In the Know

Sept 2015

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Bright

Ideas

A note from

Bernard

Message

from Mary

Competi-

tions

Gim-

me 5

Staff News

Work News

Extra Mile

Award

FunZone

What's

Cooking

Notice

board

The Social

Committee

V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 1 5

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test. Elbert Hubbard

Dear Read-

ers,

I am pleased to publish our 3rd edition of Grosvenor in the Know for 2015—now into its 4th year, which you will see has had

something of a face lift :) I do hope you all like it!

As always, Thank You all for your contributions and very positive feed-back relating to the magazine over the past 3.5 years. Please do contin-ue to send in your good news, achievements, articles, opinions and ideas because without you, ITK doesn't work.

We have some new features this quarter but if you have any ideas or thoughts please do let me know.

If you have anything you would like featured please email me and I would be happy to include it in our next edi-tion.

Thank you all again for your contin-ued feedback and support!

Happy reading!

This quar-ters 3

genius bright Ide-as, suggestions and inventions for every day house hold items.

If you have a bright idea or suggestion please do send it

in for the next edition.

[Left] Bed linen storage: Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases

and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

[Right] Bottle bird feeder. This is a brilliant way

to recyle old bottles and cre-

ate a little gar-den sanctuary.

[Left] Lego Man Cable Holder, avoid the annoy-ance of constantly looking under the table for your cable by using this smart lego solution.

Marianne x

Hello everyone! As we approach the last quarter of 2015, I am pleased to reflect on some of the positive activity within the Grosvenor Services group. In The last three months we have acquired a specialist technology company called GC2, which has now been fully incorporated in the group. This new business complements our other facility services and offerings for our clients. I would like to welcome Andy Smith and his company to the Grosvenor Services group. Our ongoing ob-jective is to work in partnership with our clients and to add value for them with other solutions wherever possible. We are excited about the potential of this business to offer technology solutions to our existing clients and to create a new market for us. Above all, it gives us the ability to extend our service offer-ing beyond facility services, cleaning , security and positions the company to grow market share sustainably across Ireland, UK and USA.

We are working to provide training and development opportunities for our own people by adding new pro-grammes for our employees to improve skills and competence. The group of supervisors who completed the recent Supervisory Skills programme in Magna Park achieved great results and have been very positive about the challenging content of the course and what they have learned. Another group has started and the plan is to make the training available widely. In the UK, we are seeking support through the Skills Funding agency for the apprenticeship programme and we will have more news on this later in the year. Another initiative which has been warmly received was the customer service training module which have been rolled out on certain contracts. Given the absolute importance of customer service and the ability to handle our clients with care and understanding, we see this training as a great benefit to the company. We will be making this available to others in the near future. I am also pleased to see that the new Employee Handbook has been launched. This is available in booklet as well as electronically on the HUB. Containing valuable insights into culture and ethos as a company, it is also very clear on the values and standards we uphold as a business. I would like to think that everyone in the business embraces the values and standards, but we know that sometimes people may not. To succeed we must not tolerate poor performance or be complacent as our cli-ents satisfaction of service is paramount. The values and standards we share are at the heart of our customer promise and are essential if our plans to grow and prosper are to succeed. Thank you all for your continued support in the business every day.

Bernard Mc Cauley Group Managing Director

Dear Colleague, I am very pleased to let you know that we are all set to launch our new Employee Handbook for Grosvenor Services on 01 October 2015. The handbook provides a basic overview and set of guidelines for all our employees at Grosvenor Services. It is designed to support your employ-ment contract which covers the basic terms and conditions of your em-ployment regardless of your role or job title. Ideally you should read the handbook in conjunction with your employment contract. As well as being available as a booklet, the handbook is also accessible electronically on the HUB. The handbook is a source of useful information on a range of topics relating to your employ-ment. It is written in plain English and laid out in

such a way that it is easy to find what you may want to check. The contents page at the front lists the topics which are covered. There is a glossary of use-ful links and references at the back to help you of you need more information on any specific topic. Our objective was to make the employee handbook relevant, easy-to-read, use-ful and practical. The content of the information is not however intended to be the “last word” on every topic. It is designed to be a helpful guide providing you with summary knowledge and advice with some sign-posts on where to go if you need further information. The employee handbook does form part of your terms and conditions while you are working for Grosvenor Services but the primary aim is to ensure you are well-informed and fully equipped to play an active role in our company. We value our employees and as such we want you to be an actively en-gaged in the business. We want everyone working here to be well-informed and to understand our cul-ture and ethos. This is why we included information based on questions frequently asked by our employ-ees. The handbook includes information on subjects such as diversity and equality, respect and dignity at work, corporate social responsibility and our code of conduct. Even if such topics seem less relevant to you today, you may need the information some day or you may hear a colleague seeking advice about some problem they are dealing with. Do check the handbook first and see if there is any material there and of course if you need further help or guidance, always feel free to contact HR. If you encounter a problem while you are employed, it is likely that you will be asked to refer to the handbook in the first in-stance so it is best to be prepared. While we made every effort to ensure that the handbook contains information which is factually correct at the time of publication, we will sometimes add to the information or update things by sending out addi-tional notices from time to time. We hope you find your new Employee Handbook informative and useful.

Introducing our new Employee Handbook

Mary Horgan, HR Director

Our News

Staff News

Well Done To Laura Ludwig who success-fully completed the Hell and Back Chal-

lenge in Kilruddery Estate on Saturday 12th Sept.

Congratulations Kieran

Kieran McCarthy (Payroll Manager) recently com-pleted the IPASS Diploma in Payroll Management, which is accredited by QQI (Quality and Qualifica-

tions Ireland) as a Level 6 Certificate in Payroll Management.

Congratulations to… Hassan Speigt and Staphano Bernasconi (who

work in Goods-in on the P&G account at Brooklands)

who recently passed their IATA training. This is a week’s intensive course and now allows

them to send shipments by air.

Group Scheme Want to maximise savings for your next holiday?

Remember that you have access to Groupscheme, a benefit program offered to all employees, com-plete with huge amounts of savings across the board. For example, The Wyndham Hotel Group offers a 20% discount on hotels around the world, allowing you to take full advantage of everything that your next destination has to offer. Need transportation when you get there? No Problem. Groupscheme also has a 10% discount on Hertz rental cars. By capitalising on these savings that are at your disposal, you can save hundreds. The savings have no closing dates, so you can shop when it suits you and use it as frequently as you choose. Get started with Groupscheme today by visiting www.grosvenorservices.groupscheme.com to register. ‘Rugby weekend Sat Nov 8th, Ireland v South Africa. No hotel in Dublin. Went on to Group Scheme site via Roomex got a room for 2 at Sandymount Hotel next door to the Aviva. On the hotel's own website they listed no va-cancies! Excellent value and discount too.’

Congratulations and Well Done !! to all of our Extra Mile Award Winners. Thank you for your hard efforts and keep up the good work.

Extra mile Award

June:- Damian Casey Stores, Ireland Julia Copetti M&S Clonmel IKEA Croydon Team Philip Tonkinson Nike Cheshire Oaks

July:-

Diane Whyte Ops Ireland Sheila MacDonald Finance Team Ireland Susan Smith Skegness Helen Marshall NSG

August:- Yvonne McSweeney Operations, Ireland Leckie Manville Skegness The Bicester Yard Team (Dercio Hanjam, Ricardo Paulo, Micheal

bannister, Helder Freitas) Thomas Steven Jackson NSG Gateshead

Well done to all who were nominated &

Thanks for your hard work!

Work News Supervisory Skills Training Course—Congratulations and well done! The first Supervisory Skills training course took place in July. 6 store supervisors and Laura Ludwig completed the course which is a recognised QQI Level 6 qualification (used to be FETAC) and all passed with flying colours. The supervisors were Maria Caniuca, Elena Costin, Collette Fortune, Cathriona Mullarney, Elizabeth O Connell and Pawel Sadlak. The second course starts September 30th. The supervisory skills training course is a 6-day course completed 1 day per week over a 6 week peri-od. The course begins by exploring different supervisory methods and styles in public, private and vol-untary sector settings. Then we explore the practical use of these different styles and when is best to use them. Next we learn how to create a job description and job advertisement to fill a position. We de-velop an example training plan and different training methods. Then we cover a section on performance management by creating an example employee history, as well as sample reports and letters for all of the meetings with the employee to manage the employee’s performance through training, disciplinary and setting targets and agreements for a specified time frame. Finally, we create a quality improvement proposal with power point, which is presented to the rest of the class and assessed by the trainer. We also demonstrate how to have a one-to-one meeting dealing with performance management, which is also assessed based on questions asked and how you conduct the meeting. In addition to the skills learned, the course allows Grosvenor site su-pervisors to meet and collaborate with other Grosvenor site supervi-sors, which creates more of a unit-ed and team atmosphere among Grosvenor supervisors who would rarely ever cross paths. Many of the supervisors are already very skilled in what they do, but the course al-lows them the chance to balance their natural skill with confidence and a certification which they can take with them in the progression of their supervisory and management careers

The Business Support Unit As you may be aware, we are busy setting up the Business Support Unit (which will be based in Sandyford). The purpose of the Business Support Unit is primarily to improve efficiencies through stand-ardisation and consolidation, improve customer service and create focus around processes and proce-dure as well as offering a support function for internal and external partners. Keep an eye out in the next edition for a outline of the Business Support Unit where we will introduce our BSU team and outline our services.

The Hub There is now a video tutorial section on the hub which covers using some of the Hub-based applications such as the bookings app for flights and hotels and how to complete the “who’s off” holiday tracker. HR’s Laura Ludwig has done a great job on the voice-overs for them. The video tutorials page is only getting started and over time there will hopefully be an entire library of videos.

The video tutorials are located on the IT page of the Hub and can also be accessed via quick links on the hub home page.

The team picture is of George Ure (Conference Assistant), June Wilkes (House Keeping Manager FM) and Linda Mowatt (Grosvenor / JLL) at the Vibrant Living Day at Procter & Gamble, NIC, Long Benton, Newcastle Upon Tyne on 5

th September

2015.

Various members of the Grosvenor FM team

supporting the Procter & Gamble Fun Day on site which is a yearly event. This was an excellent event, the support Grosvenor provided resulted in a fantastic email from Sheri Cooper (JLL North Europe Manager) praising the team.

I remember that summer in Dublin… taken by Marianne Lambert

We want to see your cuter than cute pictures of you aged 5 so send us in your snaps for next edition.

The Finalists

Photo Competition Every quarter we will choose a winning photo to win a One4All voucher worth either €50, $50 or £50. This competition is open to eve-ryone group wide (in Ireland, UK and USA). So go get snap happy folks!

To be in with a chance to win, all you have to do is send your photos to us at

newsletter@grosvenorservices.com

Apple Crumb Cakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the flour with the brown sugar and salt. Add the butter pieces and mix at medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal; continue mixing the streusel until very small clumps form. You can also use a pastry cutter and mix the topping by hand. Trans-fer the streusel to a large plate and refrigerate until it is well chilled, about 10 minutes.

Prepare standard-sized muffin tins with cooking spray (24 cups). In the mixer bowl, combine the flour with the granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the butter pieces and beat at low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and beaten egg and beat until the batter is smooth. Add the diced apple and beat just until incorporated.

Fill the muffin cups halfway with the crumb cake batter. Press the streusel into clumps and sprinkle on top. Bake the crumb cakes in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until ris-en, golden and springy to the touch; rotate the pans halfway through baking. Let the crumb cakes cool slightly before serving.

Make Ahead The crumb cakes can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight contain-er. Rewarm before serving.

Ingredients Streusel Topping 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Crumb Cakes 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 3/4 cup sour cream 1 large egg, beaten 2 cups peeled and finely diced Granny Smith apple (approx. 2)

1. How long have you worked in the company? Nearly 3 Years

2. What did you want to be when you were little?

Archaeologist 3. If you could describe yourself in 2 words what words would you use? Quick Thinking 4. If you could be a fictional character who would you be? Tom Riddle (aka Lord Voldemort) – similar shaped head 5. Who would you get to play you in a movie about your life? Karl Pilkington 6. If you could be anywhere in the world right now? Prague And finally, A Picture that sums you Up….

Knowing Me, Knowing you With Lee Goddard, Key Account Manager FM

We would like to take this oppor-tunity to welcome all of our new

colleagues to Grosvenor.

Head Office Ireland (Dublin):-

64C Heather Road, Sandyford Ind Estate, Dublin 18, Ire

Phone: +353 1 295 4866

Fax: +353 1 2954301

Email: ireland@grosvenorservices.com

Athlone / Midlands Office:-

Magazine Road, Athlone, Co.Westmeath, Ire

Phone: +353 906 490 748

Cork Office:-

Ground Floor, Unit 28, East Gate Drive, Little Island, Cork, Ire

Phone: +353 21 435 5112

Dublin Stores / Training Centre Ireland:-

Unit C2, 14 Magna Business Park, City West, Dublin 24, Ire

Phone: +353 1 421 5082

Belfast Office-

Ground Floor, Unit 4, Building 9, Citylink Business Park,

Belfast, BT12 4HQ

Phone: +353 906 490 748

Head Office UK (Skegness)

The Lodge, 10 Algitha Road, Skegness, Lincolnshire,

PE25 2AG, UK

Phone: +353 1 421 5082

UK Stores-

Unit 3, Hardwick Court, Alford, Lincolnshire, LN13 9JE

Phone: +44 1507 466 388

Birmingham Office-

Quattro House, The Courtyard, Roman Way, Birmingham,

B46 1HQ

Phone: +44 121 366 0560

Find Us

Lisa James Procurement Administrator

@ Alford

Please send in a picture of your new team members to

newsletter@grosvenorservices.com

Sandra O’Conner Receptionist

@ P&G Long Benton, Newcastle

Deborah Whitton @ P&G NIC

Colin Garvin Business Develop-

ment Manager, Ireland

Bernie McMeel HSEQ Manager,

Ireland

Tanya Mueller Project Manager

@ Sandyford (temp assignment)