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POWERED UP - AN INSIGHT BY THE IN GROUP

thread between who they are and how they show up for their job.

Health is huge for us. We offer health benefits, but also financial support. We’ve had a few staff come to us and say they’re struggling to pay their rent – especially when they’re here working and sending money back to their native homeland to support family. At times, their stories are heartbreaking to hear, but how could we not look after those who literally would be homeless without us putting our money where our mouth is? Can we do that for everyone? No. By paying above and beyond the minimum wage, and offering a roster of benefits, it is rare that our staff are faced with this. However, we have built into our operating model enough resources to make sure that when it does come up, we are there for them.

Norma Brescemi speaks to Kate Hodsdon.

In this report, we were keen to know how start- ups approached social mobility and inclusivity, as well as established organisations. We had the most inspiring conversation with Norma Brescemi, the Managing Director of Kanso, a UK- based, boutique commercial cleaning company.

How do these values translate into the everyday running of your business?

It’s great when you’re a start-up with a small team because there’s an opportunity to collaborate on everything, from the vision to the values, and how that comes to life through operations. However, very quickly that evolves because your ambitions grow when you hit certain milestones. Therefore, the ways in which those values then develop also needs to evolve. I see values as a flexible framework, but not a fixture.

Tell us about your vision and mission for Kanso.

Kanso delivers an ethical, innovative and world class cleaning service thanks to the care and motivation of our wonderful team. They do more than just clean offices – they ensure that the office is a happy place to work and in ship-shape order, so our clients can focus on getting work done with zero stress. It’s about building exceptional relationships with our clients through a level of service that is considered, and consistent. Our vision is to be a people centric organisation – inside and out – that puts customer experience at the heart of our business. We recognise that we have a road to travel and collectively push ourselves to improve every department so our staff and our clients can shine.

How does your social mobility strategy and inclusive culture shape your client relationships?

My aspiration for the business is to be the best cleaning service in the market, in terms of the service that we deliver to our clients. So many large organisations have a marketing department that creates their value statements, so they look and sound amazing. Yet, when you’re working there, those words don’t bear any resemblance to what you experience when you’re working in a support role. This cultural misalignment is a red flag for any leader – if staff don’t feel and experience what you stand for as a business, then what’s the point of having clever sounding values? That’s why our communications speak first and foremost to our team, not our clients. They must reflect what is already there, not create a marketing message for clients.

What are your values?

We ensure that people feel valued not only through the work they do but the tools they are given to do the job. We train them properly and to a high standard, so they feel proud they are bringing their best self to work. They must feel a continuous

CREDIT - PEXELS