Bidvest Noonan Ireland

Ireland's leading provider of facilities services and solutions

Latest News

60 Seconds with Phil Payne

by

Phil Payne, Group Director of IT Customer Experience, joined us on our 60-Second interview series. Phil tells us about his role at Bidvest Noonan and shares insights he has learned throughout his life.

In one sentence, how would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan?
I am here to own the engagement between IT and the business, ensuring that we support any issues or requirements that come up as part of delivering on the corporate vision.

What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?
We recently got my whole team together in person for the first time. Although one person was unable to travel, just getting everyone together and seeing them interact with the wider IT team has given me confidence we have the right people to deliver great service to the business.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Over my career, I’ve been given lots of excellent guidance and advice, but I think the best bit of advice I’ve ever been given is just to manage expectations. IT can go wrong, people understand that, but typically, as long as you’re managing expectations and communicating well, they will be more forgiving!

How do you motivate yourself?
I always try to focus on the “bigger picture” – whether it’s work or home life. I try to focus on what really matters and not get bogged down by any knockbacks along the way – as long as I learn my lessons as I go.
Outside of work, I am married with two kids. Spending time with my family is my favourite thing to do, although that’s not always relaxing!

Who or what has inspired you the most?
Don’t tell her I told you, but probably my wife! Not only does she have to put up with me, but the way she goes about her life and juggles work, exercise, friendship, and parenting inspires me to be a better person. Without her support, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

If you had a motto, what would it be?
I can’t think of a catchy tagline, but if I could, it would be around always treating others how you wish to be treated, being empathetic, and not jumping to conclusions without having all the information available to you.

The Importance of Training in the Healthcare Sector

by

We caught up with Brigid Ryan, Operations Manager for the Healthcare sector. Brigid shares her career journey and her perspective on how Bidvest Noonan has been so successful in the sector.

How did you get started in the industry?

I started working at Bidvest Noonan in 1999 as a Mobile Area Manager. Prior to joining Bidvest Noonan, I had worked as a Healthcare Professional and I was able to use this experience to progress to the role of Operations Manager in our Healthcare Division. My first contract was at one of Cork’s busiest hospitals, and now as Operations Manager, it remains one of my key accounts to this day. It grew from there, and I have had many other healthcare partnerships since.

What sets us apart in the industry?

We were one of the first companies to introduce rigorous site auditing. I remember explaining the concept to our clients at the time. It was basically a way to provide evidence of the quality of our service and to provide a history of consistent quality of service.  Many standard practices that the industry takes for granted now were innovations that we were the first to introduce.

What is unique to working in healthcare?

I believe it is the nature of the working environment and the level of training and IPC knowledge required to perform our work in a healthcare facility. Our people are working in very challenging environments surrounded by vulnerable patients, busy staff, and visitors. Our teams have constant interaction with people while working and this can be both rewarding and challenging. Our work plays a key role in breaking the chain of infection in a healthcare environment. That is why our people must complete a wide range of infection, prevention, and control training to ensure a safe, clean environment for patients, staff, and visitors.

Is Infection Prevention and Control important to the sector?

It is hugely important, and I believe we have extensive expertise in this area. Our Healthcare Division now has an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) nurse specialist on the team. Through this investment, we have been able to expand our IPC expertise and continue to improve the service we provide. We have been able to further support our site-based teams by empowering them with the knowledge to ensure that Infection Prevention and Control is at the heart of our cleaning activities on site.

Photo of Bidvest Noonan Cleaning operative in an hospital

From Security Officer to Director of Operations

by

When he unexpectedly received an offer to study Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Nick O Connor’s heart was set on becoming a chemist. When his student grant ran out, he got a weekend job in security to support his living expenses. The career in science never panned out and Nick found himself putting more hours in at his weekend job. His path in the security industry led him to Bidvest Noonan as a Site Manager. Almost 30 years have passed since he started in the industry, and he is now Director of Operations at the company.

‘We earned this respect’
Nick credits a large part of his success to treating everyone as equals: “When I talk to my team at Bidvest Noonan, I always encourage them to be supportive of each other and try to approach everything from an empathetic perspective.”

When he began his career, he remembers that security was largely focused on stopping theft and customer service was secondary. Nick marvels at how far the industry has come. “When I started out, I felt there was very little respect for security guards, but now, we’ve earned this respect and industry licencing has certainly helped this. At Bidvest Noonan, our teams are trained in everything from first aid, suicide awareness and dealing with a wide range of challenges. The intention is to support our clients in building lasting relationships with their customers.” We have developed a fantastic, motivated and high-achieving team of people supporting tens of millions of shopping experiences annually.

Photo of Nick O Connor holding a trophy

His first role with Bidvest Noonan was as a security manager at a large shopping centre in Dublin. Although the early part of his career was focussed solely on security, as the service offerings expanded several clients wanted one point of contact overseeing all their services and Nick was asked to oversee them. He recollects, “We would start a contract with one service line and try to operate as best-in-class in that area. All of a sudden, we were providing multiple services, so I took that as a sign that we were doing a good job!”

From then, it was a natural progression. Over the next few years, larger contracts would come under his remit. “With time, some of the larger sites would fall under my domain and a few others in retail also came under my management. Today, I oversee all of the larger retail contracts within our retail portfolio in Ireland across multiple service offerings.” Nick has helped to shape and benefited from Bidvest Noonan’s vision: “The vision that the company follows today was one that I grew with, became fully involved in and got to engage with. I try to get my team involved in it as well. At this stage, we are strong leaders in what we do because we are pursuing a clear vision and have strong values.”

‘The sky is the limit’
Although a lot has changed for him over the years, Nick says, “Even when I started out, my thought process was ‘You should compare yourself to the best and not the worst’. I want to be the best, and I want my team to be the best. Now, as an Operations Director, my primary aim is to make sure that my team is the best. And that’s exactly what customers are looking for.”

Having come from humble beginnings, Nick has managed to build an exceptional career. He explains, “If you’ve got the right attitude, the sky is the limit. That has been my experience with Bidvest Noonan. If you put time and effort into it, there’s no mountain you cannot climb. I’m at a position where I’m happy with what I’m doing. But it hasn’t happened by accident, and it didn’t happen overnight either. Anyone who knows me knows that I put the effort in.”

New technologies to save on water consumption

by

At Bidvest Noonan, we work hard to reduce our water usage at every opportunity.

We work with our clients and suppliers to produce water savings plans, often introducing new environmentally friendly technologies that make more efficient use of water.

We invest in the best cleaning equipment the industry has to offer. For us, that means equipment that achieves great cleaning results while reducing our environmental impact.

In the past year, we have increased our use of highly efficient equipment such as i-Drives, i-Mops and cobotic cleaning machines to reduce our use of water.

Many of our cleaning machines use integrated solution recovery systems to achieve high cleaning standards without harsh chemicals and using just a fraction of the water.

We have introduced water recycling systems for a number of our clients. Recently, we installed a Comac InAqua for one of Ireland’s largest universities. Comac InAqua is an external purification system that allows dirty water to be loaded directly from any floor scrubber. The system filters the dirty water used for cleaning floors and makes it available for reuse. Using this system, up to 150 litres of clean water can be recycled in less than 30 minutes.

By implementing innovative solutions, we are helping many clients to reduce their use of water and make cleaning operations more environmentally friendly.

Environmental report

Now more than ever our actions matter. Our business is playing its part to help save the planet we know and cherish. We are proud to share our Environmental Report, where we outline the steps we are taking to deliver a greener and more sustainable world.

Click here to read

Making Strides with ED&I

by

In 2021, Bidvest Noonan launched its very own Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Council, with the aim of developing a more diverse workforce and a more inclusive workplace to make its teams stronger and more creative. The council is made up of people from every corner of its business, each with their own unique background.

The business recently caught up with Marina Goncalves, the IOI Chairperson of the ED&I council. In discussion, Marina talks about the journey the ED&I council has been on so far, the council’s latest achievements and initiatives, as well as some brief plans for the year ahead.

Tell us why the Bidvest Noonan ED&I council was formed?

We established our ED&I Council to bring colleagues together from across our business from different backgrounds but with one shared goal, to create a more diverse workforce and a more inclusive workplace.  We want to ensure that inclusion is part of our culture. We are making tremendous strides to achieve this. We respect each other, we care for each other, and we communicate with each other.

What has the council achieved so far?

The council has worked hard to build a foundation, setting plans and targets for the short, medium, and long term. We were recently awarded the Bronze Diversity Mark; a credit to the hard work of everyone involved with the council. I am very proud to lead the council and to have played my part in laying these foundations. It has undoubtedly made Bidvest Noonan an even more diverse and inclusive place to work. We have exciting initiatives in motion to further help us on our journey.

Tell us more about these exciting initiatives.

We have just embarked on a new ED&I Champions programme. The main purpose of this initiative is to embed ‘ED&I champions’ across our sites. These nominated champions will be trained and supported by a member of the ED&I council.  Their role is to raise awareness and encourage site-based activity and engagement around ED&I. The council has developed and provided useful toolkits for the champions to use. These toolkits include ED&I event calendars, toolbox talk tips, policies, and so much more.

We will also continue to use our people data to measure the impact of our activity and to shape our future endeavours. We believe in equal opportunity for all.  ED&I features on the agenda of our Group Executive Meetings, Country Executive Meetings, and Business Unit Meetings.

What other methods are the council using to improve our commitment to ED&I?

As a council we are always open to learning, seeking ways to improve policies and strategies to make real change. At a recent council meeting, an external trainer was invited to discuss the topic of “Inclusion for All”.  This training focussed on different types of bias and how to be more conscious when we are making decisions. We got some fantastic insights and enjoyed some anonymous activities to encourage engagement. A key takeaway from the training is that it is important to listen to what colleagues have to say and understand how they are experiencing the culture within Bidvest Noonan.

What is planned for the year ahead?

We are excited for the year ahead and the plans we have to continue this journey. We will keep our strategy a living document, one that will continue to evolve. We plan to further improve gender balance across leadership and under-represented roles, and raise awareness across the business around LGBTQI+, disability, age, social mobility, and ethnicity.

Helping UCC deliver on its sustainability goals

by

We caught up with Katarzyna Sroka, Bidvest Noonan’s Site Manager at University College Cork (UCC), to learn about the environmental initiatives being rolled out on-site, and how we are helping UCC deliver on its sustainability goals.

What does your role at UCC entail? 

My role as site manager involves managing the delivery of a high-standard cleaning service across the campus, ensuring a safe and clean environment for all the students, staff, and visitors to UCC. I also work with the Bidvest Noonan team to bring significant changes to our environmental performance on campus and find solutions that will deliver even better value for our client.

I liaise daily with my site supervisory team and the UCC head of departments to coordinate our services on site. We work in partnership with UCC and support all initiatives and activities on campus. 

Can you share some of the initiatives that you and the Bidvest Noonan team have rolled out since taking up the cleaning service at UCC?

At Bidvest Noonan, we are always looking to reduce the impact our services have on the environment. This ranges from improving how we manage waste to minimising our carbon footprint. 

We have introduced a chemical-free cleaning system that converts tap water into a highly effective cleaning agent. This system has made a significant and positive impact since we first brought it on-site in the Rahilly Building. It has made our cleaning process a lot more efficient across campus

We have moved to a greener fleet. Our vehicles on campus are hybrid and electric, reducing our tailpipe emissions and the impact on the environment.

Taking the lead from the UCC Green Campus Forum, we have also introduced regular awareness talks for our people on sustainability. Topics include car engine idling and the impact on air pollution.

We have invested in the best cleaning equipment the industry has to offer. For us, that means equipment that achieves excellent cleaning results while reducing our environmental impact. Our flat mopping floor cleaning system and i-Mop Floor Cleaning Machines all reduce the level of water usage by our teams on campus. 

We also support the university with its sustainability goals. UCC has rolled out a Paperless Office Project campus-wide by the Procurement and General services team. We are proud to help UCC with this project by adopting a paperless approach.

How have the UCC community of students and staff taken to the changes?

We are delighted to constantly receive positive feedback from staff and students. A clean and safe environment is one conducive to learning. We want to ensure students feel comfortable on campus at UCC.

We also received recognition for our sustainability initiatives on campus from the stakeholders on the Green Campus Forum at UCC. Positive feedback like this spurs our team to innovate further.

Have you any other environmental initiatives planned for UCC?

Part of our vision here at Bidvest Noonan is to be so valuable to our customers’ business. This means helping them achieve their strategic objectives, some of which are around sustainability and environmental initiatives. The Bidvest Noonan team is committed to taking all the necessary steps to help UCC achieve its environmental goals.

We have already made a significant impact, but our on-site team is always looking to improve. Our next big project is to identify initiatives that will help reduce our carbon footprint on campus.

What do you like most about your role with Bidvest Noonan at UCC?

No two days are the same and delighted to work with such a fantastic team. We are delighted to see the changes we are making are helping UCC and its sustainability goals. We feel like we are making a real difference on campus for students and faculty and having a positive impact on the planet.