Regulars
10 Questions with... Lynn Webster
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 58
What was your first
job? As a cleaner and part-time chef for pocket money. My first ‘proper’ job was Assistant Domestic Manager at Leeds General Infirmary.
How did you get into the Facilities Management
industry? As my career developed within the cleaning sector, it became more apparent that the managerial roles within FM were fast overlapping the skills and responsibilities I hold, so the transition was smooth and brought the fresh challenges I was seeking.
Who, in any other industry, do you most admire?
I would have to say Karren Brady. She was one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Britain in 2010 and has many other accolades for her achievements in business. She was also a key driver for the Women and Work project that has supported training for many women in our industry over the last few years.
If money was no object, what car would you buy?
I love my white (with a dark blue roof) Audi Cabriolet, but without my environmental head on, it would be an Aston Martin DB9 or a part share of Chris Evans’ Ferrari collection.
How would you improve the Facilities Management
industry? There is a significant negative image that some people in FM hold of the
cleaning sector, which I, alongside the leading cleaning companies, are working hard to address through investment in training programmes and improved management practice. Facilities Management companies and their clients must do the same, or put themselves at risk by failing in what is a critical core support services
Q6 Q7
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Once I realised I was going to be too tall to be a ballerina (and having two left feet), my main focus was to become a teacher.
What do you do to unwind? Running a successful
business doesn’t allow much time for recreation but certainly cooking plays a large part; hiding away in the kitchen to bake can be quite therapeutic and our cricket teas have been voted ‘best in the league’ for the last four years. I also love my garden, although I am not up to Chelsea or Alan Titchmarsh standards yet!
Q8
If you could host a dinner party with any three
guests, dead or alive, with a fourth cooking and a fifth providing the music, who would they be and why? My cook would have to be Nigella Lawson whose chocolate cake is divine. It would be a girls’ night in with music from Tina Turner or Adele, as I love of both of their music and one of my favourite authoresses Jane Austen or Jilly Cooper. Jane for her wit and Jilly for her humour (and to find out the next instalment of Rupert Campbell-Black’s escapades).
Each month, we ask an industry professional the Tomorrow’s FM 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Lynn Webster, Director of LWC Ltd immediate past National Chairman of BICSc and one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism 2011.
Q9
What do you think is the future of the Facilities
Management industry? We are seeing the continued trend towards the inclusion of cleaning in increasingly large bundles of facilities services, alongside catering, security, mail, reception and other ‘soft’ services. This can lead to the dilution of skilled resource in each of the disciplines, as efficiencies are pursued by the reduction of management and administration levels. The pressure to do this becomes even greater when these ‘soft’ services are combined with ‘hard’ services like M&E, grounds or fabric maintenance in a full facilities management contract. We are in danger of becoming ‘Jack of all trades’ and the master of none.
Emma Bailey, of Interim FM Solutions, asks…
Q10
Of all the properties you have visited
or worked within, which has inspired you the most? I love old architecture, and the skills of generations from another age, so perhaps the opportunity I have had to have visited all three of the only Mansion Houses in the country (London, York and Doncaster) are my greatest inspiration. Or to drag myself into the 21st Century - the Olympic Park must be the one and only.
Check out next month’s issue to see what Lynn asked our next industry professional...
www.lwc-ltd.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
