TOMORROW’S CLEANING JULY 10
What a difference a day makes
INITIAL FACILITIES SERVICES GIVE US THEIR CONVINCING ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR OF DAYTIME CLEANING.
There is considerable evidence to suggest that adopting daytime cleaning in the retail environment offers added value over traditional evening and early morning working hours.
Initial Facilities Services itself has been pioneering daytime cleaning for a number of years, and to date, not one of our retail customers has chosen to switch back to more traditional out-of-hours set-up.
However, this shouldn’t be seen as merely a change in working hours. Daytime cleaning offers the opportunity to undertake a new working concept that provides greater flexibility and the ability to raise the profile of cleaning within an organisation.
One of the first benefits noticed by companies when switching to daytime cleaning is a change in employee and consumer perception. The Increase in the visibility of cleaning staff raises the overall awareness of the process, highlighting its importance and demonstrating the commitment to high standards. It has been found that consumers tend to show more respect towards cleaning workers when they are visible, so greater care is often taken to avoid spills or littering.
Having cleaning staff available during opening hours ensures a consistent level of cleanliness throughout the day. With a traditional service, a retail site is likely to be cleaned at the beginning of the day and then standards gradually deteriorate until cleaning employees return the following evening or morning. This is not an ideal scenario, especially in the retail environment, where it is difficult to anticipate possible problems and precise cleaning requirements.
Daytime cleaning offers new levels of flexibility and the opportunity to respond to any situation. Schedules can be adapted to better meet the needs of the retailer such as identifying in- store shopping peaks and working the cleaning around them. Moreover, it enables an immediate response in the case of unforeseen accidents and spillages, minimising the required clean-up and promoting a clean and hygienic working atmosphere.
The contractor sometimes has to take a flexible approach with the customer as well to ensure the cleaning service fits within the day- to-day retail environment. With this in mind, it is sometimes necessary to downplay the cleaning operation and let workers just blend in with the staff around them.
For one retail client, there was a reluctance to have cleaning staff within the bakery during opening hours as this would give off the wrong impression that the area was overly dirty. Obviously, some cleaning already took place within the bakery during the day, but this was handled by the chefs so not obvious to in- store customers. On learning this, we dressed our cleaning staff up as chefs so visitors to the store were none the wiser.
With recruitment and retention of staff a key challenge for most cleaning business, daytime cleaning is an increasingly attractive proposition as it expands the available employment pool and can attract a higher calibre of employee. Frequent staff turnover can negatively impact on standards and increase training costs. This lack of suitable employees also drives up wage levels for out of hours
cleaning staff, increasing costs to customers and reducing margins for contractors.
With a bit of intelligence, thinking companies can overcome increasingly difficult recruitment problems and also avoid paying premium wages associated with evening, early morning cleaning operations. For example, switching cleaning hours to 9.30am to 3.00pm opens up the work opportunity to housewives and working mothers looking for employment, who still need to make the daily school run.
Sociable working hours are proven to create a better motivated and productive workforce. As a result, daytime cleaning not only allows retailers to maintain a higher standard, but also achieve it with fewer staff using less equipment. Furthermore, it is possible to benefit from other cost savings as a result of switching to this format. Retail sites can be shut down earlier and opened later, reducing energy needs and minimising security requirements.
When you consider the economic and quality benefits available, combined with enhanced working conditions for your staff, daytime cleaning makes a lot of sense within the retail environment. It will enable cleaning specialists to work closer and better with their customers and really add value and enhance the shopping experience.
www.initial.co.uk
The future of our cleaning industry | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | 39 DAYTIME CLEANING
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