In our previous blog, “How to Navigate the Current Labor Shortage in Your Industry,” we discussed how adapting to emerging trends in wages and shift work helps businesses hire the best candidates and keep them on board. The service industry is among those industries that has experienced the biggest shake-ups over these past two years. Many businesses are struggling to keep their facilities clean and sanitary due to a lack of interest in key cleaning positions. To make matters worse, there’s never been a more important time in recent memory to maintain high health and safety standards. No one wants to work in an environment that might put their well-being at risk.
All of this means that facility managers are in a uniquely challenging position these days. That said, this challenge also presents an opportunity. If businesses can find ways to encourage recruitment and retention for cleaning and maintenance positions, they’ll see a marked improvement in every aspect of their operations, including increased morale and reputation, reduced costs, and better health and safety outcomes for all. As it turns out, focusing less on overnight cleaning models and instead prioritizing concierge day cleaning can help achieve all of these goals and more.
Let’s explore how transitioning from a nightime to daytime cleaning staffing model can help mitigate labor shortages and contribute to a safer work environment.
Benefits of a Daytime Cleaning Staffing Model
Day Cleaning Is Optimized for Occupancy and Activity
Most facilities see the highest levels of activity and occupancy during the day – this is when the greatest risk for injury, disease transmission, and other health and safety concerns occur. While it’s true that night-shift cleaning and janitorial services are less encumbered when performing their tasks, cleaning services are actually most valuable during normal business hours. Increasing the focus on your facility’s daytime cleaning protocols will let you optimize the frequency of surface cleaning and air purification based on occupancy and activity. Workers, guests, and customers will appreciate seeing that their space is being kept clean in real time, and they’ll reap the rewards of staying in a more sanitary environment, too.
Most Candidates Prefer First-Shift Work
If your business has a hard time recruiting candidates for late-night cleaning positions, consider that day cleaning jobs are simply more appealing to most potential employees. Indeed, on average, 4 out of 5 applicants indicate a first-shift preference when applying for service industry roles. Knowing this, you can more easily increase your labor force by transitioning to a more daytime-centric cleaning model. In a daytime staffing model, specific cleaning tasks are performed by an increased number of skilled custodians on-site throughout the work day. Of course, even if you create additional day cleaning roles and fill them completely, there may still be a need for late-shift cleaning tasks – fortunately, increasing and optimizing day cleaning efforts will greatly reduce the amount of time and effort required for night cleaning in most cases.
Day Cleaning Contributes to Better Work-Life Balance
One of the main reasons for the aforementioned preference in earlier shift work for most service industry workers is that it allows for a healthier work-life balance. Though some people prefer to work late and enjoy their downtime in the morning and early afternoon, most individuals operate on a typical “9:00-5:00” work schedule, especially parents who must remain flexible enough to take their kids to school, pick them up, and spend time with them in the evening. When employees can do their job and still enjoy the important aspects of their life, they will find more meaning in their work, work harder, and stick with their position for a longer time. Advertising this healthy work-life balance during the recruitment process will also give you access to a larger pool of candidates, as more people will apply for cleaning jobs that mesh with their lifestyle.
Day Cleaning Reduces Costs and Enviromental Impact
Businesses are always seeking ways to fortify their bottom line and cut costs. While every facility has unique building maintenance challenges and needs, switching to a daytime cleaning staffing model helps reduce costs on average. Taking care of essential cleaning tasks during the day allows you to keep your doors closed and lights off after business hours have concluded (compare this to a night cleaning model where staffers come in after business hours and use additional electricity and resources). Simply put, performing cleaning tasks while your facility is already in full swing takes less of a toll on your building’s energy output. By switching to day cleaning, facilities can reduce daily kilowatt consumption by over 19,000 (over 5.1 million kW per year) – this can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings. As an added bonus, cutting your energy costs this way also reduces your faciltiy’s carbon footprint, making your business more eco-friendly.
A Great Day for Day Cleaning
There’s no telling how long the effects of the “Great Resignation” will linger or what they’ll mean for the future of the service industry and other industries. That said, challenging times like these create new opportunities to establish protocols that are more efficient, balanced, and beneficial for everyone involved. Adjusting your facility’s current cleaning program to prioritize day cleaning operations can be a major boon for your business, your employees, and your customers. At The Budd Group, we’re equipped to help businesses like yours fill key facility support positions no matter your specific needs or current shortages.
To learn more about our services and values, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!