10 Questions with... Alex Blake
Each month we ask a cleaning industry professional the Tomorrow’s Cleaning 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Alex Blake, Business Development Director at ABM Critical Solutions.
1
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? After I graduated, I started a mobile phone business with
a good friend. We opened a shop in Bournemouth and we focussed on selling phones, phone repairs, upgrades and B2B contracts.
2
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE CLEANING INDUSTRY? I was interested in sales and wanted to travel rather
than be at a desk. I got a job with ICE (Industrial Cleaning Equipment) in sales support. I was on the road five days a week installing cleaning equipment and providing training, which really opened my eyes to the industry.
3 4
5
WHICH THREE WORDS DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Amiable, ambitious, reliable.
IF YOU COULD VISIT ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHY?
I would love to play golf at Augusta National in Georgia. Every year I watch the masters from start to finish on TV and wish I was there. The sounds of the wildlife and colours of the azaleas make it look magical.
HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE THE CLEANING INDUSTRY?
A highly skilled and motivated workforce will ultimately produce a higher standard of work. IoT is also helping the industry to develop smarter ways of working which is going to make a historically labour-intensive service more reactive and productive.
6
IF AN INTERN WERE TO START TOMORROW, WHAT’S THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD
GIVE THEM? Knowledge is power! Take a step back from your position and take a 360-degree view of the industry. If you don’t have experience, spend some time on the floor and understand what the front line do. Speak frankly with your clients and ask questions. Keep up to date with industry insights, white papers, trade magazines and issues that affect your clients. Showing an eagerness to learn is very important when starting a new role.
7
IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY TOMORROW, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR FORTUNE?
I would tick some of the places I want to visit off of my bucket list such as China, India and Australia. I love cars so there are a couple I’d love to have in the garage. My sensible side would invest for the long term, probably in an Emerging
56 | 10 QUESTIONS 8 9
IF YOU COULD HOST A DINNER PARTY AND INVITE ANY THREE PEOPLE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD
THEY BE AND WHY? Michael Winner would be great company, one of my favourite artists George Michael, and Terry Wogan. He was such a funny person and he loved food. I would ask him to read a Janet and John story for the table.
WHAT, DO YOU THINK, IS THE FUTURE OF THE CLEANING INDUSTRY?
Internet of Things, automation and robotics. The cleaning industry has embraced technology over the last 10 years and now more data is created than ever before, but I still feel that there isn’t a benchmarked standard for implementing that data into service delivery.
Paul Jakeway, Marketing Director at Deb Group UK, asks: 10
HOW DO YOU THINK SMART TECHNOLOGY WILL REVOLUTIONISE THE CLEANING INDUSTRY?
It should drive productivity and reduce waste. App development and utilisation is a key driver for smart technology in the cleaning industry. Smart technology means cleaning services can be reactive and proactive, as opposed to scheduled and, ultimately, this will improve the service and add value.
www.abm.co.uk/critical-solutions
Check out next month’s issue to see what Alex asked our next industry professional...
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
Markets Fund or similar, and create a trust fund for my kids. The rest would be used to improve my golf game.
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