Workloading—the process of efficiently assigning workers tasks to clean a facility—is the key to a successful operation. The number of workers and hours required depends on the scope of work, which can be modified over time based on needs.
Define the scope of work
Scope of work refers to the tasks and responsibilities your employees should perform at a client’s site. To determine these tasks, first “eat a live frog” (following the advice for avoiding
procrastination from both motivational speaker Brian Tracy and American author Mark Twain) by doing the hard work of scoping a project’s needs upfront to help define performance goals. Scoping includes determining:
- Frequency of service, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Places and surfaces cleaned, including windows, furnishings, floors, and restrooms as well as the type and depth of cleaning required, such as dusting, sanitizing, disinfecting, scrubbing, and recoating floors.
- Cleaning methods and tools needed (e.g., HEPA-filtered vacuum, mop and bucket, spray-and-vac equipment) and task difficulty.
- Standards and expectations for the cleaning outcome such as appearance, odor, safety, health, and sustainability.
- Reports and communication necessary to resolve issues and make suggestions for improvement.
Include the scope of work in a written agreement between your business and your client. Ensure it’s a “living document” that you can adjust and improve based on changing needs and
knowledge gained over time.
Get the picture
Before your employees can start working, they need a clear picture of what the facility will look like and how its attributes will function after they have properly serviced it. Since cleaning quality is
most often judged on appearance, have your best workers clean the area, then use your smartphone camera to capture the results. Your staff will “get the picture” by beginning their tasks with the
vision of the end results in their minds.
Each job “picture” will be different based on the individual needs of the facility you’re cleaning, from offices and schools to hospitals and retail stores. Some jobs may require cleanliness checks
through measurements such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing or dust sampling. These requirements will vary not only from facility to facility, but also from area to area. For example, a hospital waiting room will have different outcome needs than an operating room.
A scope of work document has multiple uses in addition to setting facility cleaning outcomes. You can also use it as a hiring and training document to attract, build, and retain the right workers; lower turnover; raise morale; increase and standardize performance; and reduce customer complaints.
Formulate staffing levels
Optimizing staffing levels and the workloading process can help both building service contractors (BSCs) and facilities managers to:
- Improve the quality and consistency of cleaning.
- Reduce the cost and waste of the operation.
- Increase the productivity and efficiency of staff.
- Enhance satisfaction and retention of the staff and the customer.
Both staffing and workloading can be determined using a basic formula: Staffing level equals total workload divided by workload per staff member. Other formulas include:
- The total workload is the sum of the time required to perform all the cleaning tasks in a facility multiplied by the frequency of each task
- The workload per staff member can be calculated by multiplying the average work time per day (usually 8 hours) by the difficulty factor, while also factoring skill, experience, equipment, and methods.
The workload per staff is the average amount of time that a staff member can work in a day, adjusted by a factor that accounts for the skill and experience of the staff member, the equipment and methods used, and the difficulty of the tasks. To determine the difficulty factor, choose a numerical system, perhaps ranging from 0.5 to 1.5, depending on the complexity and physical demand of the tasks. With 1.0 being the average difficulty factor, a difficulty factor of 0.5 means that the staff can work 50% faster than the average time, while a difficulty factor of 1.5
means that the staff can work 50% slower than the average time.
Although formulas are helpful, don’t assume you can always use a specific formula to arrive at the optimum workloading and staffing levels for all your jobs. It’s best to develop your own
consistent method to standardize an approach that works for you.
Remember that staffing levels and the workloading process are never static. You can adjust them according to the needs and preferences of the customer, the staff, and your business.
