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The true value of people
7th of November 2024 Article by Stuart Conroy
Stuart Conroy, commerical director at Peartree Cleaning Services proudly acknowledges its people are the foundation of the business' success and discusses some of the ways it rewards and recognises their team.
Established 40 years ago and spanning three generations, Peartree Cleaning Services remains a family-owned and run business with over 1400 colleagues. Our story is one of continuous dedication to creating and maintaining a culture that benefits, recognises, and rewards our employees - they are the key to delivering service excellence.
Our family business values are at the core of everything we do, ensuring employee welfare and well-being are always prioritised. We actively invest in the personal and professional growth of our employees, ensuring they feel valued and supported every step of the way. This starts with our hiring process, where we carefully select individuals who are not only skilled but also share our values of integrity, teamwork, and service excellence. Our team qualify for sick pay from day one and we have never employed anyone on a zero hours contract.
We've built a culture that champions service, inclusivity, and respect for all our co-workers and clients. We have cleaners from 46 countries, speaking 22 languages and we celebrate this diversity. We offer our cleaning operative training in three different languages.
Living Wage Foundation
We're proud advocates of fair compensation and workplace equality. In 2014, we became a Living Wage Employer demonstrating our commitment to social responsibility ensuring fair pay for all employees and setting a benchmark for ethical employment practices. This commitment not only reflects our values but has also resulted in tangible benefits for our team. By ensuring our employees receive a living wage, we've observed enhanced staff attendance, improved retention rates, and boosted morale across the board.
Mental health and well-being
We understand the physical and mental demands that come with cleaning work, which is why we ensure our team has access to the tools, training, and support they need to perform their best without compromising their well-being. Our bespoke 'Peartree & Me' app provides direct access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for counselling and advice on mental health, family, and financial matters. It also gives our people and their families significant discounts from over 8,000 retailers, alongside benefits like cycle to work schemes and private medical care.
With a significant portion of our team hailing from South American Spanish-speaking backgrounds, we prioritise inclusivity in communication by providing all materials in both Spanish and Portuguese.
We have recently launched our menopause policy, guaranteeing a supportive and understanding work environment for everyone experiencing menopause. And we are building upon our existing equality and diversity policy to ensure we are providing an inclusive and equitable environment for everyone.
Training and development
We believe that investing in our team's growth is an investment in the future of our business. Everyone, regardless of their position, has valuable skills to offer and can achieve their full potential with the right support and opportunities for career growth. Every staff member is provided with ongoing training to keep them updated on the latest industry practices, safety protocols and technological advancements in cleaning equipment and products.
We also see the value in nurturing the potential of the next generation. Our apprenticeship scheme not only allows us to champion young professionals but also invigorates our team with fresh perspectives and innovation, solidifying our commitment to the professional and personal development of our future leaders. Out of our 32 managers, 17 joined as frontline cleaning staff - showing our ‘Rising Stars Programme' in action!
Our ethos of reward and recognition ensures a motivated, inspired and willing workforce. Our Peartree Golden Days initiative rewards those who go above and beyond in their roles. When a team member delivers outstanding work, they are awarded a ‘Golden Day' which includes an additional day of annual leave and some cash to make their day off extra special. It's our way of showing appreciation for their hard work and dedication.
We understand that the key to delivering outstanding service lies in our people. By valuing, investing in and supporting our colleagues, we've built a team that is not only skilled but also deeply committed to upholding our standards of excellence.
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