Welcome back to our Day in the Life series, which enables you to get to know our dedicated franchise support team.

Based at our head office in Leeds, they work tirelessly to ensure NIC Local franchisees have everything they need to build and grow their commercial cleaning business successfully.

After Jo Lock [LINK] and Nick Costello [LINK] shared their responsibilities, this time it’s the turn of our Administrator, Janet Grimston.

With a role that spans onboarding, training, operational support, and back-office assistance, Janet plays a crucial part in making franchisees’ lives easier – and more successful – from day one.

Helping franchisees get up and running

Hi, I’m Janet! I became part of the NIC family in 1990, although I’ve been on our franchise support team since 2012.

My current role as Administrator covers various areas across operational and back-office support. Every day is different, but my main focus is helping franchisees to establish their business, keep it running smoothly, and enable growth through the all-important tendering process.

Supporting franchisees with daily operations

On the operational side, I help franchisees with a wide range of tasks. This can include ordering machinery or troubleshooting supplier issues, where I step in to get things resolved if necessary.

I also manage franchisee audit trackers of their cleaning sites to ensure compliance. If anything is flagged, I will notify the BDM and set a timescale for improvements.

Occasionally, franchisees ask me to provide 12-month audit records for a particular site. This is especially the case for clients in sectors such as healthcare, where compliance is key. I retrieve these reports from our system to help franchisees demonstrate their high standards.

Ensuring compliance and safety

Another important part of my role is verifying new employees for franchisees. I check all paperwork to ensure new starters can legally work in the UK before adding them to the payroll system. This helps franchisees stay compliant, while simultaneously streamlining their recruitment process.

I also assist in creating site manuals, which include health and safety details, chemical usage data, and machinery care guidelines. These are essential for franchisees to maintain high standards and meet client requirements.

For franchisees working on sites which have important safeguarding measures in place, such as schools, I also produce staff ID badges with their DBS number on. 

These small but essential tasks help franchisees operate smoothly while meeting industry regulations.

“My role is about reacting to franchisees’ needs”

My role is very reactive to what franchisees need on a day-to-day basis.

Franchisees contact me daily with various requests, and nine times out of ten I can resolve their query straight away. On the rare occasion I don’t have the answer, I quickly direct franchisees to the right person. This hands-on support saves franchisees valuable time and ensures they always have the help they need.

Some franchisees need more support than others, particularly those who are new to the business and learning, but we are always on hand to assist any one who needs it.

I love the variety of my role – no two days are ever the same!

Helping franchisees win valuable tenders

Beyond operations, I play a key role in supporting franchisees and BDMs with tenders and contract opportunities.

I oversee all tender portals, ensuring site visits are booked, required documents are prepared, and tenders are submitted correctly and on time. Pre-selection questionnaires are another part of this process, and I handle these submissions to help franchisees get in front of potential clients.

I also manage the follow-up communications and schedule annual review meetings, keeping everything organised so franchisees can focus on service delivery and growth.

It’s a real team effort, but I act as the controller, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

“Seeing franchisees grow is the best part of my job”

The most rewarding part of my role is helping new franchisees go from a standing start to running a thriving operation. 

From guiding them through the onboarding process, to supporting them win tenders, I love seeing them build their business with confidence.

Some franchisees exceed their business plan targets much earlier than anticipated due to the support we provide with tendering in particular. We get deeply involved in the process, helping secure major contracts that drive growth.

Many people are investing their life savings into an NIC Local franchise, and by extension putting all their trust in us. Seeing them succeed – and knowing I’ve played a role in that journey – makes my job incredibly fulfilling.

Want to be the next success story?

If you’re ready to take control of your future and explore the exciting opportunities within the lucrative commercial cleaning sector, we’d love to hear from you!

Get in touch with our franchise recruitment team today to receive your franchise prospectus and start your journey with NIC Local.

Your success story starts here. Let’s make it happen together!