IndustryNews
Quality -more than just a badge
David Johnson, MD ofMITIE's Environmental + business, gives his view on quality and reminds everyone that a high quality service is good news for the entire cleaning industry.
ice is the normfor all trans- actions. Evenmany of the budget chains are well- known for consistent quality. Quality is the backbone of the training they deliver to each employee, as hotels understand that their cus- tomers are spoiled for choice and will walk if not satisfied. It’s no coincidence that the world’s oldest continuously trading company is a hotel in Japan which started busi- ness in 705 AD (with several other Japanese hotels also having traded for over 1300 years). Perhaps we need an infusion of hotelmanage- ment in our industry?
Beware the badge collectors
One of the first signs that a fledgling business is in the ascendant is when it wins its first quality assurance mark.MITIE is over 25 years old now and when our cleaning business gained its first ISO9001 qualitymark in the early 1990s it was a time to celebrate and, in- deed, to discuss at a na- tional conference.MITIE people came fromaround the country to a large hotel in Coventry to examine what itmeant and tomake sure we kept it! Now this is all excellent
news and we should cele- brate whenever a cleaning company gains this presti- gious qualitymark. Every- thing that helps to improve the perception of our indus- try with clients and other stakeholders is to be wel- comed. But, what does qualitymean to you and to our industry? The processes and consisten- cies that are judged by the quality accrediting bodies are vital - without them clients lose confidence from the very beginning in your ability to demonstrate com- pliance and efficient inter-
nal tools. So, whatmust we do tomake sure that work of the highest quality becomes the norm?
What is quality?
In our industry, I would argue that quality is an ‘achievement’ in customer service that is reflected at each service encounter. Our clients naturally have service expectations and, as we all know, they compare the service they receive with their expected service levels. If the level of perceived serv- ice doesn’tmatch what’s ex- pected, the client will be disappointed! To achieve these levels of
service quality we need to understand and improve op- erational processes, identify issues quickly, and offer so- lutions to these problems that fit with our clients’ re- quirements. Those require- mentsmay only be for one two hour clean a week in their small office but we should stillmake it count. How do we ensure that our
work is of the highest qual- ity? Let’s look at the hotel sector, where a quality serv-
12 l C&M l JUNE 2013 l
www.cleaninghub.net
Quality assurancemust never be allowed to become just a ‘box’ that is ticked for pre quals and tenders. There is a real danger that compa- nies will pick up lots of awards and certificates but will not embrace the de- manding principles behind the awards. These compa- nies tend to separate ‘qual- ity’ activities out from
day-to-day work responsibil- ities. There are several ways
round this - having the top tier of yourmanagement committed to excellence is a good start, but how does that commitment filter through to localmanagement on the ground, that is to say, area managers and supervisors? And let’s not forget our cleaning workforce, who take real pride in doing a good job every day and these are our ambassadors.
Keeping quality refreshed
Training entire workforces in qualitymeasures is hard work. InMITIE we use induc- tions topped up with toolbox talks. But we are also start- ing to use visual standards that convey a quality clean- ing session. This includes cleaningmanuals that are photographic in nature,mov- ing away fromtext-heavy methodologies. ForMITIE’s Environmental
+ teamof 32,000 people, one of the biggest game-chang- ers in terms of quality has been the advent of our lean
six sigma operations. Our lean team, headed by a Master Black Belt, is revolu- tionising our approach to cleaning and this lean and efficient operation is now delivering even higher qual- ity. Themore efficient ways of working allow client and our teamto see the differ- ence straightaway. One of the great benefits of our lean approach is that our cleaning teams on the ground getmore involved in how we operate efficiently - it’s amore collaborative way of working. To conclude, I would say
that one of the biggest risks to a quality-driven service is your seniormanagement teamunderestimating the effort needed. The benefits are immense andmean that you stand out against your competitorsmore readily, you delight clients,motivate and engage staff and in- crease profits. If everyone goes home at the end of the day, safe and sound and having done their best for the client, there’s nothing more we can ask for.
www.mitie.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40