9th March marks 29 years of MAN Commercial Protection, and we have been celebrating today at HQ! To honour the occasion, we gathered our office team together to enjoy some delicious branded cupcakes and cookies, and have filled the office with balloons to add to the party atmosphere!
“29 years of MAN is something to be so proud of”, said Laura McCarthy, People & Communications Director, “We are delighted to be celebrating another incredibly successful year, and are very excited for all that is to come!”
2022 is off to a flying start, and we’re excited to see what the rest of the year brings!
March 8th is International Women’s Day! This important occasion has been celebrated globally for over 100 years, and is a special date here at MAN Commercial Protection; it’s a great reason to celebrate the fantastic work of the women in our team!
Security can often be seen as a male-orientated industry, and with only 10% of SIA Licence holders being female, it’s easy to see why. Here at MAN Commercial we are keen to change this perception, and actively encourage women to apply for our Security Officer positions across the country. We also have 3 female company Directors, and over 50% our Head Office team are women.
In celebration of today, we chatted to some of the amazing ladies in our team, and want to give a big shout out to all our females across the UK!
Jane – Control Room Administrator
Jane has been with MAN Commercial for over 7 years. Having working in several positions for us over the years, Jane is now based in our Control Room at HQ, where she is integral to the day-to-day running of the Control Room – the most important room in the business! Control Room Administrator responsibilities include dealing with incoming enquiries and redirecting more complex issues, reporting and collating monthly figures, inputting rotas and completing Return to Work interviews.
“I have noticed a remarkable increase in women successfully applying to work in the security industry at MAN Commercial including an increasingly large female workforce within our head office,” says Jane, “I love working at MAN Commercial because no two days are ever the same, and I am supported and valued by my manager.”
Amy – Business Development Manager
Amy joined us late in 2021 and is new to the security sector, after joining MAN Commercial Protection following years of success in the hospitality industry. Amy’s role involves seeking new business opportunities for MAN Commercial; researching different business sectors, building client relationships, identifying and pursuing opportunities where we may be able to offer our excellent services.
Amy is a big supporter of International Women’s Day, “It is a time to reflect and celebrate what women have achieved all over the world. It is a day to remind ourselves to continue to support and motivate one another. We have come a long way; we should be proud and empower the girls of the future!”
Linked In is a great tool for Amy – Connect with her @AmyWillock and @MANCOMMERCIALPROTECTIONLIMITED
Charlotte – CCTV Operator
Charlotte, a CCTV Operator from Birmingham has been with MAN Commercial now for five years. Her role includes safeguarding vulnerable members of the public and working closely with the emergency services. “My role is varied, and comes with a great deal of responsibility. Security is a lot more complex than the stereotypical opinion,” says Charlotte, “Over the years I’ve seen the opportunities for female advancement improve so much; my manager is female and is very successful, a great role-model.”
Charlotte has loved her time with us so far, adding, “MAN Commercial is a very diverse company, and I thoroughly enjoy working here.”
This month our Team were invited by the FD & CFO Centre to attend the Entrepreneurs Club 2022, which is a buzzing networking evening held at The Oyster Club in Birmingham.
It was a fantastic night from start to finish; Steve Anderson, the West Midlands Regional Director of the FD Centre & CFO Centre, served as host for the night ensuring proceedings went smoothly. MAN Commercial CEO, Iain McCallister, was one of two guest speakers on the night, delivering a truly inspirational speech, reflecting on our journey and ending with our exciting plans for the future. Iain said, “I love to share our story; I have a great relationship with the FD & CFO Centre and it was a pleasure to speak at such a great event.”
To introduce Iain to the stage, the Customer Success Story video that the FD & CFO Centre recently created for us was played, which really captured the audience’s interest and prompted some great questions in the Q&A session!
We’re thrilled to announce our CEO Iain McCallister has been shortlisted for Company Leader of the Year at the 2022 West Midlands Leadership Awards! The awards, hosted by the Business Desk, celebrate the achievements of the best leaders across the region over the last 12 months. CEO Iain McCallister said of this nomination, “It is an honour to have been nominated for the Company Leader of the Year award, I am so proud of what MAN Commercial Protection has achieved this past year”. Winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in March, held at the Macdonald Hotel in Birmingham. Good luck, Iain!
Some very exciting news this month – MAN Commercial Protection have recruited our very own Company Trainer, who will be heading-up our brand-new Training department! It is important here at MAN Commercial that we are always ahead of the game when it comes to being a fantastic company to work for, and with recent changes to SIA licencing requirements, we felt that now was the right time to move forward with this project. Being able to offer First Aid and SIA top-up training is a strong incentive to help us drive recruitment, while also boosting officer retention.
Our Company Trainer will also support with induction training and toolbox talks, as well as conducting a range of valuable training programmes as required: SIA Courses/Top-Up Courses, Site Inductions, First Aid at Work, Fire Warden, ACT Counter-Terrorism Training, IOSH, Manual Handling, Equality and Diversity, and more. The Company Trainer will also liaise directly with our clients where required to create tailored training programmes or focuses, that can be delivered one-to-one or for the whole team as required to address any gaps in training or areas of difficulty.
So, who have we appointed to help us kick-start such an exciting project?
We are pleased to welcome our first-ever company trainer to the team, Dene! In this new role, Dene will be responsible for the planning, administration and implementation of all of our training courses.
Dene brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the security industry; having started his career on the doors with a Door Supervision Licence, and then spending over 14 years specialising in accredited training courses. He has also held a Close Protection License for over 20 years! Dene will be integral for MAN Commercial to build on our training foundation, ensuring we become a bespoke academy suiting our clients’ needs and requirements.
“We’re extremely lucky to have Dene on our team,” said CEO, Iain McCallister. “We’ve been looking for someone to reinvigorate our security training programmes, and Dene brings the experience and vision necessary to create a high-quality training scheme.”
When the opportunity arose to join MAN, Dene expressed that it was an easy decision. “MAN Commercial Protection is an extremely well-respected company within the security industry, and I’m really proud to be here. The growth MAN has experienced over the last few years is incredible and I want to be part of its future growth.”
Already hitting the ground running, Dene has shared plans to build up MAN’s Commercial Training Academy that will help guide the next generation, giving them the best possible start. “My long-term goal for the Training Academy is for MAN to be recognised on a national scale for high-quality training alongside the excellent security services we provide.”
Discussing both short-term and long-term goals for the training academy, Dene added: “In 5 years’ time I anticipate we will have a full team of qualified instructors that will enable us to be more versatile to suit our client’s training needs.”
Dene joins us with great enthusiasm, we’ll be sharing regular updates on MAN’s Training Academy via our social media channels and website!
We think December is the best time of the year, and at MAN we love to celebrate with our annual Christmas Jumper Day! All our HQ team dress up in their best Christmas jumpers to spread festive cheer throughout the office! Additionally, our Head Office team took part in our annual Secret Santa, exchanging gifts, and enjoying tasty treats!
Throughout the year, Our CEO, Iain McCallister has been collecting charitable donations from anyone who challenges him to a game of pool, and in 2021 we were able to raise over £400! Our donation went to the NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity, which was voted for by our team.
2022 promises to be another exciting year for us, and we wish you all a Happy New Year!
MAN Commercial Protection Ltd have been named in the Infologue 2021 Top 45 UK Security Companies. The annually-released list ranks the biggest and best UK security companies based on their revenue, and for 2021, has been expanded to include a further 15 businesses.
We’re delighted to see that MAN Commercial have reached the top 20 for the first time since our list debut in 2015; climbing the table to rank at number 20, two places higher than last year!
It’s great to see such impressive figures overall across our industry, especially after such a challenging 12 months!
We are delighted to be featured in December’s issue of Professional Security Magazine! We recently had a special visit from Editor Mark Rowe at MAN HQ, where he sat down with CEO Iain McCallister and discussed all things MAN. The article showcases our incredible achievements over the past 12 months, including winning the BSA Business of the Year award, and the significant renovation of our 7000 sq ft brand new second office space.
We have also been included in the Organic Growth 25 2021, a list curated by Buzzacott that identifies 25 of the UK’s fastest organically-growing companies. We have been recognised for demonstrating that growing organically, an often under-recognised and under-celebrated growth strategy, is a viable route to achieve impressive sustainable growth. Over the last 12 months, we achieved a staggering revenue growth of 109%.
Here at MAN Commercial we love a celebration, and what better occasion than celebrating all the achievements of our industry at The Security and Fire Excellence Awards in November!
Held at the Park Lane Hilton in London, MAN Commercial were finalists in both the ‘Company of the Year Over 25m’ and the ‘Inspiration in HR’ categories. We were so delighted for our HR team to be shortlisted for this title, as they have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, ensuring that all our Officers had the support and information they needed at all times. Although we didn’t take home an award on the night, the team truly deserved the recognition, and our HR Manager, HR Advisor, HR and People & Comms Director had a brilliant evening! The HR team were joined on the night by our Marketing team, CEO Iain McCallister and some of our Operational Directors.
We recognised the host of the night, Solihull-born magician and comedian Ben Hanlin, who has been a guest at our Head Office in the past. Ben bought some comedy to proceedings and made sure everything ran smoothly, and was joined by World Cup-winning legend Sir Geoff Hurst, who made a well-received appearance to announce the final two award winners.
This year as the first time we have attended these awards and we are already looking forward to returning next year!
Thank you to our friends at The FD & CFO Centre UKwho we have worked with for 10 years, for creating this special ‘Client Success Story’. The video captures the journey of our CEO Iain McCallister, from starting out as a doorman in Birmingham to travelling internationally protecting top bands and artists, to progressing MAN Commercial to where it is today.
There’s a lot to cover in 3 minutes, but the CFO Client Experience team have done a fantastic job!
