Introducing Lee Smith, our State Manager based in Queensland.
We asked Lee to spare 5 minutes of his time to answer some questions.
About Me
My name is Lee Smith, and I am currently in the position of state manager for Queensland.
I am from the UK, and I arrived here to Australia with my wife, and two children in August 2022, to live the Australian dream.
My day-to-day role within BIC involves:
- Client interaction.
- Client monthly meetings.
- Joint Cleaning inspections with the clients.
- Overseeing the day-to-day operation with the operation managers and executive management team.
- Meeting with the BIC staff members on site.
How long have you been working at BIC for?
I have been working with BIC Services since October 2022
How long have you been in the industry?
I have been in the cleaning industry for 28 years. I started in the industry in 1994, as a cleaner at the University of Portsmouth UK. I have worked my way up through different positions from supervisor, building manager, site manager, area manager, regional manager, head of operations, general manager, and now state manager.
I have overseen some major contracts including London transport, universities, NHS, DHL, MOD and National Airport. I have also been a projects and mobilisation manager, and head of Specialist services. I have managed teams ranging from one cleaner sites to teams over 1000 staff members.
What does your day look like?
Each day at 7 am, I would generally phone all of my executive management team and operations managers, to discuss the previous night to see if we have had any issues and if we did how did we would resolve them, or I would discuss putting in a plan of action in place, to rectify the issue.
I would have pre-arrange meetings with clients, for monthly meetings, or cleaning inspections.
I will generally visit around 5 to 6 client sites per day and meet the client on site to make sure everything is running smoothly and for the client relationship experience. I believe communication and transparency with the clients is essential to a good working relationship.
Throughout the day, I would keep in contact with my site, managers/executive management team and operations team to ensure everything is running smoothly. If we have any concerns, it is important to be on top of this, and to be proactive, not reactive.
I would generally have several teams’ meetings with the clients during the day for more of our regional sites.
What is the most important part of your role?
The teamwork and support, no matter what state you are working all the managers are always happy to help if needed. I really enjoy working closely with the cleaning teams, and I am quite often in cleaning toilets myself with the teams. It’s like working for a family business.
What do you love most about working for BIC?
I like the team spirit at BIC – we work hard together but there is also an underlying feeling of team-ship. There are many opportunities for growth and career advancement at BIC which I am very excited about.
What skills and tools do you need to work in the cleaning industry?
You need to be a people person, dealing with different personalities on a daily basis is a requirement within the business, being able to build relationships with staff and clients is of the upmost importance, the cleaning industry is not a 9-to-5 job, so working evenings is where the majority of the cleaning is taking place.
One of the key aspects to be in a manager within the cleaning industry, is to be able to build not just a good, but a great team spirit, you need to be able to lead by example.
I really enjoy the way BIC have invested in technology, to assist the day today running of operations, we are leading the way in waste management, and with the introduction of ICXP the client engagement is truly remarkable.
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