REGULAR
10 Questions with... Jan-Hein Hemke
Each month we ask a cleaning industry professional the Tomorrow’s Cleaning 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Jan-Hein Hemke, Managing Director at Facilicom UK
of the great Seven Summits. However, the real draw for me is Japan. Their culture seems so vastly different to that of the West that I’d like to visit, immerse myself in its culture, learn from its people and understand its national identity and personality.
Q1 Q2
What was your first job? As the son of a farmer that’s
a difficult one to answer as I always seemed to be working! Joking aside, my first paid employment was with Rentokil as a Business Development Manager selling deep cleaning services for washrooms and kitchens. I’d just completed my MBA but found myself armed with a mirror checking under the rims of toilet seats. I suppose you could say I started at the bottom!
How did you get into the cleaning industry?
My MBA dissertation was on the hotel industry; where my aspirations for a future career lay. However, this was around the time of the Gulf War and the Dutch tourism trade slumped significantly, so there was a need to change the course topic as my original corporate sponsor couldn’t continue the support. I managed to secure something with Rentokil and, ultimately, post-submission they offered me a job.
Q3 Q4
72
Which three words describe your personality?
Honest, competitive and considerate.
If you could visit one place in the world, where would you
go and why? I’m a very keen climber and the obvious choice would be to pick one
Q5
How would you improve the cleaning industry?
I believe passionately in looking after the people who work in our industry. Improvement in my mind comes from removing cost as a primary focus. This will allow correct levels of management, work loads that are achievable, an opportunity for real effective training and personal development, and the delivery of sustainable and fair rates of pay.
Q6 Q7
If an intern were to start tomorrow, what’s the one
piece of advice you would give them? Be different! If you are different you can add value but not just to your employer; to yourself too.
What do you do to unwind? Sport is my big passion and
my greatest release. As well as climbing I’m a keen runner, cyclist and walker. Since moving to the UK I’ve discovered some incredible areas of natural beauty and all of my pursuits seem to lend themselves to seeing these sights in all their glory.
Q8
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could
only have one thing, what would it
be and why? I’d want a notebook and pen. However, if that’s classed as two items I’d go for the pen as I’m sure I could make something to write
Check out next month’s issue to see what Jan-Hein asked our next industry professional...
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
on. I could then write my memoirs – a suitable record of my life as a castaway should I never be found, or a lucrative book deal if I am!
Q9
What, do you think, is the future of the cleaning industry?
I can see the Public Sector realigning itself with best practices from the Private Sector, particularly with regard to pensions and other in work benefits. I believe that there will become an increased focus on sector and service specialisation within the soft FM industry, leading to a focus on single-service solutions – and thankfully, I can see that the cleaning industry will continue to lead the way towards the Living Wage replacing the Minimum Wage.
Tony Kerr, Commercial Sales and Marketing Director at Xeros, asks...
Q10
If you could revamp one piece of everyday technology,
which would it be and why?
The smartphone. This may be controversial but it seems to have created insularity and a degree of faceless non-communication in our world. If I could modify it, I would make it usable with your head up, facing forwards, looking at the person or the view ahead. Maybe it could be incorporated into a headset, or spectacles? Should I patent that idea quickly before anyone else thinks of it?
www.facilicom.co.uk
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