Great expectations

Treasured downtime relaxing with family and friends over the Christmas holidays, and the dawn of a New Year, often leads to renewed optimism and greater resolve for the year ahead. Coupled with a clearer sense of purpose and self-worth, this surely is the best time to mentally throw off whatever shackles have held us back before, and challenge ourselves to design and realise the life that we want – whether that be in a professional capacity or on a personal level. 

The challenge that I would extend to the professional cleaning industry is to make 2015 the year when we are truly proud of our industry and the value that we bring both to our immediate communities and stakeholders, as well as the wider world. I recently chaired a working group in London with some of the brightest minds in our industry discussing this exact topic and it was a day well spent. We met, and will continue to work together, with the common goal of changing the perception of the industry. Let’s remember too that this perception needs to be changed both from the outside and within the sector itself. 

As we move into the New Year, what is the current state of our industry and what are we missing? Certainly there is a lack of awareness regarding the value of clean, and cleaning is all too often seen as a commodity and something that is easy to cut or scale back – which in turn leads to increased pressure to do more with less. Conversely, and simultaneously, occupant health and preventing infection is a hot button, and it is here that we really do make a difference if we have methods to quantify the value we provide, and tools to communicate that true value to the right decision makers.

To achieve this we need to define the value to decision makers of cleaning services, and demonstrate how budget reductions can create unintended consequences that will negatively impact the revenues that they generate from those buildings. To do this we must calculate the financial ROI of improved cleanliness and find ways to maintain costs without cutting corners. Here ISSA’s Value of Clean calculator is a very useful tool. 

Workplace wellness

Let’s also be more upfront in examining how investments in hygiene improve occupant wellness and increase employee productivity. Few things speak louder to a responsible business owner or operator than lost financial opportunity, productivity and colleagues’ safety and well-being. Research by Kimberly-Clark has tested and concluded that hygiene interventions could reduce the probability of infection for common cold and influenza by approximately 80%, reduce the number of surfaces in a building contaminated by viruses by 62%, and reduce absenteeism by as much as 46%. 

In a study of 400 managers and employees conducted by HLW International LLP, employees' productivity levels were also found to be heavily influenced by the cleanliness of the office in which they worked. This study found that cleaning has a very real and measurable value, specifically reporting a 5% productivity gain. For building service contractors therefore, I see a real opportunity to enhance client relationships in 2015 and beyond by promoting workplace wellness and employee productivity. 

Improving standards

To successfully communicate and build on the value of clean, we certainly need schemes such as CIMS, the consensus-based management standard, which aims to improve the professionalism of cleaning service providers and offer a clear way for a contract cleaning company to differentiate itself from its competition. We also need to develop the skills of our people at all levels and functions in the industry. Nowhere is this a more pressing issue than in the training of the sales teams (be they distributor, manufacturer or service provider) who are at the sharp edge, communicating the value that their company or products – and indeed the industry as a whole – bring to the customer. 

I believe that it has been a widely held view that the industry would benefit from professional sales training specific to the cleaning and hygiene sector. I am therefore pleased to confirm that ISSA is now at an advanced stage in developing a UK training programme that will meet this need in 2015. Further details will be announced soon. 

All these initiatives, and many more besides, will help elevate the value and professionalism of our industry. Let’s make 2015 the year that we extend our expertise; the one where we build deeper trust with our customers; and the one where we win over the public and restore the pride to this great industry.