Appreciating the Value of FM

“My first job after leaving school was in recruitment, mainly for blue collar workers, and I’ve worked with a lot of low-skilled, low-income people that were not always treated that well,” she explains.

“I took a part-time cleaning job at the age of 17 at a local hospital, and this was my first introduction to FM. We were taught by two ladies who had an absolute passion for cleaning and making sure everything was done right. It was a great introduction to the cleaning industry, and I’ve always remembered how great they were,” she says.

Ms Dolphin states that her early experiences have been fundamental in allowing her to empathise with and support colleagues throughout her career to date. One of the most important aspects of her extensive work experience is that it has always been focused on providing varied and in-depth support to other people.

“Not everyone gets access to those opportunities, so a big thing for me since I’ve worked in FM is making sure that there’s equity of opportunity throughout,” she says.

Support for all team members has been a major focus for Ms Dolphin, including engaging with the government’s Apprenticeship Levy from its launch in 2017 while working for Aktrion. “At Aktrion we got ahead of the curve and set up as a recognised training provider, then created a team to self-deliver our apprenticeships.

“That helped a lot of people that worked for the business already to upskill and also supported the new, younger people that were joining the company,” she says. These actions tied in with government aims to both reduce youth unemployment numbers while assisting those already employed to gain more skills and experience to support their career paths.

“I really felt that I found my feet in the funded learning sector and having joined Aktrion. This was purchased by Atalian Servest, and I was then offered the role of head of learning and development. I worked in that role for around four years, then group CEO Colin Shute approached me to ask if I’d like to work for SBFM.”

Before leaving her former employer, Ms Dolphin began working with Matthew Chapman who is now the SBFM CEO, which led to the launch of a number of initiatives to assist and support colleagues to feel more engaged with and valued by the company. “When people work on site, they often feel more connection with the client than with the people that pay them, because they spend their day there. We’ve got nearly 7,000 people working for us, so it’s not always easy to keep everyone feeling that they’re a valuable part of the business and I think that’s a general issue within the industry,” she continues.