KEEPING BUSINESSES IN SOUTH ENGLAND HYGIENIC AND WELL SANITISED DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

An interview with Kyle Nicholas (Posh Standards Ltd and GFM Ltd)

Posh Standards Ltd have been specialising in providing high quality contract cleaning and facility management services across the south of England since the 1980s. Having been named Facility Management Specialists of the Year by the South England Prestige judges, we caught up with owner and Managing Director Kyle Nicholas to find out more about how the company has responded to COVID-19, what sets them apart from other service providers, and how his grandfather’s influence continues to drive the continued success of this family-run business.

To what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of good hygiene and sanitation?

We acknowledge how crucial good hygiene and sanitation is for businesses, in order to continue to function safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team naturally promote and practise good hygiene/sanitation; our staff are fully trained and have been supplied with the best quality material/chemical/products available. The pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of practicing good hygiene and sanitation to help ourselves, the people around us and the working environments. We have increased our staff numbers, cleaning services and our all-round work ethic to continue to provide customer satisfaction at this crucial time.

What measures have Posh Standards Ltd and GFM Ltd put into place to enable the team to continue providing valuable services throughout the crisis?

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we researched in depth, ways to effectively tackle the fast spreading virus. We have enabled office based employees to work from home. Flexible hours have been made more accessible for field based employees/cleaning employees. Additional approved PPE has been provided to all employees in order to keep both our staff and our customers as safe as possible whilst at work. By broadening our supplier contacts, we managed to utilise the delivery services provided to us, which reduced face-to-face contact. This helped us as a team with managing resources and scheduling during the pandemic, as it is a very reliable way of ensuring everyone is kept safe during work.

What services are currently proving most popular in light of COVID-19?

Our most popular services requested during COVID-19 are: our five-star contract cleaning service; highly rated deep cleaning service; the new thermal fogging/misting service; and, lastly, our tailored health & safety consultancy service. Our health & safety consultancy department have been busy helping businesses navigate through these unusual times, keeping them up to date with the latest legislation, boosting business credentials and, offering perceptive health & safety compliances, to guide our customers (such as: risk assessment support, COSHH assessments, BRC, SALSA audits, CHAS and other industry accreditations).

We have received a lot of great feedback from pleased customers, regarding the high-quality professional services they have been receiving during the pandemic. Especially from the thermal fogging/misting service, which we now offer as a general service and will continue to do so, as we have found this to be the most effective way to tackle COVID-19. For many of our customers, these services have been a support to their business operations.

How have clients benefited from your personal approach to facility’s management services at this time?

We understand it is a challenging time for all businesses and have endeavoured to help our customers economise during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have built a professional and reliable relationship with our customers, so we all have a responsive and comfortable pathway for communications. Working honestly together to save costs where needed, modify our services to become more convenient and, continuing to exceed customer expectations throughout. We find giving a personal service that makes our customers feel like they are doing business with a human, rather than a company, works well for everyone.

What sets Posh Standards Ltd and GFM Ltd apart from other contract cleaning & facility’s management service providers?

We have years of expertise and workmanship. Our family-run businesses always put the customer first, accommodating and fulfilling customer demands. All our staff perform well together, in order to carry out the deluxe cleaning service we know our customers deserve. We like to ensure all customers feel comfortable to call us on our 24/7 line, whenever they need us. Our affable team are resourceful and experienced, and are capable of sustaining our reliable and supportive relationships with customers.

We have principles we like to follow at Posh Standards Ltd and GFM Ltd, which are based on how we treat our customers. They have been in place since the beginning, which I know our customers respect. I also know that our customers value our company initiative on researching new products, materials and supplies, to aid our constantly improving services.

Posh Standards was established by your grandfather. How has his influence helped shape the ethos and philosophy of the company today?

Posh Standards Ltd was founded by my grandfather in the early 1980s. His personal approach to business and our customers have propelled us into the blossoming company we see today. My grandfather has had a massive influence on not only myself but the company’s development throughout the years. His constant forward-thinking has led us to be more equipped in our services we so proudly provide. He showed me the ropes and made me work from the ground up: I cannot thank him enough for being so patient and consistent with me.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Our ethos – which carries through the company – is to provide high standards, responsiveness and a committed team in all areas of facilities management work. We would like to thank all our staff for their hard work, and all our customers for the continued business. We appreciate your votes and hope to provide you with our services soon.