Interserve’s Ben Bellekens has been praised after moving home to help make sure excellent services could still be delivered to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) despite restrictions imposed by COVID-19.
The company delivers facilities management (FM) services to the FCO across its Europe estate. This includes a major operation in Brussels, which is the FCO’s largest operation in Europe. Services delivered include administration, supporting the office space and also delivering FM to residential buildings used by embassy staff. Ben Bellekens, Technical Manager, volunteered to move from his house in Belgium to an Interserve apartment in Schumann, Brussels, near the UK embassy so the team could ensure the contract is successfully delivered. He is now on-hand in case of emergencies and to ensure continuity of service.
Ben Bellekens, Technical Manager, said: “We were concerned that if everyone worked from home then responding to emergencies becomes impossible. Of course, only essential work is taking place at the embassy, but nevertheless that requires FM services.
“I volunteered and grabbed a bag and left my house thinking I’d be back within a fortnight, that was five weeks ago!
“However, I am proud that the client is appreciative of our service and that we are able to support our client during such challenging times.” Pam Miller, Interserve’s Head of European Operations, said: “Restrictions on travel would have left our business exposed, Ben jumped in without question a few hours before the Belgium Government locked the entire country down.
“Ben has not only managed to locally assist a fully implemented COVID-19 business continuity plan, he has liaised with both clients and customers throughout. On top of this, he takes good care of the health and welfare of our entire team.
“I am immensely proud of the work the entire team have undertaken during this unprecedented time.”
The company delivers facilities management (FM) services to the FCO across its Europe estate. This includes a major operation in Brussels, which is the FCO’s largest operation in Europe. Services delivered include administration, supporting the office space and also delivering FM to residential buildings used by embassy staff. Ben Bellekens, Technical Manager, volunteered to move from his house in Belgium to an Interserve apartment in Schumann, Brussels, near the UK embassy so the team could ensure the contract is successfully delivered. He is now on-hand in case of emergencies and to ensure continuity of service.
Ben Bellekens, Technical Manager, said: “We were concerned that if everyone worked from home then responding to emergencies becomes impossible. Of course, only essential work is taking place at the embassy, but nevertheless that requires FM services.
“I volunteered and grabbed a bag and left my house thinking I’d be back within a fortnight, that was five weeks ago!
“However, I am proud that the client is appreciative of our service and that we are able to support our client during such challenging times.” Pam Miller, Interserve’s Head of European Operations, said: “Restrictions on travel would have left our business exposed, Ben jumped in without question a few hours before the Belgium Government locked the entire country down.
“Ben has not only managed to locally assist a fully implemented COVID-19 business continuity plan, he has liaised with both clients and customers throughout. On top of this, he takes good care of the health and welfare of our entire team.
“I am immensely proud of the work the entire team have undertaken during this unprecedented time.”