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In Collaboration with Under One Sky

As we head towards the end of what has been a truly extraordinary year, to mark the festive season the team at MAR felt that we too should do something a little out of the ordinary.

Like the majority of businesses, at Christmas it’s not unusual for us to spend money on activities such as client entertaining and staff parties. Clearly with Covid restrictions in place, this has not been an option for 2020.

So instead, this Christmas we have partnered up with a remarkable organisation called Under One Sky – a charitable concern that supports the homeless on the streets of London.

As a result, we have diverted some of the money that we would normally spend on entertaining and social merriment directly to the good people at Under One Sky.

However, not only has the company donated a sizeable sum, last weekend saw a group of volunteers from MAR and Sovereign FM hitting the streets of London, with the team from Under One Sky.  A cross section of people from across the business – including some teenage family volunteers – helped to distribute to the homeless and vulnerable some of the much needed items purchased through our donation, including sleeping bags, thermal clothing, hats, gloves, toiletries, food and hot drinks. And all in a Covid-safe way.

As well as handing out these vital items on a bitterly cold evening, our team of volunteers chatted and interacted with the people that they met and this engagement is often just as important in supporting those individuals that find themselves living on the streets.  

A massive thank you therefore to our hardy group of volunteers and to the team from Under One Sky who made it all possible.

In this most difficult of years, collectively you all did a very good thing and certainly embraced the true spirit of Christmas…

If you would like more information about the Under One Sky organisation, feel free to visit their website here. If you would like to sign up as a volunteer, please email contact@underonesky.cc

Choosing a new Facilities Service Provider is a bit like choosing your future husband or wife… Get it right and years of contentment await; get it wrong and you’ll be forever thinking, ‘what might have been?’

And that’s long before you even get to consider the costs associated with any potential expensive break-up.

So take a moment to consider five areas that we think are worthy of a little bit of advanced thinking:

1. Transition Process

Most businesses will be wary of changing provider because the process of change itself can be overwhelming and assumes a certain level of financial risk. At MAR, we understand the importance of a smooth changeover and have developed an in-depth ‘mobilisation programme’ that ensures a seamless and well-planned transition process, tailored to the specific requirements of each client.

 2. Employee Training, Development and Retention

The training and development of service employees is a high priority for all customers.  For service employees to carry out their roles effectively and provide customers with the best service experience when visiting your facilities, it is essential that all employees possess a clear understanding of your business. At MAR, staff training is paramount to our ethos of being the very best that we can be.  Our training programmes are continuous, and tailored to not only deliver the highest standards but to exceed industry benchmarks, including those all important areas of health and safety and any new workplace legislation.

 3. Commitment to Quality

In considering any new Facilities Service Provider, it is important to consider the standards to which the provider holds themselves accountable. The industry, like many others, is regulated by ISO Standards issued by the British Assessment Bureau. MAR recently updated their accreditations to incorporate the latest versions of ISO 9001(2015) and ISO1401 (2015), to reflect their ongoing commitment to staying abreast of the very highest industry standards. The accreditations demonstrate the company’s strong management processes, environmental practices and dedication to sustainable services. Furthermore, MAR prioritises the health and safety of all employees and uses Key Performance Indicators to measure ongoing performance for all contracts.

4. Client Relationships

Before signing on the dotted line with a new provider, it is essential to look at the relationship they have with their existing clients. MAR focus on long-term client satisfaction; 80% of clients have worked with the company for 5 years or more, whilst many clients have been with the company for over ten years. MAR regularly solicit feedback from its customers, with 93% awarding 5 out of 5 for Response and Communication. Furthermore, 90% of clients rate the overall service they receive as “excellent”.

5. The Facility Service Provider Serves Your Purpose

Put simply: not all clients have the same requirements. What works on one contract may not necessarily work for your business. Therefore it is important that any new provider you consider working with recognise the individual needs of your business and your work processes; the way you manage employees and business relationships and importantly, your vision for the future of your company. MAR offer all of its clients a flexible, tailor-made approach to meeting those needs. Our mission is to provide an exceptional support service with expertise and versatility, leaving our clients secure in the knowledge that the management of their support services is safe in our hands.

So if you’d like an informal chat about what MAR might be able to do for you in the future, we’d love to hear from you.

Who knows, it may just be a marriage made in heaven……

After the flaming June that many of us have enjoyed so far, whisper it quietly but it actually feels like Summer is pretty much here!  So now’s the time to start thinking about those all-important summer maintenance jobs for your building.

6 Summer Maintenance Jobs to Prioritise Now

We know, maintenance isn’t exactly the most exhilarating topic when you think of the further long, hot sunnier days that hopefully lie ahead. But there’s no need to get all hot and flustered; we’ve pulled together a list of 6 of the most important summer maintenance jobs that you really should be thinking about right now.

(Feel free to resume hitting ‘refresh’ on the MET Office homepage after reading this, we certainly will be…)

School’s Out? Cleaners In!

At MAR, we provide a comprehensive facilities management service all year round, whatever the season and whatever the weather. Come rain or shine, we’re only a quick call or a rapid email away.

So that’s summer taken care of. No sweat.

Now, where did you put that favourite deck chair ….…………?

With summer fast approaching- well hopefully anyway – it feels like a good time for a brief reflection on MAR’s year so far.

To date, 2019 has been a bit of a whirlwind and with plenty more exciting developments planned for the months ahead, it looks like the unrelenting pace is not about to slow-up anytime soon.

But any period of reflection wouldn’t be appropriate without a few thank you’s, so without further ado…

Thank you Clients

We’re proud of the fact that our clients are at the heart of everything that we do and this rings true in 2019 every bit as any other year.

Since the turn of the year, we’ve welcomed a number of new clients into the MAR stable. So to them, a huge thank you for choosing MAR Facilities Management

But an equally massive message of gratitude goes to all of our existing clients, umpteen of whom we’ve worked with for many years. – we truly value your business. And judging by the regular comments that we receive from our customers, you’re quite pleased with our efforts too! There’s nothing more gratifying than receiving positive client feedback, so to all of those that have taken the time to write, thank you – we truly appreciate it.

Thank you MAR Staff

Of course, none of what we deliver on a daily basis for clients is possible without the enormous contribution of all of MAR’s members of staff.

So thanks to the entire team for their on-going contribution and for ensuring that the total output is bigger than the sum of the parts.

And Thank you to the local community

We continue to support our local community in Binfield whenever and however we can.

Whether it’s getting involved in local green initiatives or helping community fundraising efforts, we value the community of which we are part.

We were particularly delighted to participate in the recent Binfield Easter Egg Hunt Competition. It was a great 10 days that everyone at MAR really enjoyed and judging by the smiles on the constant stream of visitors outside our head office, local kids and adults revelled in it every bit as much!  The winners of our supplementary competition definitely got something out of the experience….

So hats off to everyone that’s helped make MAR’s 2019 such a positive year so far and here’s to the months ahead!

Everyone knows about the National Minimum Wage. It’s compulsory and the rate depends on your age, if you are under 25 years of age it might range from £8.21 an hour for an apprentice to £6.95 if you aged between 21 and 24.

What is a Living Wage?

The Living Wage is the amount of money that employees need to live comfortably, relatively free of the burdens of worrying about making ends meet. Nothing is more de-moralising for staff than being employed full-time job, working hard for their employer, and still not being able to meet the basics of life like rent, food, and utilities.

The new Living Wage, (£10.75/h inside London, £9.30p/h outside), allows employees to pay their bills and live reasonably comfortably. It is the amount that working Brits need to make in order to both survive and thrive – something we believe everyone should have.

Here are the top ten benefits of paying the Living Wage:

1. Better employee retention – Every new employee costs you hundreds or thousands of pounds to train and prepare to work for you. Every time you lose an employee, you’re wasting that money. It would be better invested in keeping the staff you have than hiring and training new people all the time.
2. Improved morale – Happy employees are better employees. They show up for work on time and do a better job all around.
3. Decreased employee sick time – Better paid employees tend to call out sick less often. Because they feel they’re being taken care of by their employer, they tend to make more of an effort to be at work.
4. Greater customer satisfaction – Your happier, better-paid employees tend to take better care of your customers or the products that they manufacture.
5. More business referrals – Word of mouth is still one of the most important marketing channels for most businesses, and trust is the most crucial factor when a customer decides whether to refer a friend or colleague. Paying the Living Wage will help to develop trust with your customers as it makes a confident statement about the type of organisation you are – ethical, caring and forward-thinking.
6. Customer loyalty – Customers are far more likely to return to a business that pays its employees the Living Wage than one that doesn’t. As consumers, we are becoming more and more aware of our responsibility to society as a whole, and that leaves us uncomfortable if we feel that we are supporting businesses who’s employees who aren’t able to make a decent living.
7. Improved productivity – Employees take greater pride in their work when they’re paid a wage that allows them to focus on the job at hand, as opposed to being worried about how they are going to make ends meet that week. That means greater productivity, which in itself goes a long way to help pay for the extra hourly cost.
8. Greater innovation – Even businesses that have been around for 200 years need to constantly innovate in order to compete. Happy employees will look for ways to save their employer time and money simply because they care more.
9. A better reputation – Businesses that commit to paying the Living Wage enjoys a better overall reputation among consumers and even competitors.
10. Pride in your business – As a business owner, knowing that your staff goes home each night to enough money to thrive can give you a sense of pride. You’re making the world a better place.

MAR FM offers their clients the ability to pay the Living Wage to the MAR employees that work for them. In facilities maintenance, the paradigm is to pay employees as little as possible. At MAR we encourage our clients to pay the highest wages possible, whilst remaining competitive. Ultimately we know that for our clients, the bottom line, is their financial bottom line. But we also know you don’t want to compromise on the quality of service that is delivered. That is why we place great emphasis on avoiding cutting corners when it comes to our greatest asset – our staff.

MAR works with clients that want to pay their facilities management team the Living Wage by guaranteeing that the increased wage is passed directly on to the employees, not retained by the company.

Please contact us today to see how working with MAR Facilities Management can create a new paradigm for facilities services staff, guaranteeing that their work will pay for a successful, happy lives.