The offices of Environmental Excellence Training and Development, in Oldbury, was the venue for the BCC’s first meeting of 2016.
The damp January morning didn’t deter members, who traveled from all the UK to take part one of the best attended Council meetings for some time.
Members discussed a number of important issues including; the forthcoming Manchester Cleaning Show, the recent demise of former member the Building Futures Group, a new grant application, and the business plan for the next 3 years.
The BCC was also able to welcome its first new member of the year. The Domestic Cleaning Alliance, was granted associate membership in 2015, as the Council wanted to encourage smaller trade associations to become members.
Stephen Munton, Director at the DCA, told the board that his association had grown significantly over the last 12 months, thanks, in part, to the enormous help he’d received from BCC members. After hearing that the DCA had satisfied a large part of the criteria the Council had asked for in 2015, members voted unanimously for them to become full BCC members.
The second half of the meeting was taken up discussing the Council’s business plan and objectives for the next 3 years. To help with this the board invited business consultant, Pascoe Sawyers, to speak to members about the process of changing and improving strategy and objectives.
After delivering his presentation, Pascoe invited members to sit in smaller groups to discuss some of the key issues facing the BCC and the cleaning industry. The full group then reconvened to have an open and frank debate, the key points of which have been recorded.
All BCC members are being asked to offer ideas as to how the Council can continue to be an affective voice for the cleaning industry and a full report outlining the details of members discussions at the January meeting will be sent to all the membership in due course.
After a long, but extremely fruitful Council meeting, members were treated to a buffet lunch courtesy of Delia Canings and her team. The Council would like to thank Delia and everyone at Environmental Excellence Training and Development for being such hospitable hosts.