I am a single mum with an 11-year-old boy, and I live 11 miles outside Aberdeen, in Stonehaven, and I’ve got a new puppy called Sadie, she gets to come to the office with me every day. Career wise, I started working for Argos, worked my way up and became a store manager, I was there almost 12 years.
I met Andrew when he got his first office in Aberdeen, I’d moved jobs and was the building manager. About a year later Andrew contacted me to see if I was interested in working with him – and I was! I came in originally to help streamline things in the office, but I ended up taking on the accounts, invoicing, dealing with suppliers, and so on.
TGC have always been very accommodating around the hours that I work; they’ve been as flexible as I’ve needed because the days my son is with his dad are always different. It’s just amazing to work for someone who puts family first. There’s a lot of trust in the business and they empower me to do my job, they let me get on with what I’m doing on a daily basis and I love it.
I’ve taken more things on as the years have gone by. I invoice and deal with all the franchisees, some of the tasks I do with David are very methodical and we both approach them very differently, but that gets a better outcome in the end.
I’ve been here since the beginning of TGC really, so the systems have grown and evolved as we have. I think there are two cleaners who’ve been here a little bit longer than me.
I enjoy it because I’m not micro-managed. Previously I was a decision maker and I like that I can do that here too. I like that it’s like a family; we can laugh and joke with each other and we can also be serious and it’s not stuffy and formal. We can have conversations about work and other things too. Everyone’s really approachable and there are good friendships here between us all.
I’ve been here since 2016 – and no two days are the same. One Monday won’t be the same as last Monday – unless it’s an invoice day – I don’t get that Monday dread going to work here at all.
Invoicing is my biggest challenge probably, but I still get a massive kick out of getting it done. This month I had to get it done in a shorter time frame due to annual leave and I managed it, which I personally got huge satisfaction out of.
I feel like the loyalty’s different opposed to when you work in a large corporate environment. I definitely feel a different kind of loyalty to Andrew and David than I did when I worked elsewhere.
I think their values are important because it benefits me. As I said I‘ve got my son, he’s 11. Being environmentally friendly and carbon negative, this is going to benefit him and his generation when he’s my age. If more people/companies did the same, it could help the world a lot more.
Also with the flexibility, to be able to go to my son’s school shows and sports day etc during working hours means so much to me, I don’t have to miss anything, and my son will always remember that I was able to be there, some parents aren’t as fortunate.
I am very happy in my role; I am part of the senior management team for head office and love my role within it. I went full time from 1st August 1st I and that’s the next exciting part of my journey with TGC.
Interview: June 2022, updated August 2022
If you have cleaning experience, and would like to do more; have a positive attitude, take pride in your work, enjoy being part of a team, and share our values, then please contact us info@tidygreenclean.co.uk or via our Facebook page to find out more.
