TRAINING & EDUCATION
LEARNING THE TRUE VALUE OF CLEANING
In an exclusive interview, Tomorrow’s Cleaning talks to Dianna Steinbach, ISSA’s Director of EMEA Services, about the role training plays in the industry.
Tomorrow’s Cleaning (TC): How comprehensive is ISSA’s training offer and what areas of cleaning does it cover?
Dianna Steinbach (DS): Great question! For ISSA, offering our members training and education is core to what we do. In particular ISSA has industry- specific, UK-content based, supervisory and leadership training courses, as well as training in how to audit cleaning services for quality control.
Probably our best known training product is the 612 Cleaning Times Book and Calculator. This invaluable reference provides a baseline of the time it should take in a ‘normal’ setting for all regular cleaning programme tasks from rubbish collection to washroom cleaning. We also offer other specialist workloading resources, training DVDs, guides to green cleaning products and how to implement green cleaning programmes, as well as a health and safety portal.
TC:
On the ISSA website, it talks about helping members ‘to demonstrate
the true value of clean’ to their constituents – what is this? And how do you help members to demonstrate this?
DS:
We believe that cleaning has a very real and measurable
value. It’s way past time that building owners and facility decision-makers stop thinking of cleaning as a cost and start thinking of it as the profit contributor that it actually is. We encourage the use of the ISSA Value of Clean® tools and information to promote cleaning as a necessary investment in better health, a better environment, and a better bottom line.
The Value of Clean® resources available
include white papers; PowerPoint presentations that make the case for cleaning as an investment rather than a cost; eye-catching infographics; calculators that quantify the ROI of
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proper cleaning in six critical business areas; videos; and webinars.
ISSA also regularly participates in facility decision maker events and writes articles for facility management publications to help others understand the true value of cleaning.
TC: DS:
As the ‘leading trade association for the cleaning
industry worldwide’ what would you say are the main benefits of becoming a member of the ISSA?
Everything we do at ISSA – in the UK, Europe and indeed
anywhere in the world – is done with our members in mind. We encourage them to let us know their needs on an ongoing basis, so we can respond with effective information and solutions. We especially focus on bringing global ideas and solutions to a local level for members to utilise.
ISSA also writes articles, speaks at industry and end-customer conferences and events to drive a better understanding of the full impact of proper cleaning on human health and wellbeing, the environment, and the productivity and profitability of a business or facility.
ISSA membership provides unparalleled opportunities to make connections, improve your operations, and ultimately boost your bottom line.
TC: DS:
What do you see as being the major developments and
changes in the cleaning industry over the next five years?
Our industry is bursting with innovation and the pace of
that innovation and change is faster than it ever has been before.
When picturing the cleaning industry, what comes to mind? Pushing a broom through dimly lit corridors?
That’s increasingly an outdated view of the industry. High-tech and sustainable innovations, such as self-cleaning, bionuematic surfaces, robotics; remote device management and the creative use of smart building technology are the concepts propelling it into the future.
TC: DS:
The ISSA offers a range of industry standards and
certifications – can you tell us a bit more about the standards, and the benefits that can come with being accredited?
Yes and let’s focus on ISSA’s Cleaning Industry
Management Standard (CIMS), the first industry-specific management standard that outlines the key characteristics of a quality, customer- focused and dependable cleaning service organisation. At ISSA, we feel a keen responsibility to help ensure that every FM, premises or estates manager is well informed about the calibre of the cleaning companies they appoint. Any company can verbally assert that they will deliver quality cleaning, but without an official qualification there is no clear, independent way of knowing whether they will live up to what they promise.
CIMS offers the opportunity for cleaning contractors to stand out from the crowd as it incorporates powerful pre-qualification tools and a proven certification process. As such, CIMS is structured around the five recognised pillars of management excellence, namely: quality systems; health, safety and environmental stewardship; service delivery; management commitment; and human resources.
TC: DS:
Sticking with this theme, why is it so important for cleaning
companies to gain CIMS certification?
The biggest advantage of gaining CIMS qualification,
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