Franchising reform

A recent parliamentary inquiry into franchising in Australia proposed some substantial changes to how franchising businesses were run in Australia, and how this is reflected in the code of conduct. 

Disturbingly, the parliamentary committee found that there was systematic exploitation of some franchisees by a subset of franchisors, and the existing regulatory framework wasn’t adequately protecting them.

In response, the parliamentary committee proposed substantial changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct and to the responsibilities and powers of the ACCC. This included a raft of changes designed to lift the standards of franchise operators and rebuild confidence in franchising in Australia.

Within the cleaning industry, I believe these changes to how the franchise model operates, together with other recent recommendations and advancements, such as subcontractor reporting and single-touch payroll, are another step towards building an even stronger, fairer and sustainable industry.

In effect, these changes will amount to another weapon in our industry’s armoury against illegitimate and unscrupulous operators. 

Writing from the BSCAA perspective, I believe that can only be a good thing. We welcome these reforms to the franchising business sector. We see them as a reward for the majority of cleaning and related businesses in Australia that have worked hard to run their businesses legitimately and with integrity. It’s those businesses that will reap the rewards.

Here is the full overview I made on this issue as it relates to the cleaning industry, for InClean magazine.

Female leaders

Earlier this month, GJK Facility Services was pleased to welcome Kristiana Greenwood and Fiona Dunster, co-founders of Real Energy Co., to run a fantastic workshop for some of our future female leaders.

Real Energy Co is dedicated to shining the light on women in business, and was founded to provide an opportunity for individuals and businesses to tap into the real life experiences of senior professional women who have survived and thrived in their careers. The company provides a suite of services with this goal, including one-on-one mentoring; guidance to leadership on how to retain and empower female staff; strategic planning facilitation; and confident leadership workshops.

The workshop at GJK Facility Services was an opportunity for some of our most talented and dynamic staff-members to work together within a secure and comfortable forum to discuss ideas that could potentially enhance their work environment.

Real Energy Co. said of this event, “The energy in the room was electric and the feedback paved the way for this vibrant group to workshop some fantastic initiatives to further enhance the working experience at GJK. Initiatives that benefit not just the female future leaders but the entire business and which highlights GJK as a long term employer of choice for female talent.”

I am proud that GJK is passionate and committed to a culture that embraces and fosters diversity and inclusions across all levels of business.

Guide Dogs Vic

GJK Facility Services is proud to partner with Guide Dogs Victoria to help support the training of these clever dogs.

We think this is a fantastic partnership: we are able to give back to the communities that we work in, and our employees gain the opportunities to learn, grown and experience different things.

The little cutie pictured here is Kosnan, who spent some time with the team at GJK. He is 16 weeks into his training to become a Guide Dog.

If you would like to support these puppies and the wonderful work they do in the community, simply click the “donate” button below.

FMA Awards

In November the team at GJK Facility Services won the Collaborative Partnerships Award at the 2019 Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA) awards, in conjunction with RMIT University and Airmaster.

I want to thank and recognise all the operational staff who played such a key role in helping us to win this award.

GJK Facility Services provided a lunch to award 17 of these staff members with a recognition certificate and a gift voucher, to show our appreciation for all their hard work and commitment to this successful contract.

Cancer research

At GJK we recognise the importance of giving back. Last week at the Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA), GJK was proud to donate $5000 to The Kids'​ Cancer Project, which was recognised by former Australian rugby union player and CEO of The Kids’ Cancer Project Australia, Owen Finegan on the night.

The Kids’ Cancer Project is an independent national charity, supporting childhood cancer research for children with all types of cancer. Click the button below if you would like to donate to this great cause.

Kids paint 2nd mural

This week has been very exciting for GJK Facility Services, as we engaged local Indigenous artist, Arkie to design and paint another mural for our carpark walls.

This time around we have collaborated with the students at Collingwood College, where they each designed their own piece to be incorporated into the mural. The students and Arkie have been working hard over the last few days to complete the project, which is looking fabulous! Mayor Danae Bosler - Yarra City Council even came for a visit and got painting herself!

This all started when GJK approached Collingwood College’s Principal Sam Luck, and art teacher Angela Dionysopoulos, with the idea of Arkie sharing her knowledge and stories of Indigenous art with the students.

The idea around this was to educate the students from grades 5 & 6, about Indigenous culture which would then form part of their art curriculum. Arkie shared her story and meaning behind her artwork with the students, inspiring them with ideas of what their symbol could be. The students were then asked to create their own symbol, which they would then paint onto the large community mural.

Arkie explained to the students; “In my art, I use contemporary and abstract symbols to depict things in the environment around us and also things about myself. A lot of my work uses a circular symbol which can mean many things across different Indigenous Australian people. For my family, it means campsites and meeting places”.

During the following weeks, the students worked on their designs with the excitement of knowing they would soon be part of a larger artwork on display for everyone to see.

Arkie’s vision behind this mural?

“The art piece I’ve created with the students, represents different parts of the community coming together to support each other and how a community working together can achieve great things.”

GJK is proud to be involved in such a great project and we look forward to the unveiling of the finished artwork.

Safe Work Month

At GJK Facility Services we are committed to ensuring everyone goes home from work safely at the end of each day. Aligned with #SafeWorkMonth, GJK developed a calendar to raise awareness about the importance of safety in the workplace.

This calendar was designed by the children of our valued employees and supported by our generous partners.

Advance Careers, Central Cleaning Supplies, Direct Health Solutions, Injury Assist, Hannafords Cleaning Trade Supply Co., Commonwealth Bank, True Cleaning Services Ptd. Ltd, GJK Indigenous Solutions.

In addition to this, GJK held an morning tea to recognise our #SafeWorkMonth safety champions, who actively took a role in supporting a strong health and safety culture.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Fostering innovation

As part of GJK Facility Services and GJK Indigenous Solutions ongoing expansion, our executive team and senior management have been taking part in a two-day strategy workshop. The workshop has had a focus on identifying innovative ideas and solutions to support changes that our industry deserves, as well as the future of both our business and the needs and expectations of our customers.