The past 12 months of advancement in mobile data devices and web tools have been dramatic in changing janitorial supervision productivity. Never before has timely information been available at such low cost . I predict a race for additional production gains as a result of the real-time data collection ability. When you combine the ready availablity of cleaning data across VPNs (virtual private networks) you finally have low cost, effective, off-site janitorial supervision.

When you agree with your employees on adapting any performance metric to share the rewards of work it is a contract both ways. Many experienced managers will quickly understand the old saying, “beware of what you wish for”. This is great because it the best way to compel managers to perform the most necessary work for the team in a timely fashion.

 As those who are ”managed” make strides and improve, the “managers” must match performance & growth in lockstep or risk default in authority. This ping pong match between managers and their directs make visible the previously invisible process.

Visible, documented performance gains are among the most efficient forms of business communications. Now in the janitorial field in relation to other industries, this concept is more misunderstood than any other. Newly created metrics are dismantled as soon as newer, easier ones can be thought up. The greatest reason for their dismantlement is the requirement of accountability on the part of cleaning mangers as their employees get up to speed and the “flaws” in the old measurement start to appear. Of course, these measurements are never officially shut down.  They are just conveniently forgotten…

The success of a cleaning contract starts and finishes with the cleaning task specification. Many of you have asked for a industry standard specification for a “Class A” office building. I have attached a pdf of a sample specification for everyone.

 Janitorial Task Specifications PDF

There are two types of scenarios, contracts that have employee turnover and those that don’t. Not much in between. The commonality of all high turnover contracts is the presence of negative leadership at one point in the contract. Cleaning staffs are easily influenced by a strong, negative personality. This person may be the lowest paid labor or the area cleaning manager. The remaining staff is forced to choose. The good people alert people leave. The good, not so alert people get corrupted to increase their dissatisfaction and decrease their work output.

When management makes the mistake of gradual turnaround of a low performing crew, this negative legacy is passed on to the next group and takes hold to grow back under a new negative leader. The smooth running accounts in contrast are the reverse where the baton of the positive leader is the norm and make a transition with each leader change.