Friday update

As Friday comes around once again and we find ourselves over a week into lockdown 'take-two' I do hope you are all maintaining your usual optimism, and are not finding the situation too daunting or restrictive. Given the high praise we continue to receive on a regular basis throughout the business it certainly seems that everyone is wholly dedicated in delivering the exceptional standards synonymous with the Jenner brand, and proving that we remain very much business as usual.

The working conditions faced by you all in adhering to the restrictive measures and enhanced procedures imposed upon us continues to present a significant challenge, and this is particularly poignant for the Customer Care team entering the confines of people’s homes, working in such close proximity to the public and therefore being exposed to a heightened risk. And yet this has certainly not compromised service delivery. I felt it important to share the exemplary testimony that Neil and his team received directly by many tenants who reside at the Theatre Royal development in Chatham and who have taken the time to write and share their experiences which are filled with positivity and praise for their professionalism and conduct.

“The work has now been completed in my flat and I would like to give you some feedback. Jake, Andy and Jo were a pleasure to have working in my home. They were extremely professional and friendly and were very clean when they carried out the work. I highly recommend the work they have done”

“I have been blown away by the professionalism of the team, they have been fantastic, incredibly kind and have shown nothing but care and consideration for my home. When I have returned home daily, I wouldn’t even be able to tell that work has been done as it had been left so clean. Please pass on my thank you, it really does need to be recognized when good work is done”

So a very well done to the entire team working at Theatre Royal.

Following communications with you all earlier this week regarding the confirmed case of COVID-19 experienced within the main office, I am very pleased to report that the individual affected is recovering well and in exceptionally good spirits. Those who had been in close proximity have self-isolated and when subsequently tested have returned a negative result, which is incredibly encouraging. The COVID-19 taskforce acted swiftly and proportionately to minimise the risk of any further spread of infection, and I do hope all those present within the office this week have felt confident and safe in light of these actions. The protocol and enhanced measures we have in place in response to the ongoing crisis were praised by the NHS Track and Trace service, stating that we are certainly doing more than most businesses to protect our people, which is again extremely reassuring.

Going forwards we will naturally continue to remain vigilant and with our robust safety and hygiene measures in place we hope to minimise further occurrences and keep you all safe as best we can. Numbers within the main office have reduced a little towards the end of the week and I would encourage this to continue as another way to protect each other at this time. I would also ask that any of our external site teams visiting the office to deliver paperwork or collect orders make only a quick visit and do not prolong time in and around the office visiting others unless absolutely necessary. The office will also receive periodic ‘fogging’ in a similar way to several of our site offices, mess rooms and the like where the risk of infection is assessed to be heightened by the number of people on site.

The media coverage certainly remains rather conflicted, with encouraging reports of a breakthrough vaccine and a rebounding economy then counteracted with further sombre statistics, all of which creates uncertainly and can really affect our mental health and diminish our positive outlook at this time. With your wellbeing in mind please do keep talking and sharing any concerns that maybe troubling you at this time and perhaps limit the amount of news you expose yourself to each day. This provides me with an opportunity to remind you that we now have 11 mental health first aiders across the business who are on hand should you need a listening ear, and those trained will be listed on the Intranet and website in coming weeks so you know who you can approach. A finer group of women and men you would struggle to find!

A huge milestone was achieved this week as Edenbridge Manor Care Home achieved Practical Completion ahead of official handover in coming weeks following the works by the specialist care sector fit-out company. Huge praise must be extended to Paddy, Ben, Vinnie and all the team who have worked relentlessly to push this challenging project forwards on behalf of Leath Park Developments and end-user Avery Healthcare. The end result is a spectacular state-of-the-art 85 bed care home delivered to an incredibly high standard, as the images below illustrate.

Looking at project progress a little closer to home, the development of Folkestone seafront is continuing at pace with another busy week for the team resulting in over 230m3 of concrete poured at various locations across the site. The first floor slab to the East block is now complete with the columns for the second floor underway, and good progress has been made with the central townhouses. To the West block the parking slab completed today and works to the main car park are now underway. As busy as they are the team still made time this week to observe a two minute silence out of respect for our fallen heroes, particularly poignant given the sites close proximity to the Road of Remembrance, and today embraced a little bit of culture with a lunch of samosas provided by the concrete finishing gang who celebrate Diwali tomorrow. Numbers on site have increased substantially over recent weeks and as such the project has warranted additional site based support and we extend a warm Jenner welcome to new recruit Steven Bubb who has joined the team and will be based on site.

The images below illustrate the exceptional progress made as the building continues to emerge out of the ground.

As today marked ‘World Kindness Day’ I thought I would end todays update by encouraging you all to consider a ‘Random Act of Kindness’ over the weekend to spread a little happiness during these challenging times. Whether this be a small donation to charity, buying a sandwich for a rough sleeper, paying a compliment to someone or calling a friend you have lost contact with, your small gesture can make all the difference to brighten both their day and yours, and I strongly encourage you to give this a try.

For those of you sceptical about Friday 13th I hope you have made it through the day unscathed and are now slightly more relaxed as the day draws to a close, and I wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.