An organization’s greatest assets are its people, which is why custodial employees are the backbone of a commercial cleaning company. Creating an effective training environment for your team prepares them for success and helps them meet all client expectations. Investing time in your employees’ training not only leads to improved performance, it contributes to higher staff retention and promotion rates.
Developing a commercial cleaning training process isn’t exactly easy. You can’t assume that many people know how to clean to meet industry standards without going through a strong training process. If you have a mission to routinely meet (or beat) client expectations, you must continue to build and refine your training process. Here are some tips to help you do just that:
Set Up an Orientation
Nothing tops giving your technicians all the tools they need to succeed. When new employees become a part of your team, set them up for success by having them spend time with a certified trainer at your office. This is the perfect time for trainers to become familiar with new employees and gauge their experience level.
A strong initial orientation meeting sets the framework for your training process. At Rozalado Services simulated office experience, we teach them cleaning techniques and best practices, familiarize them with the supplies we use, and have them set up a sample kit for a standard cleaning. This is also when we acclimate new employees with the technology and apps we use for communication, which also includes clock-in and clock-out processes, task instructions, and ordering of supplies.
Proceed to Onsite Training
Taking new hires to an actual jobsite fills in the gaps that simulated training misses. It is difficult to replicate factors like foot traffic, furniture layouts, and different surface breakdowns.
Take new employees to an account that has high standards—such as a healthcare facility—because if workers can meet those high expectations, they can handle most other accounts.
Create a mandatory three-day training system for new hires. At Rozalado, new employees visit a real jobsite with a trainer on their first day. They start out with a tour of the facility, check out the supply closet, and go over every area in the space. They also learn which tasks and areas are high priority. Then they shadow the trainer and learn the proper technique for every task. This is important because new employees with previous cleaning experience may have developed bad habits with their previous employer.
On the second day, the trainer and the new employees share the work, each cleaning different areas of the site. On the third day, new hires do all the work on their own, with the trainer inspecting the results to determine if the employees need additional training.
Trainers continue the inspections over a 30-day period to ensure new employees maintain quality. This assures an adequate time period to evaluate the new hire. Experienced staff also routinely perform unannounced inspections to look for future trainers.
In short, there’s truly no replacement for implementing real-world practice.
Invest in Your Trainers
The best trainers start out as custodial employees themselves. They know the job the best because they have done it. At Rozalado, we select employees who routinely pass all their inspections and show passion for helping their coworkers succeed. We then give them the resources they need to rise in the company: classes, certifications, and tutoring sessions instructing them on the best approaches to helping others learn.
Trainers with real experience are impossible to beat. Great trainers equal great teams.
Put Technology in Their Hands
Nearly everyone has a smartphone today. From timekeeping and geo-fencing to proposals and reporting, the tools and platforms accessible on smart phones place unprecedented power at your team’s fingertips.
The simplicity in mobile application design, coupled with the average employee’s inherent expertise, bodes well for adoption and utilization across departments. Your business can use this technology to take its services to the next level and manage its entire workflow.
