January is a good time to take stock of what has worked well for your business and what you can do to improve operations in 2016. Here are four New Year’s resolutions to consider as part of your janitorial maintenance program.
1. Work Smarter, not Harder
Are you doing something because it’s the way that your organization has always done it or because it’s the most operationally efficient? Building a quality assurance program into your janitorial maintenance program will help you make the necessary corrections and adjustments to streamline your operations and, more importantly, to prevent problems before they happen. Part of the cycle will be to perform routine cleaning inspections, but you should also spend time going through the data that you have collected. Take advantage of any available reports and drill down into the data to see what the true root causes of cleaning quality issues might be. Once you know what the issues are, you can make the necessary corrections and adjustments within your program or staff. There are some routine issues that will pop up each month due, but by maintaining a quality assurance cycle, the most major issues should be put to rest and prevented.
2. An Ounce of Prevention…
The great thing about preventative maintenance is that it is performed while the equipment is still working, helping prevent unexpected (and costly) breakdowns. We all know that we should be adhering to preventative maintenance schedules, but all too often it falls to the bottom of our priority lists in the hustle and bustle of daily activities. Make preventative maintenance one of your New Year’s resolutions. As a result of an effective preventative maintenance program, you can improve operational efficiency and save yourself from unanticipated and costly repairs.
3. Go Green!
Being environmentally responsible not only protects employees, tenants and customers, it makes long-term sense. And it can add up to long-term savings of dollars and cents. Did you know that more and more, tenants are demanding owners conform to high performance green cleaning standards and LEED Certification? LEED Certification demonstrates an owner’s commitment to using resources widely and creating occupied spaces that are healthy and sustainable. Studies have shown that by achieving the Green Seal certification, there is enhanced staff retention and the ability to attract employees who are more qualified.
4. Benchmark
The only way to see if your team is successful in meeting their goals is to set metrics. Benchmarking can help determine that you have the right scope of work and the right amount of assigned resources. With proper benchmarking tools and data collection, when budgeting rolls around you’ll have the relevant facts at your fingertips to demonstrate which areas can withstand cuts, which need to be shored up and which areas are operating at maximum efficiency.
