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10 QUESTIONS


10 QUESTIONS WITH... LISA SHEPPARD


Each month we ask a cleaning industry professional the Tomorrow’s Cleaning 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Lisa Sheppard, Director of Development at Facilicom Cleaning Services.


Q1 Q2


WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? I was an office junior for an


American sport and surgery supplies company.


HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE CLEANING INDUSTRY?


I was working as an office manager for a printing company, and a colleague said I’d be good at a sales job. I took one in the cleaning industry, but were it not for me finding other skills, such as an affinity with Excel, I would have been out of the sector again very quickly; I can’t sell! Thankfully, I’ve been able to use other abilities successfully instead.


Q3 Q4


Q5


WHICH THREE WORDS DESCRIBE YOUR


PERSONALITY? Direct, focused, humorous.


IF YOU COULD VISIT ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD,


WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHY? The pyramids in Egypt. Egyptian history, their culture and ability to create such things in those times is something I find fascinating.


HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE THE CLEANING


INDUSTRY? Improve perceptions. It’s a tough job, and credit for that is not always forthcoming. Without cleaning, we’re in trouble from a health and safety point of view, if nothing else.


Q6 Q7


IF AN INTERN WERE TO START TOMORROW,


WHAT’S THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE THEM? Things are rarely as straightforward as they seem, so I would advise them never to assume anything.


IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY TOMORROW, HOW WOULD


YOU SPEND YOUR FORTUNE? Travel, flying lessons and a PhD. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are also


78 | Tomorrow’s Cleaning


Check out next month’s issue to see what Lisa asked our next industry professional...


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individual people, small groups and a couple of charities I’d love to help.


Q8


IF YOU COULD HOST A DINNER PARTY AND INVITE


ANY THREE PEOPLE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD THEY BE AND WHY? Richard Branson, Martin Luther King and a grandfather I never met. The first two simply because in the face of adversity, they kept going and found other ways to reach goals. That’s something I really admire. My Grandfather died when my Mum was a child so it would be lovely to meet him.


Q9


WHAT, DO YOU THINK, IS THE FUTURE OF THE


CLEANING INDUSTRY? We need to improve the profile and perhaps make it more of a full-time work opportunity for many. The government doesn’t even appear to recognise cleaners within the new Apprenticeship scheme starting this year, and I don’t believe that’s right or fair.


Stuart Fullerton, General Manager at Alex Reid, asks:


Q10


WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS


CUSTOMERS EXPECT FROM SUPPLIERS TODAY? Price is perhaps a given, but also customer experience based on core abilities and competencies, clear development plans for everyone, especially if good employees can remain on their contract or associated with it. Honesty is also important – on a human level, I don’t believe anyone really wants to work with elements of deceit.


www.facilicom.co.uk


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