Contract cleaning in a recession
August 1st 2008 All bought-in services go under the microscope when the economy slows down. Bob
Vincent, managing director of LCC Support Services, looks at how contractors can
maintain client bases in a challenging climate
Contract cleaning in a recessionary time is all about service,
value and added value. When company belts are tightening
and good people are reluctantly being laid off to cut costs, all
bought-in services go under the corporate microscope and rightly
so.
How does the contractor maintain its client base in tougher
times? Having run a cleaning business through the three day week
and the last recession, I know that my team can manage the current
situation if we use the wisdom of hindsight.
Clients and their purchasing departments have to double check
that they are buying best value and enjoying a trouble free service
which has added value to what is specified in the contract.
This is not rocket science or difficult to maintain if all stakeholders
in the process are aware of what we are trying to achieve. First, staff
must be advised that their work has never before been under such a
high level of scrutiny, but not to be frightened if they are trained
properly to carry out their work and if it is done with enthusiasm.
The current situation is the time when we go back to our clients
and double check that they are satisfied with all aspects of the
services we provide and to make minor changes for improvement if
needed.
Clients must be advised of those little extra tasks you have been
carrying out that are over and above those specified in the contract.
When money is tight, it is particularly important to adopt our normal
policy which is to use the contract as the basic minimum onto
which, within reason, other tasks are carried out in order to maximise
the output. It's the little things that go undone that annoy clients.
You can just hear them say "
and they couldn't even get something
simple like emptying my bin right!"
Site managers and area managers and all involved in quality
control and service should now revisit every site and each cleaning
task to check that it is carried out the best possible way representing
quality and value for money not necessarily the cheapest or the
corner cutting way.
The only way our work gets judged is if it is of the right standard
at the right price with the minimum of client involvement or fuss.
You should take a fresh look at the schedules and operating
methods find new ways or products to achieve the same or better
end result without adding cost and possibly reducing time input.
A large percentage of our clients have moved over to 'Output
Specification' contracts which focus on the end result and base our
success on the question 'Are the premises cleaned to the required
standard all the time? If the answer is yes you have a happy
customer, if there is any area of doubt you should revisit and re-plan
the process.
Output Specification is the intelligent way of working for both
customer and contractor. The client knows what standard to expect
and the contractor's staff knows what has to be achieved. The whole
process is based on taking a pride in maintaining constant standards
every day, not wasting client's time checking time sheets,work
timetables etc.
Traditional contracts which are based on a number of hours per
person per day, carrying out a series of tasks like a robot, regardless
of whether they really need doing every time. This is extremely dull
and mechanical for the cleaner and usually wastes client's money. If
washrooms need less attention on Fridays because a number of staff
work from home, then reduce the schedule and client costs
accordingly or the time can be diverted to computer screen
cleaning as people are away from the office and not inconvenienced
by the cleaners.
We have won several major contracts because the incumbent
contractor focused on completing forms to check the work has been
carried out each day as specified in the contract. That is nonsense.
It doesn't take Brain of Britain to see if his/her workplace, washroom,
desk, reception, whatever is cleaned to a good standard.
Cleaning in a recession is about service, value and added value.
Those adopting this mind-set should come out of the recession
better operators and hopefully not affected too much by cut backs,
because their work will be seen to have value that the customer
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