Let’s not take innovation for granted
Paul Thrupp highlights how Council members can apply for BCC funding to drive new ideas.
Regular readers of this column will know that I often mention how important The Cleaning Show is, and that I encourage the whole of the cleaning industry to get involved.
I always also try to ensure that on behalf of the British Cleaning Council I declare an interest, because we co- produce it with Quartz Business Media. This means we get a share of the revenues generated by the show, and it is this money that funds the work of the BCC.
"The DCA discovered that many owner- managers of small domestic cleaning businesses struggled to recruit and
retain reliable staff, were unsure about what to charge and needed guidance to better manage and promote their company."
What might be less well-known is that proceeds from The Cleaning Show are ring-fenced for a programme of grant funding for our members. In other words, we create a pot of money which can be applied for by any BCC member who has an idea which could potentially benefit the cleaning industry.
But we don’t simply dish out money like a cash machine, where all you need is a BCC membership to act as a pin number. Members have to submit detailed applications highlighting how their proposal will make a positive impact on their sector, and also guarantee to match funding from their own organisation. They also need to be an ‘active’ Council member, attending meetings and inputting into our wider work across the sector.
These applications are then scrutinised by the BCC’s Finance and Policy committee (made up of elected Council members) and are either accepted, rejected or returned to the applicant with suggestions of how the proposal could be improved. And even after getting through the tough F&P assessment, the proposal still has to be approved by a majority of BCC members.
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As the BCC’s Deputy Chair, I am delighted that two members who have benefitted from the BCC’s grant funding recently have enjoyed some highly positive trade media exposure for their projects. One of these (and again here I need to declare an interest) was a grant given to the Federation of Window Cleaners – of which I am a member – which would allow us to take part in a ground-breaking piece of health and safety research.
In case you missed the story, the project involves a consortium of partners from the window cleaning sector joining forces with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and ergonomic research specialists dorsaVi.
The exercise focused on gathering data generated by sensors worn by operatives using telescopic water fed pole equipment, which allowed the HSE to better understand the impact on the users’ back, shoulders and neck when using such kit.
Another BCC member, the Domestic Cleaning Alliance (DCA), applied for funding for a very different type of project which was as equally important to its members.
The DCA had discovered that many owner-managers of small domestic cleaning businesses struggled to recruit and retain reliable staff, were unsure about what to charge for different services, and needed guidance to better manage and promote their company.
After consulting with its members, the DCA concluded that a series of face-to-face workshops – and a suite of ‘how- to’ videos – could help address some of these issues, and applied to the BCC for some funding, which was approved.
While both these examples differ hugely in terms of scope and scale, what they demonstrate is that to take our industry forward, and improve outcomes for employees, we need to be constantly exploring new ideas.
I’m therefore proud the BCC gets to play a key role in this process, and I look forward to more of our members coming forward with proposals which could help change the way we all do our jobs.
So next time you are debating the whether or not to support The Cleaning Show (there I go again) remember that its success actually drives innovation and helps raise standards.
www.britishcleaningcouncil.org twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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