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Latest Employee of the Season – Ingrid Antonio

Posted by & filed under Company News, Employee of the Season.

The winner of our quarterly Employee of the Season award was announced last week. Every head office staff members was encouraged to nominate a colleague who deserves to be given this title. Despite there being a number of people who received more than one vote, there was a clear winner – Ingrid Antonio.

Ingrid has been working as a Contracts Manager at Rapid since April 2017. She is hard working, dedicated to ensuring that her customers and cleaners are happy and as if that weren’t enough…she makes a mean curry!

Ingrid Antonio - Employee of the Season

Left to right: Emily Hunter (HR), Eddie Kalule (Operations Manager), Ingrid Antonio (Contracts Manager), Jeff Whitton (Managing Director)

 

This is what Ingrid’s colleagues had to say about her…

  • Since I joined Rapid, I have found Ingrid to be very hard working, she will go above and beyond to ensure her sites are at the standard we would all expect and she always goes out of her way to help anyone that requires her assistance within Rapid.
  • Ingrid has always been good at her work but I think over the last couple of weeks she has gone the extra mile booking in meetings and taking appropriate actions, making sure that clients have faith in Rapid once again.
  • She works very hard, has a beautiful soul and she so deserves a Rapid lift especially today as she has got a face like thunder!
  • Ingrid for her constant bubbly personality around the office.
  • I think it should be Ingrid as she has taken on some of Dominika’s old sites and even worked weekends when necessary.
  • I’d like to vote for Ingrid please. She’s the nicest lady on this planet – who would get up super-duper early to cook for their office?! Such a caring, sassy lady we need more Ingrid’s in this world.
  • This is not only because she has brought in the most delicious food (which she has generously shared with us all and brought happiness to many people’s lunchtimes) but she continues to bring the same determination and great team spirit to her work.
  • I am not just persuaded by the food (but that is great!). A willingness to help and take on contracts at short notice and get a result where others struggle.

I think you’ll agree that this award is thoroughly well deserved. Congratulations Ingrid – keep up the excellent work!

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Rapid Superstar Winner(s) – Quarter 4 of 2018

Posted by & filed under Cleaning Team, Rapid Superstar.

Another quarter ends and another Superstar is crowned! We had so many excellent cleaners nominated for a variety of reasons this quarter. The one thing they all have in common however, is their commitment to going  above and beyond in their role as a cleaning operative.

Below you will see the nominees with a comment from their Rapid line manager, the runners up who have received feedback from their line manager as well as the customer and finally, the two winners who have received amazing feedback from the school where they clean.

Superstar Q4 2018 (more…)

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Rapid Superstar Quarter 3 of 2018

Posted by & filed under Cleaning Team, Company News, Rapid Superstar.

We’ve been running the Rapid Superstar Awards since 2013. Historically, we would crown one person the Superstar and he/she would get all of the recognition.

As time has gone on, an increasing number of Rapid employees are being nominated by their Contracts Managers and customers are also giving great feedback. It’s a nice problem to have but we are finding it difficult to pick just one person!

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Merry Christmas From Us to You

Posted by & filed under Corporate Social Responsibility.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our customers, suppliers and staff, a very Happy Christmas.

Instead of sending Christmas cards, every year we choose a charity to support. Our staff made some great nominations, all very worthy causes, but we finally opted for Crisis who support the homeless.

The 20 people we are sponsoring will receive:

  • A warm welcome and good company
  • Three nutritious, hot meals daily, including a delicious Christmas dinner
  • A bed for the night, if needed
  • A chance to shower, freshen up and get clean clothes
  • A health check and treatment from a doctor, optician and dentist
  • Expert help with mental health and addiction problems
  • Advice on housing, employment and benefits
  • A way out of homelessness for good through Crisis’ year-round training, education and support.

Thank you for your support in 2018 and we wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2019.

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What is TUPE and how does it affect your business?

Posted by & filed under Cleaning.

TUPE (pronounced too-pee) is a word that seems to cause a lot of confusion within the cleaning industry. Speaking to potential customers, they are often unclear as to what it means and the subsequent implications on them as a business.

What is TUPE?

What is TUPE?

Firstly, the current TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employees) regulations apply to every industry. It is not exclusive to cleaning. TUPE is a piece of legislation that the Government brought in to protect the employee’s rights when a contract transfers from one company to another.

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Our Rapid Employee of the Season – Summer 2018

Posted by & filed under Company News.

Every quarter our head office team is given the opportunity to nominate one of their colleagues to be crowned Employee of the Season. We ask everyone to only vote for someone who they feel has gone above and beyond in their role during that season and really deserves to win this esteemed title.

Who was the summer 2018 winner?

Our Accounts Assistant, Laura Virtue, was the clear winner this quarter with 10 votes! Here are some of the great things that her colleagues had to say about her…

  • Laura has great attendance, she is such a positive person and has grown in confidence and productivity over the past 6 months. She’s a great team player too!
  • Laura is such a genuine, nice person who is a pleasure to work with, never met someone so happy.
  • Every day she makes me laugh and makes working here even more enjoyable.
  • She is always positive, upbeat and willing to go the extra mile.
  • Laura is very helpful and I personally find her a great support to myself and my role. Every office needs a Laura! 😊
  • She is so helpful and always chirpy.
  • She has never been in a grumpy mood always helpful in work and beyond; a great credit to the accounts department and extremely courteous.
  • She’s hard working, reliable and always has a smile on her face.
  • She is always pleasant and smiling, any requests are dealt with timely and without fuss.
  • She is always in on time, rarely off sick and willing to help out in any area that she can.

Laura is a very deserved winner, someone who is clearly held in high esteem by her colleagues. Congratulations Laura and keep up the good work!

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Our Latest Rapid Superstar – Quarter 2 of 2018

Posted by & filed under Rapid Superstar.

Last week, we had the privilege of meeting the winners of this quarter’s Superstar Award – Carla Pais and Nuno Pereira. Carla and Nuno work on two of our sites, EValue and Florco; they been highly valued Rapid employees since 2015.

Jeff Whitton, Rapid’s Managing Director (far right) and Peter Soares (third from left), Rapid’s Contracts Manager, went to EValue’s site in Newbury. They spoke to Eilidh Huntley, EValue’s Office Manager (third from right) who gave this glowing feedback on Carla and Nuno’s work…

“We are delighted that Carla & Nuno have been nominated for this award. Carla and Nuno are both extremely hard workers, they are reliable and take great pride in their work. They go that extra mile to genuinely care about us as a client – reporting anything that they see that isn’t right before it could potentially become a greater problem e.g. leaks in the toilet/problems with the dishwasher etc. They are great ambassadors for Rapid Clean and we wish them both well.”

Congratulations to Carla and Nuno and thank you both for your continued commitment to Rapid Clean. All of the other Superstar nominees will have received a small gift in the post last week.

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Macmillan Coffee Morning Success

Posted by & filed under Corporate Social Responsibility.

Bringing millions of people together for coffee and cake, Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning has become a British institution over the years – with thousands of events happening up and down the country.

On Thursday 4th October we hosted a Macmillan Coffee Morning to help raise vital funds for people living with cancer. As a company, we have long been a supporter of Macmillan. In 2015 we raised a total of £5188.33 through various sponsored and fundraising events.

Last week’s coffee morning was instigated by Sue Smitz, our Credit Controller, who did a fantastic job of rallying the troops. Our office staff were encouraged to bring in their favourite bakes as well as some pennies to purchase them. Our thanks go to Sue for organising such a successful event.

Speaking after the event, Sue said:

“We really enjoyed doing our bit for this year’s Coffee Morning. It was great to get people together, have a nibble and a natter and raise money for Macmillan at the same time. I am pleased to confirm that we raised £107.37 from the coffee morning last week. Thanks to all the bakers for supplying the delicious goodies and thank you to everyone for the generous donations!”

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Rapid Superstar Nominations – Quarter 2 of 2018

Posted by & filed under Cleaning Team, Rapid Superstar.

We have a number of excellent cleaning operatives who have been nominated to win our Superstar Award this quarter. Every person mentioned below has one thing in common: they go above and beyond in their role and their line manager wants to publicly recognise them for their hard work. 

Ecaterina-Giorgiana Raban who cleans Brakes and Bright Water Inn as nominated by Craig Love

“The customer has asked for Ecaterina to be recognised for her impeccable standards and reliability, welcoming attitude and work ethic! She is an excellent cleaner really conscientious, especially as the customer wont sign the audit off unless its 100%!”

Sirlei Rodrigues who cleans Twogether Creative as nominated by Angela Knox

“The customer speaks very highly of Sirlei and she does a tremendous job for us with no problems at all. Audit results are always high.”

Anna Blaszczyk who cleans The Huntsman as nominated by Solomon Adadevoh

“Anna is a valuable member of the team. She works to cover extra hours and is always willing to go the extra mile. When Donald the supervisor was off, she stepped up and made sure the job was done without any complaints. She is a real superstar in my eyes.”

Marie Charloton who cleans Stericycle and Point to Point as nominated by Bernice Anim

“Marie is an outstanding member of staff and has helped at many sites. She also helped deep clean toilets at Prisym and South lake School which received really good feedback. I wish more people were like her!”

Mutiat Jayeola who cleans Camberwell Leisure as nominated by Ingrid Antonio

“Mutiat is one of my supervisors who understands what it takes to lead a team. She is willing to change her own shift times and to help to arrange cover and goes over and above expectations. This individual truly deserves the recognition.”

Carla Pais and Nuno Pereira who clean E-Value and Florco as nominated by Peter Soares

“Carla and Nuno work together to deliver a very good service. They’re reliable, hard workers and are really appreciated by the clients and managers! I know the customer is as keen as me to have them recognised.”

Priscilla Baodu who cleans Jarvis Homes, Harpenden Lawn Tennis Club and Inn on the Green as nominated by Sabeeh Tahir

“Priscilla is really good at her job! Her attendance is brilliant and she makes sure we deliver the cleaning as per schedule. If the client asks her for additional, one off help then she is always happy to oblige. All clients she works with give compliments about her and she has an excellent working relationship with them.”

Scott Parnell who cleans Thames Club as nominated by Diana Marothy

“Since Scott started working at the Thames club, I have had lots of positive comments about him from the customer. He is reliable, honest and is doing a brilliant job.”

Shobha Rana Thapa who cleans Cherrywood Community Childcare as nominated by Goran Velinovski

“Shobha is a very good member of staff and is always reliable; she never lets me down. Communication is good, she is honest and is a hard worker.”

Jana Subashi who cleans Axon as nominated by Aga Skupien

“Jana is extremely helpful, kind and goes above and beyond to satisfy the customer.”

Every person mentioned will receive a letter and voucher as a thank you for their commitment to Rapid but there can only be one winner. We will let you know who that winner is in due course…

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