Giving Back

I’m proud to announce that GJK Facility Services has launched a new social impact program, called “GJK Giving Back.” We’ve partnered with the Lighthouse Foundation, a charitable organisation that provides homes and therapeutic care programs for children and young people who are impacted by long-term neglect, abuse, and homelessness.

The Foundation relies on donations and corporate partners - like GJK - to help them continue to create caring communities where children can feel safe, forge meaningful relationships, and begin to heal from their traumatic pasts.

A key component of the new GJK Giving Back program is that it also empowers GJK employees to get involved, if they choose to.

“Working with charities, not-for-profits and organisations we already support, like the Lighthouse Foundation, the GJK Giving Back program will build on these relationships to create shared value partnerships,” said CEO Elias Stamas. “Giving back and doing good has always been part of GJK’s DNA… and this program just takes this to the next level, enabling our employees to participate and give back too.”

A safe refuge

The Lighthouse Foundation is the first safe refuge in Australia that is designed to meet the recovery needs of young women and girls who have left or are at risk of entering into an early or forced marriage.

This Foundation provides live-in care and therapeutic support, in a safe place, to help these young women - many of whom are the victims of immense trauma - begin to heal.

At the TEN Women charity lunch in May, my wife Jaqui Maree and I were proud to make a donation of $100,000 to the Lighthouse Foundation’s Young Women’s Freedom Program. The donation will be used to help build a shelter for the women and girls the Foundation helps.

More than 550 property professionals attended this event, and we were thrilled to see the total fundraising contribution from the day exceed $600,000, for such a worthy cause.

Honouring nurses

On Thursday 5 May I was privileged to speak to close to 500 guests at the MCG, for the annual Epworth HealthCare Men’s Health Lunch.

It was my duty and honour to thank the sponsors and all those who attended to support the day, during which we together raised $230,000 - a record amount for this event. The funds will be used to further the education, development and leadership-training of Epworth nurses and midwives.

The importance of fostering leadership and expertise among a hospital’s nursing staff cannot be underestimated: they are the backbone of every hospital, and Epworth is no different.

Indeed, Epworth has a history of great nurses and midwives. The hospital opened in 1920 with five nurses who were praised in Melbourne for the excellent care they provided. Today Epworth benefits from almost 4000 highly-trained nurses and midwives, who care for more than 190,000 patients a year.

During the lunch we also heard from two of Epworth’s leading clinicians, Associate-Professor Yi Yang, who gave an inspirational presentation on spinal health, and Dr Peter Larkins, who presented on cardiac health and reminded us of the importance of being proactive with our health.

It was a great pleasure to be back at the Epworth Men’s Health Lunch, a regular event in the Melbourne calendar that has been sorely missed during the years of the pandemic.

Redefining "clean"

It’s interesting, though probably not surprising, that new studies have revealed people are thinking and feeling quite differently about hygiene and cleanliness in a post-pandemic world.

This is of particular interest GJK Facility Services, since “clean” is the core of what we do, and the team recently collated some of the research that is coming out on this issue into a blog post. I’ve shared some of the highlights from that post below - you can read it in full here.

• 80% of people are more uneasy than they used to be at using unhygienic restrooms

• More than 95% of shoppers consider that unclean restrooms and unpleasant odours, along with dirty floors, shopping cars and spills and stains influence their shopping decisions

• Customers and employees now want to see sanitiser stations, wipes and signage as proof that an area has been properly cleaned (not just wiped down)

• More than 66% of employees in a US study say they want their offices to focus more on cleaning practices before they feel safe returning to work

• Most employees in the same study believe that employers who pay attention to the general cleanliness of the workplace care more about their employees’ health and wellness

Robot revolution

An excellent story in the Financial Review this week, on the “robot revolution” for deep cleaning. These technologies are more useful than ever in our post-pandemic world.

Read: Robot revolution a clean sweep for building managers, by Jonathan Porter (Australian Financial Review)

A visit to Epworth

Recently I was invited by Epworth Medical Foundation, alongside one of my fellow Directors, Cathi Biddick AM, to be present at the arrival and installation of state-of-the-art new medical equipment at Epworth Richmond.

This equipment, which had been entirely funded by donations, included an endoscopic ultrasound, SPY-PHI, and observation machines. It was a privilege and an honour to be able to meet with the medical staff at Epworth, and see first-hand their genuine excitement and gratitude for the generous gifts that had made this equipment possible.

Epworth HealthCare has a vision to provide patients at Epworth with the best possible treatment and care, and ensuring that our surgeons and nurses have the best equipment in hand is critical to this.

Killara wows judges

I am enormously proud to announce that Killara Services, formerly known as GJK Indigenous Solutions, was once again a finalist in the Defence Connect Australian Defence Industry Awards “Indigenous Business of the Year” for 2021.

This is the second year in a row in which Killara earned the praise of the judges: in 2020, the group won first prize.

The Indigenous Business of the Year is a prestigious award and the competition is steep. The award aims to highlight and celebrate Indigenous businesses that effectively capitalise on market opportunities, demonstrating business growth while strengthening Australia’s national security and defence capabilities.

Having been beside Killara from its very beginnings, and as a founding investor and company partner, I could not be more proud of Killara’s outstanding business operations, and each and every employee is thoroughly deserving of this recognition.

Celebrating our people

My heartfelt congratulations to the following category winners in the 2021 GJK Awards Program!

• For collaboration: Deborah Narcis

• For innovation: Laura Cristina Garcia

• For customer experience: Mohamad Khanafer

• For risk reduction: Keith Thomas

The GJK Awards are allocated quarterly, and the overall winners for the year are then selected from the quarterly finalists.

These awards are one of the many ways in which we aim to recognise, celebrate and reward our top-performing employees, who demonstrate the values and commitment to excellence that we most look for in our people.

Diversity and inclusion

I believe it is essential that as business owners, we create and foster workplaces that promote, celebrate and actively support a diverse and inclusive environment.

This is why I am so proud of GJK Facility Service’s collaboration with its sister company, KILLARA Services. KILLARA Services is a leading Aboriginal-owned and operated cleaning company, offering soft service solutions to Commercial and Government clients, across Australia.

Earlier this month, we were thrilled and humbled to receive the Property Council of Australia Award for Diversity, in recognition of this collaboration.

Of course, we still have a long way to go. But we were thrilled to receive this award as recognition of our shared commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, and our shared passion to transform lives.

Predictive cleaning

GJK Facility Services is one of the first commercial cleaning businesses in Australia to trial a revolutionary IoT-based “predictive cleaning” system for its customers.

We believe predictive cleaning represents the future of the commercial cleaning industry. It will enable cleaners to respond to real data about how the specific facilities are used, and then tailor and curate their cleaning services to best respond to the way they are used.

To that end, we have installed cleaning sensor technology at our head office in Collingwood, in the office spaces, kitchen, and washrooms. This technology provides us with insightful data such as the air quality, the occupancy levels and use of our facilities, and when soap dispensers or toilet paper needs refilling.

It’s our goal to use these insights to demonstrate the difference this “predictive cleaning” technology can make to our clients, by providing better cleaning outcomes. The result will be a more efficient, responsive, transparent and value driven cleaning service.

Thank your cleaner

Today, 20 October, is Thank Your Cleaner Day, an opportunity to recognise the hard work our cleaners do, and remind them that they are valued and appreciated.

Cleaners have been at the frontline of Melbourne’s battle against COVID-19, frequently unnoticed and unsung, but going to extraordinary lengths to keep us safe.

I want to take this opportunity to wish the more than 2000 cleaners with us at GJK Facility Services a wonderful day, and if you know a cleaner, please don’t forget to thank them too!

Healthy air & hands

It seems we’re not out of the woods yet with this pandemic, and it remains essential that we practice good social distancing and hygiene practices. 

The GJK Facility Services blog recently published some excellent advice on air quality and hand washing, that I thought would be worth sharing here. 

Improving air quality: 

• Minimise fragrances 

• Minimise VOCs (volatile organic compounds, found in many paints and cleaning products)

• Remove dust and mould safely (so it won’t be released back into the air) via damp dusting, HEPA filters, deep cleaning and extraction, and HVAC maintenance

Improving hand hygiene: 

• Wash your hands often, with soap and water 

• If you can’t access soap and water, use alcohol-based hand-sanitisers 

• In the workplace, ask for hands-free soap dispensers and paper hand-towels

• Bring personal mini sanitiser bottles and sanitising wipes for your desk 

Ideaction2021

The Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA) national conference, Ideaction2021, was different this year, with the two-day event reduced to one day (with another to be picked up at a later date), and streamed online. 

It’s just another way in which we have all had to adapt and change with the new “covid reality” of life in 2021. And, despite the clear drawbacks of being unable to meet face to face, the online format provided a unique opportunity to exchange new information and ideas for our industry, and ensure we remained connected despite the distance that separated us.  

What’s more, as a diamond sponsor and national corporate member of FMA Australia, GJK was proud to host an exhibition stand in Perth, where the conference was able to continue as a live event. 

The hybrid online and Perth-based sessions were MC’d by GJK’s Director of Strategic Relationships Kristiana Greenwood, and FMA CEO Nicholas Burt. GJK also sponsored a presentation from KPMG Australia’s Richard Boele on the “Modern Slavery Act” in facilities management, as well as a presentation by author Michael Crossland on “the Power of Perspective,” an emotional and inspirational telling of his life.

Pictured are GJK’s Coralie Leach and Grant Jones at the Perth stand during Ideaction2021

More than a word

Today marks the beginning of Reconciliation Week, which will run from 27 May until 3 June. This year the focus is on moving from awareness to action, in the understanding that we each have an important role to play when it comes to true reconciliation. With this in mind, the official theme for the week is “More than a word: reconciliation takes action.”

GJK Facility Services and GJK Indigenous Solutions has a proud history of providing meaningful job opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and building positive relationships with local communities. We believe we all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and stand by these words, from Reconciliation Australia:

For reconciliation to be effective, it must involve truth-telling, and actively address issues of inequality, systemic racism and instances where the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are ignored, denied or reduced.

While we see greater support for reconciliation from the Australian people than ever before, we must be more determined than ever if we are to achieve the goals of the movement — a just, equitable, reconciled Australia.

As history tells us, this will only happen through continued and concerted action from those who are already part of the reconciliation movement to those who are yet to join.

The Property Congress

I’m delighted to announce that GJK Facility Services recently became an Associate Sponsor - in partnership with the Property Council of Australia - for the Young Indigenous Professionals Program at The Property Congress in Tasmania in October this year.

The Program offers five Indigenous property students or interns with the opportunity to attend The Property Congress as guests. They will be invited to meet and greet with the keynote speakers (who this year include The Hon John Howard OM AC, Former Australian Prime Minister; Jessica Christiansen-Franks, Co-Founder & CEO, Neighbourlytics; Richard Florida, Professor, Author and Urbanist; and Holly Ransom, Founder and CEO of Emergent), as well as industry leaders throughout the conference.

We look forward to meeting with the five young professionals in the program, and the team at GJK will support them throughout The Property Congress.

I have long believed that business can - and arguably should - be a vehicle that can affect lasting positive change not only in the lives of individuals, but in society as a whole. This is why GJK Facility Services has actively and deliberately sought to recruit and develop people from a diverse range of nationalities and cultures. And in particular, it is the driving force behind our ongoing work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, and our partnership with GJK Indigenous Services.

In addition to sponsoring the Young Indigenous Professionals Program, GJK Facility Services is also the Congress WiFi sponsor for The Property Congress. The discussion will be around “post-Covid,” and I look forward to bringing you news from this event in the future.

Our robot cleaner

Meet the cleaning robot of the future, and the newest employee at GJK Facility Services! He’s posing for his photograph here alongside our CEO, Elias Stamas. I’m looking forward to seeing how our robot employee helps to improve the working lives of his human colleagues.

Choose to challenge

Today on International Women’s Day 2021, I want to thank and celebrate the contribution and achievements of the women working at GJK Facility Services.

The theme this year is “Choose to Challenge,” a rallying cry to remember to do our part to take action for gender equality. Women are the backbone of our business and indeed our industry, with commercial cleaning alone employing more than 150,000 people Australia-wide, and the majority of them are women.

As business leaders, we all have a role to play in raising awareness against bias, and actively seeking equality Supporting women should never be relegated to just one day in a year, but today is a great day to raise those conversations, and to honestly reflect on how we can better support women in all areas of our lives.

Adapt and pivot

If 2020 taught us anything, it was just how essential a role cleaners play in the health and safety of the public. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic cleaning professionals have been frontline workers and, as we enter the New Year with cautious optimism, it is clear that cleaners will remain crucial to a successful transition to a safe and healthy “new normal” for our nation.

As our Director of Strategic Relationships, Kristiana Greenwood, wrote in a recent article for issue 43 of HealthCare Facilities Magazine, we are in the midst of a one in 100 year event that has changed the future forever.

She pointed out that the cleaning industry had had to pivot and change “as fast as the medical industry” because cleaning professionals were the people protecting us from needing medical care in the first place.

“Standard cleaning is no longer an option,” Kristiana said, “new processes, new products, new training, and new strategies have had to be developed and adopted within an extremely short amount of time.”

In her article, “Pivot: A Shift to a New Strategy,” Kristiana outlined the ways in which our industry pivoted - rapidly and successfully - to face the specific new challenges presented by COVID-19, and discussed the roles that professional cleaning will play in a post-COVID world.

“The good news is that we have adapted and we are now prepared,” she added. “Complacency is not a word any longer in our vocabulary and professional commercial cleaning companies are now being viewed with a different lens.”

Environmental stewardship

The Facilities Management environment is in a period of significant transition, brought on not least by the challenges of COVID-19, and certainly exacerbated by ever-evolving technology, urbanisation, and infrastructure development.

But perhaps one of the biggest and most important changes in our sector in recent years is a growing awareness that we need to be better stewards of this planet. After all, the property and construction sectors, alone, are responsible 40 percent of total energy consumption, 40 percent of C02 emissions, and 40 percent of waste generated.

In a recent panel-presentation at the TEFMA Directors Forum, GJK Facility Services Director of Strategic Relationships, Kristiana Greenwood, told delegates that facility managers would need to introduce a “circular economy” approach to environmental stewardship practises. A circular economy, in this context, is based on the principles of designing-out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

To reduce the consumption of resources and the impact on the climate, Kristiana and her fellow panelists (Professor Stephen Parker, Global Lead of Education and Skills at KPMG International; and Professor Stuart McCutcheon, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland) said we needed not only to reduce energy consumption within buildings, but also to transfer this energy demand to renewable energy resources, such as wind or solar energy.

“Facility managers are going to have to reconsider their procurement strategies in the future to facilitate the circular economy model.” Kristiana said.

Children's gallery: safe work

Here in Australia, October every year is known as “National Safe Work Month,” a campaign hosted by Safe Work Australia to raise awareness of workplace health and safety.

Last year close to 180 people died while doing their jobs, and approximately 107,000 people made workers’ compensation claims. Safe Work Australia makes the point that it’s not only the workers themselves who are impacted by work-related injuries and illnesses. The ramifications are felt by individuals, their families and the broader community.

Since the entire family can be impacted by a workplace injury or illness, at GJK Facility Services we like to involve the whole family in the National Safe Work Month activities by focusing on something a lot more positive: art. Each year during this month, we host a drawing and colouring-in competition for our employees’ children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. The winning drawings are then used to illustrate our Safety Calendar.

The artworks the children submitted this year were vibrant, intelligent, thoughtful and a joy to behold. What a talented bunch!