Bidvest Noonan

A market leading provider of facilities services and solutions

Our Business

60 Seconds with Steve Webb

by

Our Director of Technology Solutions, Steve Webb, took part in our 60-Second interview series. Steve provided some valuable insights and advice.

How would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan?

My role as Director of Technology Solutions is to promote and deliver new tech innovations for our customers, particularly with CCTV and Access Control. Much of my focus is on improving how we use electronic security systems. This also includes Intercom, Alarm, and Barriers to more efficiently secure our customers’ facilities.

What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?

There hasn’t been just one day, there’s been a few for different reasons. Success with new and current customers using these services is what I enjoy the most and get the greatest satisfaction from as a whole.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Again it’s difficult to single out ‘the best’ advice but I believe in treating others with the same respect and consideration that we’d like to be given ourselves. These things can go a long way!

Steve, Could you tell us how you motivate yourself?

Motivating others and seeing them go on to great things is motivational. Knowing where I can influence a result is what motivates me.

Who or what has inspired you the most?

Observing those who are less fortunate but have accomplished so much despite their circumstances is always inspirational to me.

If you had a motto, what would it be?

My motto is ‘Honesty is the best practice’.

Bidvest Noonan Annual Awards 2022 in Great Britain

by

Our teams came together on November 22nd for our Annual Awards event 2022 in the plush surroundings of the Underglobe in London. There was an electric atmosphere all afternoon as we recognised and celebrated the tremendous work our teams do up and down the country every single day.

The event was a success and it was fantastic to celebrate the achievements of our people. Huge congratulations to all finalists and winners!

Full list of winners are as follows:

  • Best Managed Cleaning Contract (Small Team): Caterpillar
  • Best Managed Cleaning Contract (Medium Team): Alstom
  • Best Managed Cleaning Contract (LargeTeam): Nissan
  • Best Managed Security Contract (Small Team): One Bartholomew
  • Best Managed Security Contract (Medium Team): Nova Victoria
  • Best Managed Security Contract (Large Team): JLL
  • Professional of the Year: Muzzamal Zaheer
  • ESG Excellence Award: Ryan Callan
  • CX Excellence Award: Sheila Hodge
  • Overall Best Managed Cleaning Contract: Nissan
  • Overall Best Managed Security Contract: One Bartholomew

Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at Caterpillar
Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at Alstom
Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at Nissan
Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at One Bartholomew
Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at Nova Victoria
Winner: Bidvest Noonan team at JLL
Winner: Muzzamal Zaheer
Winner: Ryan Callan
Richard Pettiford receiving trophy on behalf of Sheila Hodge

Bidvest Noonan appoints Managing Director for Northern Ireland

by

We are delighted to announce Jim O’Hagan has been appointed as Managing Director for our business in Northern Ireland.

Jim is a highly accomplished senior executive with more than 20 years of senior leadership experience. He has a track-record of guiding high-performance teams, bringing success to many market-leading brands. He succeeds Scott Brannigan who has retired. 

This appointment signals our continued commitment to the Northern Irish market and underlines our ambition for the business in the region.

Bidvest Noonan provides services ranging from cleaning and security to facilities management in Northern Ireland and supports many of the most iconic brands operating across the UK & Ireland.

Speaking on his appointment, Jim said:

“I am delighted to join Bidvest Noonan at a truly exciting time for the company. This business is hugely admired for its people-first culture and commitment to service excellence, which made my decision to join very easy.

I want to wish Scott the very best in his retirement and thank him for the work he has done to ensure my smooth transition into the role. I look forward to working with my new team to build on our success to date and continue to deliver outstanding support to customers.”

CEO for Bidvest Noonan in Ireland, Cormac Sheils commented:

“I would like to warmly welcome Jim into the Bidvest Noonan family. Jim has a very impressive background and brings with him a wealth of experience, strong management skills, and deep expertise. I look forward to working with Jim to expand our presence in Northern Ireland. I have every confidence that Jim will be very successful at Bidvest Noonan.”

60 Seconds with Gary Watkin

by

Director of Operations Gary Watkin has joined our 60-second interview series. Gary shares some valuable leadership insights that have inspired him throughout his career.

How would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan? 
As Director of Operations within our GB Security Solutions National team, I oversee our regional management teams for the Scotland, North East, Yorkshire & Humber, and North West areas. I enjoy meeting with frontline colleagues, learning about their roles, and meeting with potential and existing customers and ensure we’re strategically aligned delivering a bespoke, and often diverse, range of security services.

What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?
The occasions that connect with me the most are those involving my team, whether it be praise, a nomination/award, or accomplishments important to the team, customers, or themselves personally. I’m very fortunate as there have been so many occasions to single out any one event. 

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Some of the best advice I’ve taken come from John Maxwell’s book, ‘21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’, and here’s probably the best; “Leading well is not about enriching yourself—it’s about empowering others” – Law 12.

How do you motivate yourself and your team?
As my team will testify, I’m very fond of analogies. In comparison to a modern-day football manager, we all have team members that perform and react in very different ways in given situations. How we interact, help, and reflect with those different personalities is vital in achieving the best result. My role in understanding and interacting with people is both fascinating and rewarding, and that’s my motivation.
When I’m not at work I like to spend time with my family, nights out with my wife, and the very occasional meet-up with friends.

Who or what has inspired you the most?
My son and wife are both Type 1 diabetics, meaning they need help to regulate their blood sugar levels, due to an auto-immunity issue. My wife was diagnosed later in life, but my son was diagnosed shortly before his fifth birthday. How he’s coped with his medical condition with fortitude, acceptance and a great sense of humour is an inspiration to me personally and helps to keep a good perspective for the far less serious problems in life. An outlook that I know we all can relate to.

Gary, if you had a motto, what would it be?
I am particularly fond of the quote from Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” In operations we can all relate when matters are challenging, it is our resolve to keep going and succeed that defines who we are.

60 Seconds with Cornelia Olivier

by

Cornelia Olivier, Customer Relationship Director, has joined us for our next 60-second interview. Cornelia shares some leadership insights that have inspired her successful journey.

  • How would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan?

My job entails supporting our teams to live our vision and I do this through listening to our colleagues, listening to our customers, and then investigating how our organisation can add even more value and create better customer experiences.

  • What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?

The day that our Carbon Reduction Plan was signed off was a particularly happy day for me. Our organisation stepped up to a challenge that many of our own people and all our customer teams feel passionate about.

  • What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I attended a leadership program once where I received the best advice: make decisions that you can live with, rather than basing decisions on what might be good for someone else. You can judge what you can live with, but knowing what is best for someone else is impossible! 

Leaders are faced with so much complexity and our personal circumstances add to that complexity. When you make decisions based on your own conscience, it is clear what you are taking responsibility for and it simplifies things a little. 

  • How do you motivate yourself?

Work is a combination of mundane tasks and exciting ventures. I try to pay attention to both every day to keep my energy levels up! When I find my days becoming too mundane, I first try to remember the bigger objectives that the mundane activities are contributing to, and then if I’m still restless, I go seek out opportunities to work on more challenging projects. Fortunately, our organisation welcomes collaborating on interesting topics such as innovation, sustainability, and community, so there is plenty of opportunity to do something different.

  • Who or what has inspired you the most?

Ordinary people that consistently show up are inspiring. The commitment and perseverance required to show up day in and day out are sometimes not noticed, but the contribution made is priceless.

  • If you had a motto, what would it be?

From Dr Suess: ‘Try it and you might’

Bidvest Noonan proudly hosts the first ever UK TinyG event in the North East

by

Bidvest Noonan hosted the first ever UK TinyG event in the North East. The event was held at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle and welcomed guests from the Police, Cyber Crime Agencies, Counter Terrorism Campaigners, and Security professionals across a variety of sectors.

The day-long conference featured speakers such as DCC Paul Anderson from the Humberside Police, Rebecca Chapman of the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC), DI Martin Wilson of the NEBRC, Joe Cockcroft of the NEBRC, Julian Platt from Protect & Prepare, and Figen Murray OBE campaigner for Martyn’s Law.

Topics discussed included cybercrime, global terrorism, its impact on businesses, and what can be done to mitigate these risks. Attendees left with a better understanding of how to keep their businesses safe from potential threats.

Associations such as TinyG are important because they bring together security professionals to share best practices and learn from one another. This helps ensure that businesses are up-to-date on the latest threats and have the knowledge they need to protect their colleagues, customers, and assets.

Bidvest Noonan’s Managing Director for strategic growth Sarah Cork commented: “We are proud to have been the lead sponsor for such a fantastic event and welcoming businesses from across the North East. The day was a resounding success with extremely thought-provoking insights from all the speakers. The opportunity to collaborate with each other to combat terrorism and cyber-crime is invaluable. The panel session saw several of the attendees asking valuable questions that will further protect their businesses, the community and provide social value. We look forward to attending the next TinyG event.”

David Evans of TinyG said: “We’re delighted that our event was so well received especially since this is the first time hosting an event in the North East of England. We would like to thank all of our speakers for their contribution to the success of the event and our sponsors for supporting us. We are taking huge steps forward to combat terrorism and cyber-crime and look forward to hosting more events around the UK.”