I was surprised to learn that Sodexo UK & Ireland is the first in the industry to have made it into the top 75 of the 2024 Social Mobility Employer Index. Not, of course, because it doesn’t deserve to be there – it certainly does – but because it’s the only one to have done so. In case you’re as unfamiliar with the Index as I was until Sodexo shared its news yesterday, it assesses and ranks UK employers on their actions to break down barriers to employment opportunities and improve socioeconomic diversity in the workplace. 

  

Whenever I chat to young people about their plans for the world of work, when perhaps they’re not aiming for a particular profession or may not have done as well academically as expected, I encourage them to consider cleaning & facilities management. When their eyes glaze over (which invariably they do despite concerted efforts to appear to be interested!) I explain that it’s the one industry which offers the tools and opportunities for those with a good work ethic to progress rapidly through the ranks from beginner level to a senior position with a salary to match. I tell them of my many industry friends who’ve started off as cleaners, sales people, service engineers or the like, who’ve ended up on the Board or have gained the skills to run their own successful businesses… that they often make up our Award-winning industry ‘big guns’ – admired and respected by those who know them. 

  

Principle Cleaning Services is another example of the success you can have by making everyone feel ‘part of the family’ (and I’ve met several of the company’s managers who started off as cleaners and have been encouraged to grow along with the business). I learned today that it’s been shortlisted for the Employee Ownership Association’s Rising Star Award, which recognises the success of an organisation that’s fairly recently become employee owned and is “evidencing an advantage through its approach to engagement, culture and representation”. Founded by Douglas Cooke, executive chairman, in 1989, Principle created an Employee Ownership Trust last year, giving its employees the majority of its shares and putting the future of the business in the hands of its 2,800+ staff. As Tom Lloyd, Principle's CEO, says: "Employee ownership was designed to preserve the legacy of the company and ensure its future stability and prosperity. I firmly believe we have embedded an employee ownership ethos and culture, with our staff becoming life-long partners of the business." 

  

What other industry offers such potential for those up for the challenge, and whose principle players have the savvy to ensure that they get the best out of the workforce? Once again, in my view, our industry is setting a shining example. What more do we have to do to stop those eyes glazing over, I wonder?