At a time when our industry is turning to different talent pools to find the right people for careers in hospitality and catering, lessons learnt over decades by cleaning and maintenance service providers, TWO Services could prove very useful to adopt.
A message from the TWO Services team on the value in developing a diverse culture…
“We recently spoke to Simon Edwards, our new Sales Executive, about what attracted him to his new role at TWO Services, and how he ended up in the cleaning and maintenance industry after a long and successful stint in an entirely different space altogether. You can read more about Simon’s background and his current role here.
“This conversation with Simon got us thinking about all the weird and wonderful paths that our staff have taken into their current careers – and how their unique experiences have influenced our company culture and shaped the services we provide.
Exploring our staff’s journeys into the TWO family
“For example, our much-loved Operations Director, George Baffoe, travelled across from Ghana and initially worked as a cleaner here at TWO before eventually settling into his leadership position. He retires this month after more than three decades of service, but his positive impact will be felt throughout our business for many years to come.
“Our Northern Division Director Margarita Dickson graduated as a classical pianist and is also a trained singer. Prior to joining TWO, her musicianship took her all over the world – she enjoyed travelling to all sorts of far-flung places and now speaks four languages fluently. Performing may just be a hobby for Margarita these days, but you can be sure that the discipline and dedication she developed over her musical career still feeds into her approach when she’s visiting our clients and managing our teams. You can read Margarita’s full Day in the Life piece here.
“In another example, our Area Supervisor Delphina Adjel Darko, who has been with us for more than 5 years, completed her education in Africa before working in the North Sea as a Marine Navigator. So many of our staff never knew about her fascinating past until they read her recent interview.
“And, of course, who can forget our founder Alan Osborn’s somewhat fated move from catering into cleaning. After training as a chef in London’s West End, Alan spent years working long shifts in various premises in the city before deciding to start his own business after a contact needed help launching a new wine bar. Working out of a unit in Shoreditch, Alan was awarded his first cleaning contract in 1987 – and after doing much of the hard graft himself for many years, he eventually decided to move TWO’s HQ to Basildon in the mid-90s to concentrate on expanding our team.
The importance of embracing our differences to achieve a common goal
“We’re sure it’s a similar case across the board. There are countless companies out there with workforces made up of a melting pot of talented individuals who have the following in common: they are committed to driving innovation, because they are not afraid of change – and they understand the importance of maintaining excellent standards across our sector, because they know from lived experience that without hard work, there’s no growth.
“As a collective, we should celebrate our differences and remember that everyone’s stories matter. The skills these people are bringing to the table are incredibly valuable, and their experience is often priceless.
“Here’s to honouring every route into our industry, however unusual or unexpected it may have been!”