Training vital for success in commercial cleaning

Media release
23 February 2009

Training vital for success in commercial cleaning

Training cleaners to achieve nationally recognised qualifications makes more sense for commercial cleaners than hiring unskilled, untrained staff at the minimum wage, says the managing director of Crest Commercial Cleaning.

Grant McLauchlan says Crest Commercial Cleaning has seen several business indicators improve since formally allocating a budget to training in 2006, proving that money spent on training and motivating Crest franchisees is good for business.

"One of the most striking changes we experienced was an increase in positive customer feedback and an increased number of customers who said they'd recommend our services," says McLauchlan. "We survey customers four times a year, and the jump in feedback between 2006 and 2007 was quite marked.

"In 2006, about 79% of Crest customers said they would recommend our services to others. After we implemented formal training, this rose to around 83% in 2007 and to 84% in 2008. And it's continuing to rise."

At the same time, Crest added 20% in customer numbers, meaning even more happy customers.

In 2006, roughly 75% of Crest customers said the overall quality of work by its franchisees was above average. This rose slightly in 2007, but then increased to around 79% in 2008. And the percentage of customers who said their expectations were achieved also increased, from just over 70% in 2006 to almost 79% in 2008.

"This sort of continuing increase in customer satisfaction is what drives business growth, and it's been possible for Crest because of our commitment to providing franchises with real skills," says McLauchlan. "That increases their dedication to and sense of ownership of the job.

"This contrasts strongly with many in the cleaning industry, who cut costs, pay minimum wages and expect high staff turnover as an unavoidable fact of business."

A massive decrease in franchisee turnover following formal training is the key to increased customer satisfaction, says McLauchlan. "Between 2006 and last year, the average length of tenure for a franchisee with Crest increased by 36%. The longer franchisees are with Crest, the more efficient and effective they become, and the more able they are to exceed customer expectations.

"As soon as we meet prospective franchisees we start talking about building a career in the industry - something that has been foreign to New Zealand's commercial cleaning industry for a long time. Training and the resulting low customer and franchisee turnover are some of Crest's key competitive advantages and they are good for our business."

Building Service Contractors Industry Training Organisation manager Mark Frickleton says anecdotal evidence suggests that turnover of cleaners decreases by 30-40% when the cleaners were trained.

And training can also save cleaning companies, and their insurers, a lot of money, he says.

"I know of a company that did an initial clean on a brand new building," he says. The building had large amounts of a treated glass that had to be cleaned a certain way, and the untrained cleaners used the wrong product, which scratched it all badly.

It cost $60,000 to replace the glass, and the cleaning company would have seen its insurance premiums rise as a result.

In 2007, Crest appointed NZQA Accredited Course Provider and Building Service Contractors Industry Training Organisation (BSCITO) assessor Jim Brand, as its national director of training.

With more than 40 years' experience in the industry, and a CV that includes working with the likes of Reckitt & Colman and the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and the University of Auckland and NZ Post in New Zealand, Brand knows the cleaning industry inside out.

Brand says training in the industry is badly needed and Crest's programme sets the standard. "There are about 10,000 employees in the New Zealand cleaning industry and only 5% are doing the training. Crest makes up a third of 5%."

Crest's training programme, run at no cost to franchisees, is made up of three two-day courses, leading ultimately to the National Certificate in Cleaning and Caretaking.

Feedback from franchisees after every course shows what a positive effect they are having on morale, motivation and results, says McLauchlan. "Without fail, they all say the training has helped them be more effective and efficient, and feel more enthusiastic about their own cleaning business."

For example, one franchisee wrote "It was a big boost for me and I look forward to going to work every day. It is the injection to my business I was looking for." Another wrote "The two days of training and assessment is first an eye-opener to us. It teaches us the correct and efficient way of doing cleaning - we take hygiene systems as our priority. I feel marvellous in just doing this."

"With increased enthusiasm like that, the business can't help but prosper," says McLauchlan.

ENDS

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