What’s so great about AM Services Group by Del McGee?

Hear about our operations director Del McGee’s first impressions

When someone first starts work with a company, it can be a great time to get critical feedback. Del McGee recently took on the role of operations director for AM Services Group and has extensive experience in the facilities manager sector, so we thought it would be good to hear his thoughts to date…
(Del is pictured above, 3rd from the right, enjoying the day with our new operations team in Manchester)

What is the first/biggest thing that first struck you when you began your new role with AMSG?

The people: it was 100% the people. I’d come from an organisation which was much larger than AM Services Group… but you can’t help that first day at school feeling. On my first day, I sat in my car outside HQ bracing myself to go into the building to meet complete strangers. All that was gone within five minutes of setting foot within the door. Everyone was so genuinely helpful and friendly that I knew I’d found a fabulous, new ‘home’. And, even before I’d started work, I was invited to the Christmas party. And I went, and was made so welcome. You usually have to wait months to be able to feel so relaxed with colleagues.

Here, everyone has a voice. It’s largely a young and dynamic team where people are always trying to think how to do things differently and better. All ideas and opinions are valued and listened to, and everyone is encouraged to have a voice.

There’s a strong sense of ‘belonging’ on our sites too. Often staff in FM can feel that they are working just for the client and without any connection to a company that is just seen to pay the wages each month. On my first site visit, I talked to our site manager and got a very strong feeling of working with AM Services Group. I thought they must have been working with AM for many years… on the contrary, they’d only been working with us for three months. That’s what the company does: it embraces the staff, draws them in and looks after them.

The onboarding and TUPE process contributes real value. They understand people are nervous about change and they support them. On my first mobilisation of a large and prestigious client site in central Manchester, I was impressed with how many of the AM Services Group team were present. You’d probably expect HR to come along, but there were also senior representatives from every part of the team, from sales to regional management, technical management, health and safety and so on… I wondered why there was someone there from the uniform company, until I realised that each and every single member of the team was being measured for their bespoke, new uniform. Small actions with a personal touch that all together has big impact.

What does AMSG do differently from other FM service providers you’ve come across?

Togetherness: they are happy, motivated teams who genuinely contribute to the ‘One Team, One Goal’ mantra. And this is engendered by a management team that cares. For example, on mobilisation we like to meet our team as soon as possible. On one occasion, supplier change-over was at 5 am for a 6 am meeting. This was over an hour’s drive away for some who were attending. When we got there, our CEO Adrian had made the long drive and was already there waiting with coffee and breakfast for everyone. I’ll never forget that.

Another thing is the phenomenal amount of investment that the company is prepared to make in support services, innovation and staff welfare.

What do you think the future holds for operations at AM Services Group?

The future is very bright and there’s a real hunger within the team at all levels to make it even brighter. It’s a great place to work. No two days are the same in this industry, and that’s especially true at AM Services Group. We really don’t stand still, even for a second, as there is such a strong desire to keep on improving the business. There are an incredible number of projects that have started, and many more in the pipeline, alongside medium-term plans to invest even more into our operational support network to create a strong environment which will get us even closer to our customers.