Our Impact
“Lifft have been our preferred cleaning service partner for 10 years. They are reliable, caring and we are proud to support a social enterprise.”
Llanishen High School cleaning services
Our impact brought to life through real world examples
Challenge
After more than a decade using local authority run cleaning services the leadership team at Llanishen High took the decision in late 2024 to go out to competitive commercial tender for a long-term cleaning partner.
Currently, the largest single site secondary school across Cardiff, much of the school was built in the late 1950’s, with some new additions and renovations in later years.
The school identified cleaning staffing levels as the primary challenge which has restricted attainment of the desired standards over recent years, not helped by the aging building, and high footfall from over 1,700 pupils.
They also wanted a provider to feel like a partner, rather than a typical transactional relationship with a supplier.
Solution
Whilst several existing staff transferred over to Lifft under TUPE, a number of new hires were brought in to immediately to bolster the cleaning team and ensure a full team from the beginning to achieve improved standards.
Training and development plans were implemented for each team member, specific to their tasks and zones. A full equipment review was conducted, with significant investment made in bringing onboard mechanical cleaning aids in support of improving standards, specifically items from Nilfisk, Comac, Numatic, Truvoc and Ivo. Alongside the equipment upgrades, we began using Jangro cleaning solutions provided by our local partner Adcocks.
Being a large and dispersed site, there were more than 15 cleaning cupboards which were immediately remodelled and, in many cases, repainted to help reset and raise standards and expectations amongst the team.
The key to good service standard is always strong and transparent communication. To achieve this, alongside other improvements, a relationship management plan (RMP) was developed in partnership with the school’s Business Manager and Deputy Head.
The plan provided clarity on reporting, captured jointly agreed KPI’s, as well as primary, secondary and tertiary contact details for both supplier and client so that clear points of contact are achieved at all times.
Finally, we introduced a programme of added value to the contract to deliver impact beyond cleaning, just like we do with all our clients. We proposed a range of mental health and wellbeing initiatives delivered by Platfform to support the whole school community. These included: mental health training on inset days, counselling and support for teachers and pupils, mental health workshops and wider community projects through our unique ‘pay it forward’ offer.
Results
Within 2 weeks of standing up this contract, standards improved.
Business Manager, Emma Bunn commented- “We can see significant improvements in such a short space of time. Things are visibly cleaner; the building smells fresher and we have seen a big upturn in the number of cleaning personnel on site daily. We have been highly impressed by the efforts made to hit the ground running and the communication channels have been great. We have regular contact with our contract manager and have noticed how positive and happy the Lifft staff team are.
Lifft have also gone above and beyond in bringing to life the added value contribution they set out in their tender response. Quickly after commencing the contract, they brought colleagues from Platfform in to discuss how they might support the school, on topics such as mental health, bereavement, relational practice and compassionate leadership- and I am delighted to say a programme of support is already planned for the year, all funded by our cleaning contract.”
Pete Johnson, Commercial Director for Platfform’s training, counselling and consultancy services said: “Working in partnership with Lifft is genuinely exciting. Commissioning Lifft’s must have services makes it possible for schools to access Platfform’s support that might once have felt out of reach. The collaboration creates meaningful local job opportunities, while enabling Platfform to support the wellbeing of the whole school community. It’s a shared approach that brings real community benefit, and it feels good to be part of.”
Built on a foundation of social impact
We are a social enterprise and proudly part of Platfform, delivering exceptional cleaning with purpose.
“Lifft were successful in our tendering process for our combined site services, including cleaning, manned security and garment management service. They are open and transparent and are a delight to work with.”
“We have used the team at Lifft to manage a number of facilities services at our regional and partner support offices, including reception, manned security, window cleaning and a mix of commercial cleaning and they’ve always done a great job. They’ve also provided mental health support to our staff which has been a great addition.”
"We have used the cleaning team at Lifft for a number of years for our Bristol Union Street site and their reliability, detail driven approach and flexibility across our 7 day a week operation, has resulted in them being asked to partner with us as our portfolio expanded to Cardiff and a second Bristol site in Cabot Circus."
"When we were looking for a cleaning partner for our community centred pub and restaurant, we couldn't look past Lifft. The combination of their professional approach and their social enterprise status made them the ideal choice."
Ready to make a
difference?
Whether it’s your office, school, factory, warehouse or doctors’ surgery – let us Lifft your cleaning and help you unlock wellbeing support for your staff and community.
