Minster Cleaning was established in 1982 by Alan Haigh, who is still the company Chairman. It has been a full member of the British Franchise Association (BFA) since 1992 and was a 2021 BFA HSBC Franchisor of the Year bronze award winner. With so much experience of franchising and the commercial cleaning market, Minster Cleaning gives prospective franchisees a rock-solid business model with considerable opportunities for profit and growth.
In 1992, Minster Cleaning expanded its successful business model into a management franchise and now has over 40 branches across the UK with a joint turnover of over £50million. Top branches are each achieving sales of more than £2million per year and many are turning over in excess of £1million.
The experienced network support team is based in Birmingham, with departments covering all key business functions. Team members have a thorough understanding of the business needs of Minster Cleaning franchisees. As well as proactively supporting branches, they are always available to help with any enquiries and are in regular contact with franchisees and branch staff.
Training and support have always been crucial to the success of Minster Cleaning franchisees. All initial training takes place in person at Minster Cleaning’s Network Support Centre in Birmingham. New franchisees spend a week with the Managing Director and Heads of Department in marketing, operations, IT/internal systems and finance.
Managing Director, Mike Parker, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the team at the Network Support Centre and helping franchisees build their businesses. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in preparing franchisees for their career with Minster Cleaning.
The marketing team is made up of Senior Marketing Manager Paul Stairmand and Marketing Manager Nikki Riddle. They provide continued support to the franchise network in winning new business, customer retention / development and recruitment marketing. Their initial training covers all of the above plus the Minster Cleaning brand and values and how your branch will need to conform to these.
Operational support is provided by Ian Hadley, an Operations Manager with 35 years’ experience in the cleaning industry. Ian has an in-depth understanding of the operational issues that can arise in a large network such as Minster Cleaning. Ian’s initial training covers the quoting process and how to calculate a quote in terms of timing and specification of work required. It also covers the operational side of cleaning including starting a new contract, all health and safety issues, risk assessments, method statements, site files, equipment and materials, and also compliance with the various laws and policies that govern Minster Cleaning.
Ian also arranges external courses and training. Recent courses include hard floor cleaning, carpet cleaning, and management training.
The IT department provides IT services at a group-wide level, meaning each franchisee has access to the same regularly updated software and hardware. Minster Cleaning is also rolling out Templa CMS, a digital tool that acts as a hub for payroll, holidays, invoicing and every aspect of customer relationship management (CRM). It is transforming day-to-day life for franchisees, reducing duplication of work and the burden of manual tasks such as data entry, and connecting every element of business activity. Initial training is given on using the Templa system, and ongoing support is unlimited.
The finance department will provide initial training in financial administration. Ongoing support is provided in all areas of finance including billing and payroll.
Further support is available through regular national and regional meetings and via the branch network, where there is a healthy exchange of ideas and information.
John Bate took on the established Nottinghamshire branch of Minster Cleaning in October 2011, the franchise having been originally opened in 1994. Before joining Minster Cleaning, John worked with his wife as a co-director in a health and beauty spa business.
8am – 9am: I check emails and banking at home. I live 35 miles from the office so this gives time for the traffic to die down before my journey into Nottingham as well as preparing me for any issues that have arisen since the previous day.
9.30am – 10.30am: One of the things that I love about being a Minster Cleaning franchisee is the fact that there is no such thing as a typical day. The main challenges arise from the management and supervision of 100+ cleaning operatives and around 140 contracts so people-management skills are essential. First of all, I check to see if any cleaners haven’t turned in for any reason and then make sure that relief cover is put in place. Our aim is to be the preferred choice for commercial cleaning services in the Nottinghamshire area so it is important that we make sure that our clients have no reason to be dissatisfied in any way.
10.30am – 12.00: Time to deal with any outstanding quotations. Commercial cleaning is an essential business service and a massive, multi-billion pound market in the UK. The East Midlands has a huge number of small to medium sized businesses so we’ve always got plenty of quotes on the go. I do the phoning around to prospective clients to find out if we’ve been successful or if there is any more information they need before making their decision.
12.00 – 2pm: I tend to work through lunch and usually have a sandwich at my desk. This gives me the opportunity to chat with colleagues and take care of any outstanding admin matters such as checking internal stock orders and equipment.
2pm – 4pm: I do the quotes myself and spend this time out visiting prospective clients to gather all the information that we need to put together a comprehensive quotation for our services. We have many ancillary services to offer and can provide a one-stop shop for anything cleaning related so it is important that we fully understand exactly what they require.
4pm – 5pm: Although Minster Cleaning’s systems take care of much of the day-to-day business activities, I like to oversee all the financial side of the business as it is an area that I have been closely involved with in previous businesses. This can involve banking, invoicing and entering information onto the system. I usually manage to leave the office shortly after 5pm and I use the drive home to think about the day’s business and plan for the following day.
©2022 The British Franchise Association
We use cookies to track site usage and improve user experience.