Making a difference… Elizabeth Flores

Welcome back to our ‘I Make a Difference’ blog series where we’ve been sharing insights and stories from individuals within our group of specialist businesses, shedding light on the unique and impactful contributions they make.

Elizabeth’s story

Elizabeth Flores is an account lead for Churchill based in London but frequently travels across various client sites nationally. Originally from Bolivia South America, Elizabeth has been living in the UK for 20 years. Since joining Churchill in 2018, she has embarked on a remarkable journey, beginning as a cleaner but swiftly promoted to supervisor, progressing to Support Manager and then steadily to Account Manager. Aware of her potential and commitment, our client created a bespoke role for Elizabeth after she expressed a desire for something more challenging.

As an Account Lead, Elizabeth’s day-to-day duties include not only liaising with on-site supervisors and cleaning staff to ensure they have all the necessary resources but also seeking innovations to provide insights and enhance the team’s work. This element of her role is where she is currently focusing her efforts, exploring how the building’s technology can support smarter cleaning. Although it adds more workload Elizabeth recognises the importance of innovation and embraces change to better the outcome for the client.

Managing the client’s expectations forms a large part of her role, which comes with its challenges, however, the strong relationship she has built with the client over the years serves as a unifying force to address and overcome these challenges together. Her performance and dedication mean that the client can step back from the daily running and focus on other areas of their business. They rely on her expertise to make sure the work is done to a high standard.

When asked what she loves most about her role she draws on her relationship with the client and the trust they have built. It’s clear she takes pride in the ownership she holds for the various sites, ensuring the client is not only happy but also well taken care of.

Elizabeth’s care and fondness extend to her team, whom she spends a significant amount of time training and providing with the tools they need to advance in their careers. An example of this support was when she arranged English lessons for a colleague to boost their confidence when applying for a supervisor role. The language barrier was holding the individual back, but she supported them by practising out of hours and offering encouragement when they were struggling. Ultimately this support helped them achieve the promotion and get a new opportunity to better themselves.

Elizabeth strongly believes in her team’s potential, and it is important to her to support them in any way possible. “I think it is important for people to know what they are capable of. I got to where I am today because someone believed in me, and I believe in my team. I’m constantly telling them that they can do it, that I believe in them and that I am here to support them. I do whatever it takes to help them become the best version of themselves.”

When speaking to Elizabeth’s colleagues they noted how she is always willing to go above and beyond, stepping in for events and mobilisations at other sites when they are short-staffed or helping with audits and cleaning plans for other clients. As a single mother of two, Elizabeth values her time, but she willingly stays late when work demands it or when her team needs additional support – sometimes even dedicating her spare time at the weekends to make sure the client and her team are happy.

If you missed our previous blogs, make sure you have a read of Kelly and Eric’s stories.