Welcoming Steve Rex, Our New Head of HSEQ

We are excited to welcome Steve, who recently joined City & Essex as our new Head of HSEQ. Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to the business and his significant expertise will be instrumental in our continuing journey towards zero harm. To mark the start of Steve’s journey, we asked him to share some insights into his background, his key priorities and the direction the industry is heading.

• What attracted you to City & Essex?
  “Having worked in the industry since 2003, whenever I have spoken to peers at various networking events, City & Essex has always been spoken about positively. They would often talk about the company values of being truthful, their passion for providing exceptional customer service, their willingness to embrace new technology where it adds true value to the business, and the loyalty of their staff. All these have always been mentioned with high praise. When I was approached about this role and learnt of their ambition to take HSEQ to another level, I felt that I could use my experience both as a seasoned HSEQ practitioner, coupled with my operational experience, to enhance their knowledge and support their vision to fulfil this role. With the positive accolades already known about City & Essex, it was an easy decision to accept their offer, and the warm welcome from my colleagues that I have received so far has been second to none, so I already feel part of the City & Essex family.”

• What are you most excited about in your role?
  “There are two things, really. Firstly, it’s about the people. The cleaning industry is full of passionate people who want to make a difference and work really hard with little understanding by the outside world as to what is involved day to day, so it’s about working alongside and supporting my colleagues to make their lives easier, safer and being able to help the business succeed. Secondly, it’s about approaching things with a fresh pair of eyes, looking at how we operate from a different perspective and if we can adapt something that’s considered suitable (because it’s always been done that way!) to enhance it to be more efficient for the future.”

• What impact do you hope to make in your new position? 
  “I’m not here to make changes for the sake of making changes, but I want to enhance what was established by a former colleague, Andy Bennett, who laid the solid HSEQ foundations on which the business has been built. With the growth and availability of digital platforms, coupled with the ability to use some best practices gained from previous experiences, I hope that with the collaborative support of my colleagues, we can align and simplify some processes by making them more effective and streamlined for the benefit of our future, whilst not only remaining compliant, but to ensure the Health, Safety and Wellbeing of our colleagues remain at the forefront of the decisions we make on a daily basis.“

• Are there any projects or achievements you are particularly proud of? 
  “Having been in the industry for over 20 years, it’s difficult to pinpoint one achievement or project as there have been so many I could talk about. However, many projects over the years have been around adapting a traditional paper-based HSEQ process into digital formats that helped improve reporting practices and simplify the work for my operational colleagues, plus being able to capture, evidence and having the evidence to report on trends and make improvements where paper-based reporting just wasn’t effective enough to provide accurate and meaningful data.
  
  A last-minute call from my Managing Director to run the mobilisation of the London Zoo contract was very memorable as this had minimal notice being given at the start of December and included being on site on New Year’s Day by 07:00 to take delivery of the new equipment and materials to begin cleaning that morning. Fortunately, even with the festive period break, everything went to plan, and the mobilisation was a success.
  
  One of my biggest achievements personally has been my continued investment in myself to study and gain the necessary qualifications, knowledge, and experience to help not only myself but to mentor others within the industry to become better versions of themselves. 21 years on and I’m still passionately invested in our industry, and I look forward to seeing what the future brings.”

• What’s a fun fact about yourself? 
  “If you are a fan of the 1990s TV series Soldier Soldier or happen to be watching the repeats, you may spot a more youthful version of me appearing in two episodes that were filmed during the mid-90s.  You may not recognise me, though, as I had plenty of hair back in those days!”

A Warm Welcome
Steve will form a key part of the leadership team and will enhance both the operational support across the business and strategic decision-making to ensure our most important asset – our people, are equipped with the knowledge, skills and tools to succeed safely.

Please join us in welcoming Steve to the family and we look forward to many years of collaboration and success!