Is Your Janitorial Service Program Sustainable

You have likely invested much time, effort, and money in your selection of a janitorial service provider for your school or commercial facility. Their ability to provide long-term cleaning services that meet your requirements will depend on the sustainability of their operation. Is your current janitorial service provider operating in a manner that will be sustainable into the future?

Sustainability Policy

Does your janitorial service provider have a documented Sustainability Policy?

Have they established Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) that will allow them to periodically measure their performance against those sustainability indicators? Does their Policy have teeth, and is it fully supported by all levels of management and control?

A typical Sustainability Policy will address several critical areas. A sampling of those would include:

Financial Stability

Sustainability is dependent upon financial stability. Does your janitorial service provider demonstrate solid financial performance? Do they have the financial results that allow them to make necessary investments in new cleaning technologies, tools, equipment, and processes? Do they appear to be well-positioned for long-term financial health?

Retention of Employees

How well does your service provider retain its employees? Do they have an effective Employee Retention Program? What is their employee turnover rate?  Do they put sufficient focus on the retention of their most highly skilled personnel? Those janitorial services that have a strong track-record of employee retention will have a distinct advantage in terms of operational sustainability.

Quality of Services

Sustainability requires customers. Customers demand high-quality services. A janitorial service provider that is constantly fighting quality control issues is unlikely to achieve a sustainable customer base. What has been the overall quality of the work done by your service provider? Do they consistently meet your requirements, or, have there been periods where the quality of work has deteriorated? When issues do arise does your provider respond quickly? Do they demonstrate an effective closed-loop corrective action process?

Lack of an effective quality control program will jeopardize the sustainability of any janitorial service program.

Goals and Objectives - Continuous Improvement

Long-term sustainability requires a mindset of superior performance coupled with continuous improvement. Does your janitorial service have a formal process for establishing operational goals and objectives? Are those goals and objectives tied to established KPI's for their operation? Do they measure actual performance against those targets, and do they take corrective actions to remedy areas that fall below expectations?

An example of Sustainability Policy can be found at the following link __________________________

Doing just a bit of homework, and asking your janitorial service provider a few questions, will give you some insights into the sustainability of your janitorial service program. Being proactive in this assessment could allow you to take necessary action(s) sooner rather than later.