Churchill News

Training doesn’t get more hands on…

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Six months after we opened our new Training Academy within our Mitcham office in London, Churchill is seeing real benefits in operational delivery.

This ‘hands-on’ and interactive Training Academy replicates all areas, flooring and finishes that our Cleaning Teams face in their delivery. By creating a ‘blueprint’ of the types of surfaces and finishes found on every type of client site, we are able to train our Cleaning Operatives with the specific industry-based skills they require.

Comprising a classroom area for professional training, the Academy includes mock-up areas of kitchens, toilets, various floor coverings, etc.

Phil Moxom, Director and long-term advocate of innovative training techniques believes: “This investment will put clear water between Churchill and our competitors, whilst further highlighting the growth and development of our organisation through putting our people first”.

Every Operative has an individual training programme which is maintained on an ongoing basis to ensure development of our staff.

Eden Project

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Eden Project

Churchill Environmental Services – the new water hygiene service provider within the Churchill Group has recently been awarded a contract to undertake Legionella risk assessments for the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Churchill is delighted to further its presence in Cornwall and the South West, and is equally thrilled to being working with a charitable organisation and social enterprise making such a marked contribution to the local community.

Mike Quest, Director said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious contract and we see it as yet another step towards much greater success for Churchill's specialist compliance division.”

The contract will principally involve surveying the water systems at the Eden Project. This will include chlorine dioxide dosing of recycled water in the biomes as well as numerous hot and cold water in the many buildings of the three sites owned and operated by the Eden Project. Completion of this contract will take almost two weeks using highly skilled Risk Assessors.

31 January 2012

Churchill HelpPoint™

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Churchill HelpPoint™

Churchill has achieved remarkable growth in recent years via a strategy of broadening service capability, developing client partnerships and continued investment in industry-leading support services.

At the very foundation of this triple strategy is the Customer Services Team. They deserve the upmost praise for aligning and absorbing all company changes through this period of unprecedented growth – more people, more services, more clients, improved processes and innovative systems.

However, the praise goes beyond an ability to react to change; the wider acclaim comes from being unique and a point differentiation in the industry then, as well as now. The ability to truly define ‘customer service’, develop mutually beneficial relationships with clients and above all, fundamentally help win business has been critical to our success.

Therefore, given the importance of the Customer Services Team to our organisation, we have decided to ‘publicise’ further their capability to everyone within our organisation, existing clients and the industry itself.

Mary Crowe, HelpPoint™ Manager said: “Churchill HelpPoint™ is a major re-branding exercise to shed more light on one of Churchill’s pillars of success. The term HelpPoint™ allows the Customer Services Team an opportunity to stand out from our competitors as well as an opportunity for our company to broadcast this winning formula; the rewarding interface between our company, our services and our clients.”

12 January 2012

Best Regional Security Team

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Best Regional Security Team

Churchill is delighted to announce the award of ‘Best Regional Security Team’ as well as ‘Individual Outstanding Contribution’ at a recent industry seminar in the North East.

The event was well attended by all key members of the security and retailing industries as well as Local Council Authorities and Cleveland, Northumbria, Durham and North Yorkshire Police.

Churchill’s Teesside Shopping Park Security Team won ‘Best Regional Security Team’ in recognition of the outstanding performance and interaction with RAC:NE and the regional crime partnership.

Individually, Churchill is delighted for Chris Beech, Account Manager who also won the ‘Individual Outstanding Contribution’ Award which highlighted his personal enthusiasm for the regional crime partnership and quality of intelligence shared with other partnership members.

Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director said: “Collectively and individually these awards highlight the great strides being made by our Security Teams in the North East whilst further endorsing the importance of working together, creating partnerships and sharing intelligence.”

18 December 2011

Site of the Quarter Award

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

‘Site of the Quarter’ Award

Churchill is delighted to announce being awarded ‘Site of the Quarter’ by our long-term client Johnson Matthey. The award was given after the most recent quarterly review where we received excellent feedback on the hard work we are delivering across all Johnson Matthey sites.

Chris Harding, Operations Manager said: “On behalf of the Management Team at Churchill, we would like to thank all staff for the continual efforts made to deliver a world class service to this prestigious contract.

I would also like to thank Johnson Matthey for attending the meeting and presenting the award of ‘Site of the Quarter’ to the Site Manager, and recognising the commitment made by the entire team year in year out, day in day out.

It is easy to forget the real people at the forefront of the contract who ensure that the service is delivered to our clients and it goes without saying that this would not be possible without these dedicated members of the company.”

Since 2006, Churchill has developed a truly successful, robust and resilient partnership with Johnson Matthey. Set against the background of major global economic uncertainty, Churchill has demonstrated flexibility, adaptability and capability in driving forward change to both continually improve service levels whilst equally reducing costs.

05 December 2011

Churchill Group Acquire Quest Environmental Solutions

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Churchill Group has continued its strategy of broadening its service capability with the acquisition of Quest Environmental Solutions (QES). The move further increases our range of service solutions to include a total suite of compliance related services.

The Churchill Group is growing strongly with an ever-increasing client base on a national basis. The company is committed to its strategy of increasing the proportion of services that are self-delivered. This ensures certainty of values, attitudes and behaviours and the ready availability of consistent and reliable skill.

QES is the leading provider of water hygiene and legionella testing in the South West under the leadership of Mike Quest (Managing Director) and Spencer Culley (Operations Director) and is fully accredited to the Legionella Control Association.

Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director said: “It has been our intention for some time now to acquire the ability to self-deliver these technical services to our existing client base; the majority of whom have a legal requirement to do so and would benefit from Churchill directly managing these services on their behalf.

We are intending to roll this out nationally and continue our strategy to add further compliance related service to our capability in the near future.”

Mike Quest, Managing Director of Quest Environmental Solutions added: “We are delighted to be joining the Churchill Services Group and we see this as an exciting opportunity to further develop both QES and our valued people.”

For further information, please visit – www.qes-ltd.com

New Recruits Make a Clean Sweep

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:00:00 +0100

An innovative partnership between Churchill and local employment services company, Ingeus, has led to three people from the North East returning to work– and there’s hope that more will follow in their footsteps.

John Hunter, Davy Wilkinson and Lee Walton have just joined a team of around 90 cleaning professionals from Churchill who work at the city’s Metro stations, maintaining high standards for thousands of passengers each day.

Churchill’s determination to employ local people on their recently-won cleaning contract led to the partnership with Ingeus, which operates the government’s Work Programme in the region. This flagship programme is aimed at people who have been unemployed for more than a year, and supports them with a range of job-seeking services including writing an effective CV, learning how to get the most from interviews and searching for suitable jobs.

John, who’s 50 and from Lynemouth, spent 25 years managing farms before having to resign four years ago to care for his late wife, who was then terminally ill.

“After such a long time out of work, the prospect of job searching and going for interviews was quite scary,” he said. “However, with the close support of Ingeus, I was able to overcome my nerves and break the cycle of rejection letters.”

“Ingeus provides a really valuable service in helping us fill our vacancies with motivated candidates who are ready to work,” said Louisa Clarke, Metro Churchill Contract Manager. “Our contract to clean Metro stations means we are constantly looking for people with the right attitude and transferrable skills. John, Davy and Lee are excellent examples of how, working together, we can find people who really want to work.”

Onwards and Upwards – Churchill Soar Past £50m Turnover

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 +0100

One of Churchill’s main strategic goals in recent years has been the commitment to achieve a Group turnover which surpasses £50m to herald a new era, foundation and future for our independent service solutions organisation.

It is quite fitting that we are able and delighted to announce this in 2011; a hugely transformational year for Churchill which has seen wide-scale service expansion, continued organisational integration from acquired businesses and the development of our company vision – ‘Changing Our Industry™’.

Group Managing Director, Joel Briggs captures the enthusiasm and eagerness throughout the organisation at this landmark point for Churchill: “The journey the company has been on is remarkable and everyone within Churchill deserves praise for their part in that journey. Our success has given us a chance not just to compete, but to ‘Changing Our Industry™’.”

Fellow Director, Phil Moxom believes a holistic strategy we be the key to continued impressive growth and development: “We now offer national solutions, but our heritage and growth has been on the back of a loyal local client base. Therefore we will continue to maintain a strategy to re-invest our success at a local level.”

Recent wins serve testimony to this approach with the award of a three-site national contract with British Council, a major shopping centre at the Bull Ring, Birmingham, and a local solution for Gloucester-based Hartpury College – a recognised leader in land-based, sport and allied industries.

Top Safety Accreditation Renewal

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill is delighted to announce our renewal of the SAFEcontractor accreditation; a leading edge scheme designed to help industry improve its safety record.

We have successfully renewed year on year, demonstrating our ability to ensure safety standards remain exemplary as our organisation continues to grow exponentially.

Speaking with pride at the renewal, Churchill's Group Managing Director, Joel Briggs commented: "Churchill promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing a process framework that allows our organisation to consistently identify and control its Health and Safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance and improve overall performance."

"Health and Safety will always remain the number one priority."

The SAFEcontractor accreditation will continue to enhance the company's ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively from a compliance and insurance perspective.

John Kinge, Head of Risk at SAFEcontractor said: "Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound Health and Safety policies."

"More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Churchill has done. The firm's high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector."

Under the SAFEcontractor system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines Health and Safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible only to registered users via a website – please visit www.safecontractor.com

The 'Key' to Peace of Mind

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill is delighted to announce Keyholding Plus a further expansion of our service solution capability. We are expanding our ability to deliver Keyholding, Mobile Patrol and Alarm Response services throughout the UK, building upon our successes in this industry within the North East.

To further mark our rising presence in this industry, we are equally delighted to launch our dedicated website for these services – www.keyholdingplus.co.uk

Presenting Keyholding Plus

In essence, we protect and serve properties and premises left unoccupied through the night, at weekends and even 24/7/365 in some circumstances. Our trained Response Officers provide a prompt Keyholding response to intruder alarms on notification of activations by alarm monitoring centres. Once on-site, the Officers co-ordinate the attendance of the Police, alarm engineers and repair contractors, as required.

The Churchill Keyholding service is a tailored solution that undertakes the responsibility of holding your keys securely and responds to appropriate requests for access and alarm activations at your premises. All of our Officers are professionally trained, licensed, experienced and well equipped to deal with any situation. The service is underpinned by our local Customer Support Control Room and supported by real-time technologies for communication, navigation, location, on-off site timing and man-down/distress alerting.

Services include:

Secure Keyholding
Alarm Response
Mobile Patrols
Locks and Unlocks
Vacant Property Protection
Insurance Inspections

‘Changing Our Industry’

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Churchill is delighted to announce a new era for our organisation. Over 30 years of experience has given Churchill the foundation and more importantly, the confidence to truly make a difference and we are committed to 'Changing Our Industry™' in everything we do.

This vision is designed to expand, enhance and re-define customers' expectations of our industry and in time we will 'Change Our Industry'.

'Changing Our Industry™' through…

Customer Service
People
Innovation
'Keeping it Local'
Partnership

Please refer to 'Our Vision' section of our website for a detailed explanation of how these clear five strategic points we help Churchill achieve its philosophy throughout every facet of our organisation and every part of the industry we touch.

Churchill Announce Further Security Acquisition

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill is pleased to announce the acquisition of Bristol-based Knighthawk Security Limited, continuing their entry into the security industry after the recent acquisition of IPC Security Limited and Touchline Event Management.

Established in 1989, Knighthawk Security has provided tailor-made security solutions to an extensive range of public and private blue-chip organisations, and the hands-on management approach which has made Knighthawk a success will continue within Churchill.

Churchill's Group Managing Director, Joel Briggs, said: "Churchill has grown into one of the UK's leading providers of soft bundled services and we are hugely excited by the potential to take Churchill to the next stage of its development and look forward to working with the Knighthawk team to expand the company's business.

We see this as a perfect complement to our existing skill base and to our planned ambition in the area of bundled soft services. The Knighthawk management team have built an exceptional business, with an unsurpassed reputation, over the past few years, and we look forward to their bringing that expertise to the broader management team within Churchill."

"We are looking forward to uncovering further business opportunities as part of a growing Churchill, and are pleased to be part of the growth of such a dynamic organisation." said Ian Wookey, Managing Director of Knighthawk.

"We look forward very much to being an integral part of the Security Division, where Churchill's commitment to the sector will enable us to build extensively upon our achievements to date and to target key markets in a robust and innovative way".

This acquisition provides a further pillar in Churchill's strategy to provide integrated soft service solutions to the entire UK market.

Churchill Awarded ISO 14001

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has been awarded a UKAS accredited ISO 14001: 2004, underlining the company's commitment to the environment.

Churchill has established its own Environmental Management System; helping to monitor and improve upon a number of areas that touch on the environment, such as energy efficiency, resource conservation, waste management, chemical control and toner cartridge recycling.

Churchill Director, Phil Moxom, commented: "Since implementing processes relating to the ISO standards we've noticed that we have a continually improving understanding of our company's processes and systems.

This is bearing fruit not only in rising levels of customer satisfaction but also in terms of staff motivation and morale. In turn, we're finding that this is increasing our competitive edge and so cementing our place as one of the leading providers in our market place. Minimising our impact on the environment will continue to be a focus as the company grows and expands into other service areas."

Churchill Enters the Security Industry

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill is delighted to announce the acquisition of IPC Security Limited and Touchline Event Management Limited, marking their entry into the security industry, and with it the wider service solution marketplace.

IPC Security and its sister company, Touchline Event Management, provide retail, industrial, commercial and leisure security services, as well as operational training and technology related security programmes, in both the public and private sectors of the UK market.

"This acquisition launches Churchill's participation in the security market and enhances our offer to our clients," stated Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director of Churchill.

"IPC and Touchline's innovative solutions, important customer relationships, and outstanding professional staff will greatly increase our delivery capability in the UK."

"We are looking forward to pursuing new business opportunities as part of Churchill," said Mark Partridge, Managing Director of IPC Security.

"Churchill's proven operational capabilities and wider presence will accelerate the growth of our combined businesses, and the IPC and Touchline teams are excited to become part of the Churchill family."

This acquisition is the next step in Churchill's strategic initiative to become a leading provider of combined service solutions throughout the UK.

It’s A Knockout for Churchill!

Sun, 16 May 2010 09:00:00 +0100

The Churchill Team recently took part in a Charity "It's A Knockout!" competition in Bristol. The Bristol Regional office fielded a brilliant and brave team of nine - the event took place at the Ramada Hotel in Winterbourne.

The team were all sponsored by friends, family and work colleagues to raise funds for local disabled children. In the end, despite the rain we achieved a magnificent £8,000 and the whole day was fun from start to finish for participants and spectators alike.

Bristol Regional Manager, Jason Woodcock got the team warmed up by jogging round the field and organising a game of football with other teams taking part in the day. By the end of the event, we were nine team members still standing and no major injuries apart from a few aching muscles so well worth it!

The team all enjoyed it so much – they've signed up already for next year!!

Churchill Awarded Major Cleaning Contract

Sat, 01 May 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has recently been awarded the cleaning contract for East Sussex County Council – a multi-site contract of more than 100 sites.

We are very excited by this new opportunity and are committed to providing the best possible service to the Council throughout and hopefully beyond the initial duration of this contract.

The contract includes a wide variety of buildings including: office accommodation, public libraries, adult social care buildings and five large secondary schools.

A spokesman from East Sussex County Council has written to say, "ESCC could not be happier with the progress of the contract since its start on 1st April 2010. Churchill has carried out a thorough deep clean of all schools during the Easter break and raised the standard of cleaning immeasurably.

For corporate buildings, the sites have already noticed a rise in the standard of cleaning delivered. The transfer of over 150 staff has also been smooth and seamless with many positive comments received from staff that have transferred over to Churchill. These have included welcome feedback about the smart new uniforms, the quality of cleaning equipment provided and well delivered professional training.

Over the next few months I'm looking forward to developing the contract further with Churchill with the inclusion of new sites into the contract plus the introduction of specialist services such window cleaning and floor treatment works. This will then provide ESCC buildings and schools with a single professional company to meet all their cleaning needs."

‘Loo of the Year’ Award for Churchill

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Churchill has been given the highest grading 5-star Award for its standard of cleanliness in the toilets at Springfield Shopping Centre in Spalding. Awards were given at a champagne reception and lunch in Birmingham in December 2009 after assessments were made in September following an unannounced visit by an Inspector.

David Wait, Operations Manager at the Shopping Centre said, "Although I may have joked about this when we first entered, when I found out what grade we had achieved, I do believe it is a good award to receive and this achievement is due to the hard work that the Churchill Team have put in over the last few months since the contract began and I would like to say thank you to everyone."

Jason Woodcock, Senior Regional Manager would like to thank his Area Manager, Mary Taylor and all her team for their efforts in helping us to achieve this Award.

Churchill Grows Operations Base Nationally

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has announced the next stage of its growth plan.

Group Managing Director, Joel Briggs, says "Building upon our successful operations in the southern half of the UK, we are following the natural progression pattern for Churchill and have opened satellite offices in Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow – and are delighted to now be offering our services on a national basis."

The company now employs more than 5,000 people nationally and is seeking to expand its market share in the UK. Their sales team has grown by 40% in the past three months to meet increasing demand for the company's services, which is a great achievement in challenging times.

Churchill Awarded ISO 9001

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for its commitment to quality. This accreditation demonstrates to Churchill's stakeholders that the company adheres to the highest possible standards in its operational practices.

Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director, said: "This represents an important milestone for Churchill, in our effort to continuously improve our business activities.

Our focus has always been to deliver the highest quality service in the industry, and this certification shows our dedication to quality and to customer satisfaction. We are very proud of all our employees and their commitment to delivering world-class service to our customers."

According to Churchill's Director, Phil Moxom – ongoing evidence proves that aligning business processes to set ISO standards is an effective method of ensuring the Company meets its business challenges.

Churchill Trials Electric Vehicles

Sun, 24 May 2009 09:00:00 +0100

In our efforts to improve our environmental credentials we have been trialling the use of electric vehicles in place of the diesel equipment currently used.

"On several large sites where we deploy on-site vehicles to move rubbish around to collection points we have replaced the existing items with electric ones and although there have been a few drawbacks overall this has been a success", commented Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director.

Joel continued: "In addition, at several Shopping Centres where we have mechanical sweepers to clean car parks and pedestrian areas we have also replaced petrol and diesel machines with electric versions and although they do not have the same ranges, with careful planning this has not impacted our service delivery, so again we believe the benefits have been worthwhile."

Churchill is committed to working towards achieving ISO 14001 accreditation within the next 12 months.

Head Office Expansion

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Our new Business Development Department has grown over the last year in order to deliver our ambitious targets, and as they have succeeded, this has in turn, created other employment opportunities in our Customer Services, Finance and Human Resources Departments.

Joel Briggs, Group Managing Director commented: "It had become necessary to expand our Head Office accommodation to house our growing Administration Teams and fortunately an adjacent unit that was vacant has now been fitted out and the move is underway!"

Customer Services Expansion

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Following the recent integration of Team Clean following acquisition, the roll out and expansion of our Customer Services has now been completed for our Devon and Cornwall regions.

Mary Crowe, Customer Services Manager said: "I have been really impressed with the team in the Cornwall office who have worked hard to implement our proven systems for managing Customer Relations and we are now able to deliver the same service throughout all geographic operations."

Tony Evans, Regional Director - South West commented: "I would like to thank Mary and her team for their hard work and it is great to know that they are in place to support our Operations Managers to ensure we achieve the high standards expected of us."

Churchill Win Multi-Site Contract with DTZ

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0000

A contract to service a portfolio of managed and serviced commercial buildings throughout the South East has been awarded to Churchill following a procurement process by Buying Force on behalf of DTZ.

The three year contract is for the supply of bundled soft services including building cleaning, window cleaning, waste management, pest control, grounds maintenance and washroom services and will be managed between our regional offices in East Anglia, Hertfordshire and London.

Ian Leeding, Regional Manager for London said: "We have worked hard to demonstrate our ability to deliver the desired service levels and we are very pleased to have been awarded this contract for the prestigious buildings within the portfolio."

More Success within the Pharmaceutical Sector

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has been awarded the contract to provide cleaning and associated soft services at Napp Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge following a rigorous procurement process.

"This is a fantastic win for the company as we already have several large key clients in this sector and we are very experienced in delivering the services required", said Phil Moxom, Director.

The award was based on our ability to demonstrate our commitment to introduce innovation and transparency to the service.

Churchill Joins SIAC Scheme

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:00:00 +0100

Churchill has become accredited to the SIAC (Safety In Access Contractor) scheme, operated by Time Consultancy to ensure the highest safety performance levels from contractors whose employees 'Work at Height'.

Management Agents are now very focused in using SIAC approved companies (two of the top five management agents now have it as a directive), so this move makes clear commercial sense.

However, speaking with regard to Health and Safety issues, Churchill Director Phil Moxom said: "The greatest asset any company has is its workforce. Clearly, the safety and well-being of that workforce is of paramount importance, so here at Churchill we are committed to doing all we can to prevent accidental injury at work.

We've embraced several initiatives over the years, and are pleased that our attention to safe working practices has now added SIAC to our list of safety accreditations."

Harvey Dun of Time Consultancy welcomed Churchill to the scheme, saying: "Churchill brings considerable experience and a clear commitment to embracing the SIAC charter."

Churchill Acquire Team Clean Limited

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:00:00 +0100

We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of the largest independent supplier of quality cleaning services in the South West of England with offices in Bristol, Devon and Cornwall.

Team Clean are a quality organisation and the highly experienced management team will continue to deliver the services to all sectors within the region and continue to develop the business.

Churchill Director, Phil Moxom said: "Many suppliers claim to cover the South West but we believe Team Clean are the only company who can genuinely deliver consistently high service levels as a result of their geographic coverage and strong operational management.

This acquisition represents tremendous opportunities for the clients and staff of both organisations and will ensure the combined Group will continue to be a leading provider within the service sector."