a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, six million working days were lost due to workplace injury. Slips and trips were the most common causes of these injuries, accounting for around 40% of cases. Slips and trips were also the second most common cause of ‘over-three-day’ injuries (those necessitating three days or more off work).

Secondly, both the HSE and LAs report that falls from height are involved in the majority of fatal injuries to workers. And while there has been a general reduction in the numbers of falls from height over the last 10 years, there was an unwelcome increase during the 12-months in 2006/7. Of these 2,324 (68%) were falls from less than two metres.

With this in mind, WGC has established an action plan to promote awareness and help prevent both accidents and the consequential business interruptions that follow. This will certainly benefit our clients and staff.

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Tributes for Staff at National Awards Ceremony WGC celebrated the many successes and skills of its company members at the National Awards Ceremony on 17th May. Staged at the Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum, in true ‘Oscar’ style, the red carpets were out for all the award-winners at this prestigious event – seasoned staff as well as newcomers who had made a significant contribution to the company over the previous twelve months.

Lawrence McFarlane acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening, calling each winner to the platform to be presented with their award by Warren and Martin.

From WGC’s side, the event was organised by Lawrence, James Baker, Janet Kennefick and Gina Wheeler. They did a fantastic job to bring this event together, working with the hotel’s extremely professional team headed up by Hotel Manager Tal Shafer. A big thank you goes out to Lawrence, James, Janet, Gina and Tal and his team for all their hard work.

Martin opened proceedings by expressing appreciation for everybody who had travelled across the country to be at the London event. He gave a tribute to all

members of staff regardless of whether they had won an award and delivered an inspirational and motivational message to help staff in their quest to ensure WGC remains the leader in its field. After all the awards had been presented, Warren gave a somewhat emotionally charged closing speech, clearly picking up on the audience’s evident high degree of pride in being associated with the company.

Formalities over, the celebrants enjoyed some excellent food and wine followed by dancing, some of which was quite energetic!

We hope that next year’s event will be as successful. Enjoy the photos and hopefully we will see many more of you at the next Awards Ceremony.

Best Newcomers

• Ana Maria Matilde Das Neves Parreira, Hilton London Tower Bridge

• Monica Vazquez Mas, Days Hotel Waterloo

• Jurgita Stonyte, Hilton London Metropole • Marzena Sawczuk, Hilton London Olympia • Whitney Stocks, Express By Holiday Inn,

John Lennon Airport (Represented by Tania Power)

• Robert Brock, Holiday Inn Northampton West • Ailsa Holmes, Go Native, Birmingham • Jacqueline McLean, Purple Hotel, Glasgow

(Represented by Maggie Sweeney) • Angela Lloyd, Days Hotel, Wakefield

(Represented by Sheena McCallum) • Anita Verba, Ibis Hotel, Edinburgh

(Represented by Colin Wright) • Aleksandra Bobula, Ibis Hotel, Edinburgh

(Represented by Colin Wright)

Site Supervisors of the Year

• Barbara Malik, Hilton London Olympia • Tomas Morriso Cech, Hilton London Metropole • Heimana Tapi, Broadgate • Ligita Balsyte, Hilton London Tower Bridge • Loreta Ignataviciute, Hilton London Metropole • Cristina Maria Almeida, Days Hotel, Waterloo

(Represented by Tatianna Lunkevica) • Monika Ilona Baczkowska, City Inn Manchester • Jolanta Kochanska, Go Native, Manchester

(Represented by Karen Peters) • Michelle Rainey, Express By Holiday Inn, NEC • Sunitta Jekabsone, Premier Apartments,

Birmingham (Represented by Amanda Browning)

• Jackie Simms, Ibis Portland Street, Manchester (Represented by Charles Owen)

• Samantha Dixon, Ramada Coventry Hotel & Suites

• Lesley Browning, Holiday Inn, Northampton (Represented by Sue Brock)

The Awards in Detail: - 10 categories in all….

Night Cleaners of the Year

• Chukwudumebi Marcus, Jumeirah Carlton Tower

• Olasunkanmi Adewusi, Hilton London Tower Bridge

• Sandra Pereca, London Marriott, Grosvenor House

• John Otaba, Sheraton Park Tower • Michael Shittu, Sheraton Park Lane

4

Office Cleaners of the Year

• Transito Ximena Nunez Tamayo, Head Office (Represented by Gillian Steinschauer) • Danillo Mendes Dos Santos, Broadgate

• Jimmy Evans, Windows Division

Site Managers of the Year

• Goda Gylyte, Hilton London Kensington • Odeta Urbonaite, Hilton London Metropole • Louisa Tibbatta, Hilton London Metropole • Irena Buinauskaite, Hilton Milton Keynes • Michelle Riley, Express by Holiday Inn,

Nottingham (Represented James Baker) • Coleen Dewhurst, Hard Days Night, Liverpool • Claire Dobson, Ramada Mailbox • Veronica Clarke, Premier Apartments,

Birmingham (Represented by Janet Kennefick) • Anita Pilewska, Ibis Edinburgh (Represented by

Stephen Armit) • Diane Duquemin, Ibis Chesterfield

(Represented by Steve Worton) • Wendy Hunt, Etap Sheffield

(Represented by Daniela Johnson) • Natasha Barton, Ibis City Centre, Birmingham

Housekeeping Teams of the Year

• Days Hotel, Luton – Represented by Adrian Habowski & Gennadij Ausiukevic

• Express by Holiday Inn, Nottingham – Represented by Amanda Browning

• Express By Holiday Inn, Lichfield – Represented by Karen Kimberely, Dee Prew & Lisa Lucas

• Ibis Rotherham – Represented by Paula

Yeomans, Shana Senior, Jenifer Barker & Hazel Kent

• Premier Apartments, Newcastle – Represented by April Hopkinson, Mustapha Mugisha, Michael Newton & Bobby Hopkinson

• The Lowry, Manchester – Represented by Tania Power

Housekeeping Team Members of the Year (1)

• Rozsa Matyas, Anita Czeczon, Elisabed Shatirishvili (Represented by Nellie Veliuonaite ) & Krysztof Lopatowski - The Cumberland Hotel

• Krystian Maciejko, Ermelinda Galangunga & Virginija Belkeviciute (Represented by Inga Konciene) - Ramada Docklands Hotel & Suites

• Sue Baron (Represented by Donna Field) & Iwona Blachut - Go Native Manchester

• Katie McArthur - Express by Holiday Inn, NEC • David Williams (Represented by April

Hopkinson) - Premier Apartments, Newcastle • Daria Modliszewska - Ramada Coventry

Hotel & Suites • Katarzyna Matejuk (Represented by Natalija

Gurevic) - Holiday Inn Woking • Mwangala Simenda - City Inn Manchester

Housekeeping Team Members of the Year (2)

• Svetlane Demesko & Vivian Smikle - Hilton London Olympia

• Katarzyna Dziadak & Irma Kirtiklyte (Represented by Goda Gylyte) - Hilton London Kensington

• Genadji Avsuikevich - Days Hotel Luton • Olga Bondhreva - Hilton Watford • Kristina Slapikine (Represented by Veronica

Lees) - Ibis Liverpool • Ruslana Ebert Aranti Perini, Roselyn Dalton &

Peter Ivanko - Hilton London Tower Bridge • Olga Koreneva, Zenaida Linkeviciene, Ilona

Skuodiene & Wojtek Szmuc - Hilton London Metropole

• Jolanta Jaseliunaite & Justyna Olszewska - Days Hotel Waterloo

WGC Managers of the Year

• Janet Colley, Recruitment and Training Manager • Badis Mehdid, Area Manager, London

(Represented by Brian Lithauer) • Fun Nei Yip, Payroll Administrator

(Represented by Irfan Ulhaq) • Paulette Williams, Health & Safety/PR Co-

ordinator (Represented by Barbara Hensher) • Abebodun Osundina, Area Manager,

Night Cleaning Division • Janet Kennefick, Office Manager • Stephen Worton, Accounts Administrator • Stephen Armit, Area Manager, Scotland

Outstanding Achievement Awards

(Clockwise from the top) Maggie Sweeney, Quality Hotel, Glasgow

Natalija Gurevic, Senior Operations Manager Antita Harabagiu, Hilton London Tower Bridge

Marion Canney, Express by Holiday Inn, Greenock (Represented by Stephen Armit)

Viera Dubovanova, Ibis Hotel, York

Long Service Awards

(Clockwise from the top-left)

Renzo Marioni, Windows Division - 18 yrs Terry Bulbrook, Windows Division - 19 yrs

Graham Robinson, Accounts, H/O London - 6 yrs Winston Thomas, Night Cleaning Division -16 yrs

Barry Adelabu, Snr Ops Mgr - 15 yrs (centre) Tony Soroye -15 yrs (unable to attend)

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Keith Williams, Commercial Manager Cycling his way to the top (and also to the bottom!) Keith Williams is WGC’s

Commercial Manager. His brief is to expand and develop the company’s portfolio of quality cleaning contracts within the office and retail sectors. Keith has been in the industry for ten years and previously worked as Sales Director for another national cleaning company.

A family and lifestyle-focused person, Keith adores spending time with his wife and 18-month old son. He also has a consuming passion for ‘the great outdoors’, particularly mountain biking. In fact, this passion led Keith to establish his own bicycle internet retailing business some years ago, his commercial acumen coming in very handy. It was a labour of love – the biking business feeds the aspirations of many an ardent cyclist. However, after five years, he decided to sell his company and return to corporate life so that he could free up more time to spend with his family at weekends.

Keith’s enthusiasm for riding has taken him to some of the most extreme and beautiful places in Europe, and still does. He frequently visits ski resorts in the summer to challenge himself on off-piste and ‘black’ downhill runs. Keith also competes – his most memorable experience involved a mass start with 600 riders at the top of a Pyrenean mountain in Andorra.

We asked Keith to explain: “As the starting gun fired, I got an immediate shot of adrenalin and my competitive streak kicked in. The task was to get from top to bottom – a 2700 metre (9000 feet) drop – in the quickest possible time. You battle through rocks, roots, mud, hidden trees and all the other

riders trying to pass you! It’s heady stuff. Extreme focus is needed – the screams of joy, pain and broken bones mustn’t put you off – and elbows and a selfish streak are a must if you are to get in front! It was a brutal 30-minute helter-skelter chase with a myriad of obstacles waiting to trap you and dump you off your bike.”

Keith’s latest competitive ride was at Kielder Forest, Scottish Borders in May. A European Enduro Avalanche Cup event with seven timed stages, he secured 5th place in his age group (Master); and 21st overall.

Back to business (!) Having been at WGC for five months now, Keith firmly believes that the company will succeed in gaining the new contracts it is seeking. Keith commented: “There are other office and retail cleaning companies delivering exceptional standards. However with WGC’s experience and expertise in hospitality and guest services, no other contractor is so well placed to use the enthusiasm and management commitment gained in those sectors to build strong professional working relationships. We understand our clients’ needs and expectations like no other company in our sector.”

“I also consider the WGC company structure, ethos and industry-standing to be unique. With 30 years cross-sector experience, we can use our flair, innovation and flexibility to create realistic and bespoke quality systems for our clients.”

So it seems that WGC’s passion for excellence and commitment reflects Keith’s own personality and will definitely work to his advantage when promoting our company!

“Extreme focus is needed – the screams of joy, pain and broken bones mustn’t put you off....”

PPT….. The New On-Site and Head-Office Productivity and Quality Monitoring Tool WGC successfully implemented its bespoke ‘Personal Productivity Tool’ (PPT) system recently. This new and unique internet-based facility allows WGC’s head-office and on-site management to assess productivity in an extremely clear and efficient way. It fulfils all aspects of our three-point management system – staff, clients and quality. The system focuses on each room attendant’s performance, monitoring workflow and ensuring that our contractual obligations are fulfilled.

The exceptional degree of detail and analysis the system provides also enables us to assess training needs, develop programmes to sustain employment levels, and recognise and reward high achievers.

Data collection, analysis and reporting is handled by our PPT Support Manager, Haroon Aktar, who brings with him a wealth of experience in cost accounting and logistical analysis.

We believe this fully integrated system, unique to our sector, will bring many benefits to staff, clients and management alike – as we all know, “information is the key to success”.

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Susie Brown

Susie joined WGC in May this year. A graduate of Lancaster University with a degree in German Studies, in her earlier days Susie won a place on a graduate scheme at the hospitality company Mitchells & Butler, gaining a senior level placement whilst there. Following this, Susie joined Cotswold

Inns & Hotels, overseeing in-house and external staff training programmes, specialising in productivity, efficiency, man-management and brand standards.

With this background, WGC were pleased to appoint her as Assistant Training & Development Manager, working with James Baker, Training & Development Manager. Susie’s business objective is to help accelerate the development of WGC’s training programme and increase training activity.

Susie lives with her partner in Birmingham and is an avid baker - so much so that she intends to enrol on a cake decoration course. She enjoys travelling and often frequents Berlin, where she lived in her late teens (Susie still speaks fluent German).

Steve Worton

Steve Worton is WGC’s Midlands Account Administrator. He assists Janet Kennefick and Trudy Reid on administration and payroll work, and over the past few months has immersed himself in many of the company’s accounting functions.

Steve is keen to further his career within the company and consequently WGC will be looking to sponsor him to fulfil his future ambitions.

Steve and his wife have a baby boy, Taylor James, age 10 months, who although giving them some sleepless nights, doesn’t stop Steve being a typical doting father. They have another baby on the way, due next February.

Stephen Armit

Stephen is a Senior Operations Manager looking after our expanding hotel operation in Scotland. Having spent three years with the company, he is now totally responsible for all aspects of contract management, and in doing so, applies considerable business acumen to his work. Stephen is also extremely computer-literate

and possesses web design and programming skills – all put to great creative use in WGC’s hi-tech systems-driven environment.

With a conscientious approach, Stephen always strives to find more efficient and productive working methods for the benefit of staff and clients alike. Structure and order are the precepts he follows, both at work and at home. However, having a four year old son keeps Stephen in check (!) and allows him to express the sensitive and humorous side of his personality. One of Stephen ’s main ambitions is to be successful enough to allow his mother, who is employed as a cleaner, to give up work.

Away from work and family, Stephen loves the cinema and could possibly be described as a movie buff. And holiday-wise, whenever he gets the opportunity to escape from it all, he can be found at his favourite destination, Fuerteventura in the sunny Canary Islands.

Margaret Sweeney

Margaret is one of WGC’s shining stars. The Outstanding Achievement award she was presented with at WGC’s National Awards Ceremony (see separate article) puts the icing on the cake for one of the most enthusiastic and passionate people you will likely ever meet.

A true professional Housekeeper with a canny eye for detail, she is currently Site Manager for the Quality Hotel in Glasgow. And although it has never stopped Margaret volunteering to assist anywhere in the country, she is learning to drive so that the company can employ her management skills on a broader geographical canvas.

For recreation, Margaret enjoys Glasgow’s nightlife, sometimes accompanied by her two grown-up daughters. Her favourite holiday destination is Turkey where she can’t wait to get into those Turkish Baths for a good massage!

Who’s Who in WGC…? Continued from the last edition…

Writing, Editing & Design David Meyer, CamelMedia tel: 0777-177-1209

WGC Ltd., 7 Academy Buildings Fanshaw Street, London, N1 6LQ

tel: 020-7739-2100 email: mail@wgc-group.co.uk web: www.wgc-group.co.uk

Did You Know? Continuing the London history theme, we move to Mayfair. The Mayfair we know now is not particularly old. Wealthy landlords such as the Berkeleys, Burlingtons and the most important of them all, the Grosvenors, developed the area into a fashionable residential district as late as the middle of the 17th and 18th centuries. The name came from a fair established at Shepherds Market in 1686, where farmers traded sheep and spring lambs. It was held every May. However, in 1787, the local nobility clamped down on the fair because they felt that it lowered the tone of the neighbourhood. The remaining fields were soon developed, bringing about the transformation you can see to this day. Mayfair’s elegant buildings, squares and parks have always

attracted the most wealthy people, and this is reflected in the exclusive shops, restaurants, hotels and clubs in the area. Dominated by Grosvenor, Hanover and Berkeley Squares, Mayfair houses many embassies and includes Saville Row, world-

renowned for its tailoring, and New and Old Bond Street with its shops retailing jewellery, antiques and couture. The auction House, Sotheby’s is also there. There was another side to Mayfair though. During the Second World War, the famous Grosvenor Hotel was billeted and the vast function room known as The Great Room used as an officer’s mess. The roof was also utilised – anti-aircraft guns were sited there to help repel incoming bomber planes. We are pleased to add that the hotel, which is still one of London’s finest and now flying the Marriott flag, is one of WGC’s longest standing clients.