“I encourage people to join the industry. You meet a wide range of people from all around the world and, if you start on the frontline, you will have opportunities to progress.
Manager encourages others to join the cleaning industry
Deyssy Silva is an Operations Support Manager for leading cleaning service provider the Birkin Group. She is responsible for overseeing contract cleaning teams and their supervisors at 15 sites in Hammersmith and Fulham, totalling around 150 staff.
She spends a lot of time in the field, visiting each site at least once a week, to check on the work of cleaning teams, see if they have any issues or training needs and meet the clients. She also spends time doing paperwork and processing wages as well as dealing with recruitment and interviewing applicants.
She said: “It is a big job but I am very happy to do it. It is challenging but I enjoy it. I enjoy helping my team, they are amazing people and hard working. I enjoy speaking with the clients and getting to know them and their needs. Every day is different and you learn a lot. I like the people around me in the company, my manager, the help desk, it makes my job much easier. “
Deyssy started work in the cleaning sector 20 years ago. She worked as a domestic cleaning operative before taking on a cleaning role at a bank, which ultimately led to promotion to Assistant Cleaning Manager. She has been in her current role for a year.
She said: “I encourage people to join the industry. You meet a wide range of people from all around the world and, if you start on the frontline, you will have opportunities to progress.
“Cleaning is very important in my opinion, though most people don’t recognise that. Living in a clean environment makes you happier, makes you feel good. I cannot see people having good health without it. Imagine if a hospital was dirty, that would not be the right environment for sick people to recover.”