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- Day Cleaning: The Social And Psychological Benefits For Janitors
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IS YOUR COMPANY LOOKING FOR A GREENER CLEANING SOLUTION? - ADVANTAGE CLEANING SERVICES, OLEAN NY, 14760.
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Jennifer Corbett-Shramo has spent the better part of the last three decades in the contract cleaning business 鈥� and she鈥檚 long had a passion for recognizing front-line janitorial staff for the hard and often thankless work they put in making the indoor environment a better place to be.听As CEO of听, Irvine, Calif., she preaches the benefits of day cleaning to her customers; as an industry consultant, she travels the country, educating and implementing day cleaning programs for organizations that need help transitioning from traditional cleaning programs.听Even though it may not be the norm for most customers, she has helped clients save on energy bills as well as on custodial costs by switching to day cleaning.听Some BSCs say the price of day cleaning is going to be similar or slightly higher than that of night cleaning 鈥� mainly because of the caliber of employee that is needed, one that can not only clean but communicate effectively with building occupants, and because of the ability to offer them full-time positions. In some cases, mainly in large buildings, the cost of cleaning can actually be decreased by eliminating day porter positions those types of facilities require.听However, in Corbett-Shramo鈥檚 experience, the price has never had to increase.鈥淲hen you merge staff, you have a redundancy in duties so there鈥檚 always the potential to have a reduction in staff,鈥� Corbett-Shramo says. 鈥淲ith the reduction in staff, you can either take those funds and increase wages for the crews, or you can provide a cost reduction for the client.鈥滵epending where a BSC is located in the United States and whether they鈥檙e working with union companies, the hours of cleaning impact wage differentials, so about 30 percent of the time, BSCs do have to pay more for workers, she says. But that is offset by a staff hours reduction.Any customer in any type of building can glean the benefits of day cleaning, but large facilities assume relatively better savings when it comes to labor and energy, she says.听鈥淚 would say pretty much anything under 75,000 square feet is slightly more difficult 鈥� when you get into a smaller building you don鈥檛 have a lot of common area cleaning. You have a lot more density cleaning and so the crews are cleaning more slowly鈥� And of course, the potential energy savings are prorated based on square footage, so it鈥檚 not as magnanimous if you鈥檙e saving $400 a month in energy costs versus thousands of dollars.鈥滳leaning companies that move to day cleaning witness a positive transformation in their staff, says Corbett-Shramo. Raising the awareness of building occupants to the cleaning that is going on around them has a direct impact on not only how they are perceived, but also how they perceive themselves.鈥淲hen you go to day cleaning, all of a sudden, there鈥檚 an understated expression of appreciation for people who are cleaning in the daytime, and it鈥檚 remarkable how quickly it happens, so that鈥檚 a wonderful benefit,鈥� she says.The level of respect that develops between the crew and the tenants is elevated. Occupants are more aware of picking up after themselves and less likely to leave inconsiderate messes, and janitors get the added benefit of social interaction during their shifts.Tenant interaction is one area of training that is integral to the success of a day cleaning program, Corbett-Shramo says. Staff need to learn how to clean around people while still respecting their space and privacy, and need to know at least the basics in communicating greetings and cleaning-related questions. Whereas janitors used to be able to keep their head down and go about their business without having to socially interact, that behavior is not acceptable for day cleaners. Not only do they need to act the part, but they need to look it, with clean, professional uniforms and higher-end janitorial carts.听鈥淭hey鈥檙e a integral part of the operation going on in that building 鈥� they now make a difference and they need to be proud of that and own it,鈥� she says.
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