It can be challenging to accurately gauge the efficiency of your facility’s current cleaning practices. While sanitisation standards and best practices are useful for measuring how well your business is being cleaned, gauging productivity can be harder to evaluate. However, productivity also remains an essential assessment piece that all facilities should consider.
If you’re looking for ways to measure or improve the efficiency of your cleaning operations, cleaning productivity benchmarks may be the perfect solution.
Benchmarking is a method that helps provide an objective measurement of how productive your organisation’s cleaning operations are in comparison with others. It’s best to benchmark processes within similar industries and with a comparable organisation size. For example, an aged care facility can benchmark its productivity with another aged care facility. It should also aim for a space that holds a similar capacity or is around the same square footage.
Productivity benchmarks are beneficial for many reasons. Aspects like cleaning and efficiency can be very subjective and dynamic, so having metrics to compare to is very helpful. Benchmarking also helps facilities measure against their own standards throughout the year. For instance, a hospital may measure its cleaning productivity at the beginning of the year, then again in eight months. The initial data acts as a performance benchmark, and the secondary measurements of productivity help identify areas of improvement.
When it comes to cleaning standards, effectiveness is often the highlighted metric that businesses use, meaning how well the area is sanitised, disinfected and organised. Companies should also consider their productivity levels. Efficient cleaning ensures that staff stay on task, have time to complete each cleaning task diligently and that all areas of a facility are well taken care of as needed. Here are three ways businesses can improve cleaning productivity and ensure an efficient taskforce.
Cleaning schedules help cleaning staff, employees and their managers have a clear perspective on what needs to be cleaned and how often specific areas need to be tended to. With a set schedule, it’s easier to maintain cleanliness and ensure that standards are met and best practices are used. Rather than allowing dust, germs and debris to build up, staff can work more efficiently by cleaning regularly before areas become visibly dirty. Additionally, a cleaning schedule helps reduce downtime in between tasks. Staff will know exactly what needs to be done and when, minimising the time spent thinking and evaluating an area in order to create a plan of action.
Rubbermaid Commercial Products offers SMARTCLEAN as an intuitive platform to make cleaning schedules easy to manage. The digitised cleaning management system helps monitor cleaning processes with workflows, tracking progress, managing schedules and providing cleaning instructions. Operations are able to run smoother by keeping all parties on the same page, avoiding overlap and duplication.
Providing the proper equipment for cleaning staff can improve both the cleanliness and productivity of your facility’s cleaning processes. Equipment that is subpar can result in increased cleaning time, as staff spend extra effort and supplies in getting the job done effectively. A facility can easily improve productivity by investing in proper cleaning supplies and equipment that remove germs, dirt and debris quicker.
Cleaning staff also need durable and reliable equipment that helps them complete their tasks. Rubbermaid Commercial Products offers high-capacity cleaning carts that allows cleaners to transport all sanitising and disinfecting supplies at one time. This reduces time spent going back and forth to the supply closet or storage room to retrieve what’s needed. Other products that help increase cleaning efficiency include disposable Microfibre cloths that provide complete sanitisation of hard surfaces and can be quickly replaced, as well as mop buckets that move easily, making floor cleaning safer and simple to complete.
Proper onboarding goes a long way in increasing cleaning capacity. When staff understand the standards and key objectives of their duties at the beginning of their employment, they’re in a better position to give quality output. They can work more efficiently when provided the knowledge and technical skills they need to work quickly but effectively.
Rubbermaid Commercial Products SMARTCLEAN offers training programs to ensure that cleaning staff are well prepared and have access to support when needed. They have immediate access to training resources that allow them to continue working independently while also empowering them to make the right process decisions in less time.
Whether you oversee a healthcare facility, a hospitality venue or commercial office space, Rubbermaid Commercial offers a variety of products and equipment to help your cleaning team meet or exceed the industry standard. Learn more about our commercial cleaning products and provide your staff with the tools they need to work efficiently.
