The Kimberly-Clark Professional™ Golden Service Awards
The Background
The Kimberly-Clark Professional™ Golden Service Awards were created in 1991 and have become the most prestigious awards in the cleaning and FM sectors.
Held every two years, the awards are acknowledged internationally as the hallmark of quality and a powerful event in the promotion of raising standards in the cleaning industry.
Designed to reward the outstanding performance and excellence of cleaning teams, the awards are held every two years, making this one of the pinnacle award events in the industry.
Tipped by many as the ‘Oscars’ of the cleaning industry, a Golden Service Award is one of the most high status accolades in the FM and cleaning industry.
Suzanne Howe Communications has delivered the PR-led awards programme since 2009.
For its 18 years delivering the Golden Service Awards for Kimberly-Clark Professional, Suzanne Howe Communications was selected as a finalist in the Best Longstanding Awards Event category of the 2025 Conference & Events Awards.
The Objectives
The event provides the opportunity for FM companies, contract cleaners and in-house cleaning teams to showcase excellence and set the benchmark for exceptional standards.
Golden Service Awards Objectives
For Kimberly-Clark Professional™ to: show its commitment to raising standards in the industry; engage directly with end-user customers; build relationships; and demonstrate leadership position in the industry
For the Industry to: provide a benchmark for excellence inthe cleaning industry; companies and individuals receive industry recognition; the event is seen as a pinnacle networking event where badges are expected by the guests.
The Strategy
Credibility is paramount and since SHC took over the Golden Service Awards in 2009, selecting the most experienced and independent judges has been a top priority.
The judging process begins with well-defined categories with rigorous entry criteria and includes site visits from a British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) auditor where appropriate.
In 2024, Kimberly-Clark Professional again partnered with BICSc who oversaw the independent judging. Particular thanks goes to BICSc Group Managing Director Neil Spencer Cook.
The entry process for the Golden Service Awards website is designed and managed by BICSc. (The other pages are handled and owned by Kimberly-Clark Professional.)
The awards are supported by the leading industry bodies including the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA), and the sector’s most important media including Facilities Management Journal, Tomorrow’s Cleaning, and Cleaning Matters.
SHC has ensured that the leading industry media support the event throughout the full year build up, at the event itself and afterwards. Traditional PR tactics including press releases and features are supported by a targeted social media campaign. Over the past few years, Twitter (now X) and LinkedIn have proved particularly effective but for the last two awards schemes LinkedIn has been by far the most dynamic and effective social media platform for communicating the joy and pride of winning and being involved with the Golden Service Awards.
Appropriate category selection
The categories have evolved over the years and today very much focus on people, from individuals to teams. One of the major benefits of having the process managed by the sector’s leading PR agency is that SHC is always up to speed with changes and trends in the industry, ensuring that the categories remain topical and relevant in an ever-changing industry.
Categories include sectors from Healthcare, Hospitality and Education to Offices, Retail and Manufacturing – all assessed by size to ensure smaller operations get a look in next to industry giants.
Social Impact, Inclusion and Diversity, Sustainability, and Training categories have been introduced in recent years, and Small Business, Cleaning Team of the Year, Supervisor of the Year, and Cleaning Operative of the Year round up a well-considered and highly respected range of categories – each with rigorous entry criteria.
Novelty and innovation at the ceremony
Ensuring an entertaining evening, the 2024 awards ceremony was hosted by comedian, actor and writer Hugh Dennis.
The event announcer was Alan Dedicoat, one of the most well-known and trusted voices on British TV. He is best know from Strictly Come Dancing and as “The Voice of the Balls” on the National Lottery TV programme.
Previous hosts include: UK comedian Ed Byrne; multi award-winning comedian, writer and author Dominic Holland; and British comedy star Sally Phillips.
The Results
For the 2024 Kimberly-Clark Professional™ Golden Service Awards, the British Institute of Cleaning Science – BICSc) selected 57 finalists from the 28 companies which entered the 19 categories.
The elite of the cleaning and FM industry were recognised at a formal ceremony on 23rd May 2024, at the London Hilton, Park Lane, London, with an audience of close to 500.
The awards have their own website to enable a single point of access to all information. In 2024: unique website visitors exceeded 10.560; and page views reached over 17,388.
As a PR-led awards scheme which spans a whole year, culminating in the awards ceremony.
For the 2023-24 period, SHC secured 84 pieces of coverage in relevant trade media, with close to 600 brand mentions for Kimberly-Clark Professional™, achieving a total audience reach of over 291,000.
A survey after the event (conducted via Survey Monkey, with over a 7% response rate) showed excellent results: Over 80% said the event was very good or excellent; and Rating is excellent or very good for all 7 areas.
“...a great event. Lovely venue. Slickly run and managed – well done you guys!”
David Cousins – Divisional Managing Director at Bunzl Cleaning & Care
