Setting the stage for the industry

THE FINALISTS have been announced for the 2024 Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards. Congratulations go to the 57 finalists from 28 companies, who will be contacted individually to discuss next steps and provided with all the details for the main event.

Over the last  30 years, the Kimberly -Clark Professional Golden Service Awards has become the must attend event in the cleaning and FM industry calendar. The awards are one of the most sought-after-accolades in the industry, and a total of 18 awards for excellence, innovations and industry leading standards are presented across a variety of sectors, including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality, education, leisure and office.  

To honour the achievements of the industry in diverse and challenging times, the 2024 Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards has two new categories: a Social Impact Award recognising positive impact on people and communities, and Cleaning Team of the Year Award for outstanding contributions.

The announcement of the finalists follows the first stage of judging carried out independently by The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc).The finalists will now go through to the next stage of judging which for most categories includes a site visit by a BICSc judge. The site visits will take place during December and January, with the judges  looking for innovation, staff training, and client relationships as the main criteria for assessment. BICSc will be in touch in the coming days to arrange a visit or telephone interview.

The judges have announced there was a 30% increase in entries this year.  Neil Spencer-Cook, BICSc COO said: “The increase in applicants was great to see and the standard of entries very good. The focus on sustainability, teamwork and staff wellbeing were key factors in the entries.  The rise in strong entries in the diversity and inclusion category shows that the industry is ahead of the curve in this area.”

Booking your place

The stage is being set for the next Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards which will take place on Thursday 23rd May 2024 at the London Hilton, Park Lane. Tickets are on sale priced £250 plus VAT, grab yours quick. Following the highest number of entries since Kimberly-Clark Professional founded the biennial Golden Service Awards in 1991, tickets are expected to go quickly – make sure you don’t miss out celebrating the amazing achievements of the industry and book now by contacting  Suzanne Howe Communications on 0203 468 0923, or email gsa@suzannehowe.com.

The event begins at 12.15 with a drinks reception, followed by a three-course lunch at 1pm in The Grand Ballroom.  The awards ceremony will take place between 3pm and 4pm where our celebrity host will be joined on stage by Craig Bowman, General Manager, UK & Ireland to present the 18 awards.  
 

What the industry says about the event 

Over 500 leading  cleaning and FM clients, contractors and service companies join to celebrate at the Golden Service Awards and the amazing role the industry continues to play in uncertain times with the very best from the UK workforce.   

What does it mean to them to be part of such an important event: 

Lynn Webster is Director of Lynn Webster Consultants, a professional consultancy for the cleaning and facilities management industries. Lynn is a well known personality within the industry.  

Lynn says, “The Golden Services Awards are well established as the Oscars of the Cleaning Industry; not forgetting, therefore, the initial accolade of being a finalist like a nomination for their Hollywood counterparts.

“Personally, I have been involved in various ways since the early days and their inception decades ago, proudly watching them gather momentum year on year, with them now regarded as the pinnacle of achievement for so many in our industry. 

“It is so valuable to see acknowledgement of our amazing cleaning operatives; teams and valued service providers being recognised for excellence in this way. 

“My congratulations to all the finalists and I look forward to joining in the excitement of the Awards for those selected as the overall winners with icing on their cake and a huge cherry on the top!”

A must attend event for all in the industry 

The Golden Service Awards attracts the best in the industry and is attended by hundreds of representatives from the cleaning and FM sectors – possibly for the first time since the 2020 event.  It is the perfect opportunity to connect with key contacts, meetup with your peers, mingle with new talent and make new contacts.  

Nick Winstone is Managing Director of BioVate Hygienics, and has been attending the Golden Services Awards and supports the event as a bronze sponsor. He adds, “The heritage and prestige of the Golden Service Awards makes it a must attend event for all in the industry. This is the right place to network with the right people and has been the platform for many successful partnerships. But most importantly it is a joy to see the people who work the hardest in the FM and Cleaning industry recognised for their achievements.” 

Previous winners of the awards also add: ‘ We see the Kimberly-Clark Professional awards as being important to The Exclusive Services Group as they remain an external verification of a consistent service delivery that exceeds the expected. However, what is even more special is seeing the true pleasure and pride that our teams showed when they won! As an industry that demands and deserves far more recognition, the Golden Service Awards are a tangible and exciting demonstration of industry professionalism. Therefore they are important to us!” says Jim Melvin, Group Chief Executive, The Exclusive Services Group Ltd. 

After winning multiple Golden Service Awards, Dominic Ponniah,  CEO & Co Founder of Cleanology adds. “It’s such an honour to be recognised as amongst the best in our industry. It is also a huge morale booster for our staff to know they work for a company leading the way and doing the right thing on sustainability. To receive an accolade as prestigious as the GSA is recognition of the hard work of my team, our clients and our supply chain.”

Mock the Week and Outnumbered star announced as host.

To add more sparkle to the occasion, Kimberly-Clark Professional has announced the celebrity host for the 2024 Golden Service Awards – actor and comedian Hugh Dennis. 

Hugh Dennis is known for being the long-standing team captain on BBC2’s hit topical panel show Mock the Week’. Hugh is also a writer with credits for BBC Radio 4’s award winning comedy The Now Show and has appeared in Outnumbered for BBC1.

A skilled impressionist, Hugh did voices for Spitting Image with comedy partner, Steve Punt, whom he met at university in Cambridge and the pair formed half of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on BBC Radio 1. Hugh has performed on various TV and also radio shows. These include the imaginatively titled Punt and Dennis Show and sitcom, Me You and Him. He has guest hosted a number of times on Have I Got News For You and played the obnoxious GP Piers Crispin in the hugely successful BBC sitcom, My Hero.

More recent, TV work saw Hugh present The Great British Dig. This is a series in which Hugh, along with three archaeologists knock on ordinary people’s doors, asking them if they can dig in their gardens.  Hugh has been spotted in the James Bond film No Time to Die. He played a scientist in Q’s laboratory.  Since 2014, he has appeared in the popular BBC sitcom, Not Going Out with Lee Mack.  He has also been in eight episodes of Taskmaster and presented, Huge Homes with Hugh Dennis.

Also, joining us again as Master of Ceremonies / Voice of God is one of the most famous voices in Britain, Alan Dedicoat from Strictly Come Dancing, the National Lottery and BBC Radio 2. 

The sponsors 

Without sponsors the cleaning and FM industry would not get the opportunity to celebrate its amazing achievements at this prestigious event. For 2024, Kimberly-Clark Professional welcomes a new gold sponsor, Kärcher, the world's number one cleaning technology provider. Returning are silver sponsors Nationwide, and Bunzl Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies, which are joined this year by a new silver sponsor, Soap20, and returning bronze sponsor, BioVate Hygienics as well as our new bronze sponsor EcoBreeze. 

Suzanne Howe is managing director at Suzanne Howe Communications

A  list of the well-deserved finalists also available at https://www.goldenserviceawards.co.uk/en-gb/award-results/2024-finalists.