Cleaning Up of cleaning scenario-II

Are the clients provided with trained manpower?

Cleaning Contractors Say:

Minimum Wages: It is not the benchmark for client companies to determine wages. Expecting people to work on minimum wages of र3000 or so is “unfair”.

Manpower Crunch: At a time when there are not many who want to take up the cleaning job, service providers have to make do with whatever is available.

Headcount: Contracts are based on headcount and not on quality service or mechanised cleaning.

Deferred Payment: Clients keep delaying payments for even over six months in some cases. How can service providers run their business?

Reduced Margins: Client companies expect service providers to work at prices much lower than the expenses.

Client Education: Clients need to change their attitude towards cleaning. They need to be educated.

Client Companies Say:

Determining Wage Slab: Minimum wages is definitely not a criterion but if service providers are able to provide skilled labour, wages could be increased.

Manpower Crunch: Workers are available in abundance. They are unskilled and service providers engage such labour by providing them training on site.

Cleaning Science: Running cleaning machines does not make it a science.

Payment Punishment: Payments are delayed to ensure promised standards are met with.

Lower Margins: With the type of service and manpower, service provider may have to settle at low margins.

Better Informed: Clients are better informed than the service provider and know exactly what is to be cleaned and how many workers are required.

The awareness about mechanised cleaning and better cleanliness standards is growing, both at the contractor level and the client level. There are visible changes in the cleaning programmes adopted by various client companies and the way service providers are chosen. Affirming the changing scenario, Richa Dwivedi, Housekeeping Manager, CK Birla Group, New Delhi, says, “A few years back, housekeeping was considered just a cleaning job. But now, it is being looked at as more of a science. Client companies are very much aware of the types of cleaning agents, equipment and the working schedules. Similarly, even the workers are experimenting with the methods of cleaning using equipment and chemicals.

Many agree that the use of cleaning equipment and chemicals is essential, but the result is very often not as expected because of the inexperience and incompetence shown by housekeeping companies during execution.

Do the housekeepers know the equipment?

Do they exactly know why they are using a particular equipment?

Do they even know the composition of chemicals being used?

Speaking to CIJ, a young housekeeping executive, who had been working as executive housekeeper in the hospitality industry for several years and is now working with a pharma company, says, “Even though I have been an executive housekeeper, now sitting on the other side of the table interacting with contract workers who are providing service at the premises, I’m yet to meet a service provider who can tell me exactly what to do for my indoor air quality, water saving or sewage water treatment plant. “Only by using scrubbers and carpet shampooing machines, we can’t call it mechanised cleaning service or scientific approach to cleaning.”

Ralph Sunil, Vice President – Administration, Essar Steel Limited, Hazira, (Gujarat), feels cleaning involves a wide range of activities and is of varied types. It’s the type of cleaning that determines the skill set. If every type is looked at scientifically, then a sea change will come in the cleaning industry.” And that is possible when the people involved in the cleaning know what they are doing. “Most of them are not well informed about cleaning because they do not have a background in the cleaning industry.

Hence, maintains Keith Monteiro, Vice President, Reliance Industries Ltd, that the cleaning service is still looked upon as unskilled work and not as a science. “In fact, cleaning as a process can scientifically be achieved only by using the right chemicals, the right equipment and most importantly, rightly trained manpower.”

Trained Manpower

Are the service providers able to give trained manpower knowledgeable in the application of chemicals and equipment? Unfortunately, not! “The new recruits come without any formal training. It is the service providers and the clients who train them and mould them according to the needs of the client companies. In maximum cases, the service provider sources manpower from close to the site of the client company. Very often, anyone with minimum or no education is roped into doing the janitor’s job.

That’s the main reason why the client companies dictate terms to the facility managers as the latter are not able to deliver the quality they promised. Clients ask for ‘X’ number of workers to be employed because the service providers don’t have the expertise to decide. Only about 5% of them know what they are offering to the client. What value addition is the client getting for engaging and paying a service provider?

Says the pharma executive, “If I have to pay an extra price for a whole operation or a whole setup, and if you tell me you are giving a man-machine ratio which is going to improve my housekeeping services, you will have to give to me a standard which I can assess and judge and put on paper. You will have to tell me the number of times cleaning has happened, visibly show me results, give me a checklist, why these particular chemical agents are used and what better effect these agents would be having. Why a specific machine is used and not higher or lower version so that I know what I’m paying for. Till the time the facility managers cannot do that, they should not be cribbing.”

Ralph Sunil however, feels that the service provider should be empowered – should decide on the equipment and the number of people to be deployed, but with the following conditions:

  1. SOP – what is wanted from the service provider – scope to be provided by client
  2. Job allocation of each employee – to be provided by the Service Provider (SP)
  3. Duty roster to be provided by SP
  4. Equipment deployment schedule – SP
  5. Deliverables – SP
  6. Supervision scope – SP and Client
  7. Penalty clauses for non-adherence – Client
  8. Deliverables from the client side as in repairs, Capex equipment, payments on time and staff welfare for the staff of the agency.

All the above should be signed off by the service provider and the client.

Keith Monteiro also feels there is a need to empower vendors, “but this should be done by having a clear scope of work (SOW) in place. Based on the SOW, both the client and the vendor, need to agree on the service level agreement (SLA) that needs to be achieved. Normally, an 80% benchmark is acceptable for an office but this would need to be at 99% for a controlled lab or critical manufacturing unit. Once the vendor is empowered, the client can concentrate on his core business and enjoy the delivery of the service as per the SLA.”

Agreed that the housekeeping companies should be empowered, says Richa Dwivedi. Professionally they are much experienced than the client. “But at the end of the day, the client has to face the problems of improper cleaning like wrong use of chemicals – either it is not being used in the right quantity or at times they are not used at all. So, it is better to pay the service provider on the basis of the manpower than for the service they provide.”

Hence it is best left to the client to decide on the number of workers to be employed and the equipment & chemicals to be used, because in the end it is the client who knows the areas that are to be kept clean – the hidden and the areas of prime importance. It is the client who can best suggest the employment and deployment of workers to these areas.

Similarly, the client knows his or her budget, the amount that can be spent on chemicals or equipment and hence shall be the deciding party. BUT this would be the case ONLY if the person in the client facility is from the housekeeping background.

In how many cases, the facility head of the client company has a housekeeping background? A quick glance of more than 10,000 companies, including corporates, MNC, educational institutions, healthcare and industries revealed that more than 60% of them did not have a seperate facility head but the housekeeping is managed by the head of administration or the HR department. Most MNCs have facility heads and in maximum cases they have housekeeping background.

Minimum Wages

The corporate clients CIJ spoke to unanimously agree that the minimum wages structure is indeed low and the skill sets should be recognised to determine wages.

“Minimum wages should only be a reference to the basic salary that one should receive. This is a major factor determining retention which is one of the biggest challenges this industry faces today. Skilled and trained boys should be given merit. Loyalty should be recognised and given its due. Every person wishes to rise in life and give their families a better life year after year – if minimum wages is a detriment to this, then we will lose housekeeping staff to other sectors,” warns Ralph Sunil.

“In fact, housekeeping is one of the lowest paid sectors. Surely workers cannot be expected to work at the minimum wages set by the Government. I do not know on what basis the wage structure has been set but definitely at such wage slab we will soon be facing a shortage of labour,” adds Richa Dwivedi.

Any officer in any company, client or otherwise, would like to move up the ladder. Then why can’t a janitor, questions Ralph. The housekeeping staff should be given a growth path. “If we ask skilled manpower to work at stagnant rates then we will have a higher turnover. To overcome this problem, we could either have slabs for skilled and experienced workers with the maximum and minimum cut off. Or, we could develop a one-time additional payment to reward the skill set – thereby keeping the basic rates intact. There is not a wide horizon, but surely small rewards and small upgrades would go a long way.”

Refuting suggestions of higher wages, a client feels that not all housekeeping service providers are professionals in India. They do not provide trained manpower. The workers engaged by the housekeeping company at the site are absolutely raw when they begin service contract. “They get trained at my manpower time, then why should I pay them extra? I’m teaching them work, they are using my facility as a learning ground. They get trained and move on to other companies with higher salaries. It doesn’t make sense for me to pay double – in terms of time and money.”

It is time, the housekeeping service providers come up with trained workers. They need to build a backup of their systems and procedures, train people and retain them. If service providers bring quality workforce and then ask the client companies to pay higher, it is justifiable. “It is then asking corporates to pay for quality and no one minds paying for quality.”

Manpower Crunch

Interestingly even though some corporates agree that wages are low, they do not think there is a manpower crunch. “If one guy goes, there are 10 others waiting outside to get the job. There are so many people coming from Jharkhand and other States. At many places, service providers get the workers from just outside the gate of the premises. In many cases they don’t even do a health check up. They just fill up the papers and employ them as janitors. No training is given, even though they claim having given basic training. Manpower is available in abundance for the simple reason that it is unskilled. Where’s the manpower crunch?

However, Ralph Sunil, reiterates that the frequent switching of jobs and lack of skilled manpower should squarely be blamed on the minimum wage structure. “If people get paid minimum wages, they will constantly seek better clients. It is only a small but attractive amount that makes the decision for the skilled worker. If skill sets and experience are not rewarded, there will always be a crunch situation.”

Delayed Payments

While, majority of the clients agree that delayed payments on the part of the client take a toll on the service providers, many consider the ‘payment punishment’ as the best weapon to extract quality work from the service provider. Service providers are businessmen and like in all businesses they should have credit worthiness and the strength to manage finances and payments to staff on their own for a short term say, like three months.

Yes, payments are delayed at times, says Richa. “It is mostly because it could be the only way out to get the service provider on the right track, especially when they are not meeting the standards or the requirements of the client company. In fact, if payments are delayed, more than the service provider, it directly affects the client company. The impact of people working on empty stomachs or sub-standard quality of service is much more. Delayed payment is the last option before the client company to extract quality work.”

This is business and all businesses have to juggle with finance and prioritise payments. “Clients have many priorities and market conditions decide the same. If the clients do not give priority to their requirements, all those associated with them will suffer. Hence, at times there will be deferred payments or some non adherence to timely payments. In such a scenario, the service provider should be prepared to manage things for a short term. He should also maintain a healthy and positive communication with the client at all times. On the other hand, the client should be sensitive to people related with payments and prioritise manpower payments to have a healthy and happy workforce.

Reduced Margins

Clients stress that service providers are not forced to work on reduced margins. They are of the opinion that the margins are usually decided on their levels of skill and expertise.

If service providers are not specialised and highly professional, they cannot demand high margins as per the present trend in India. With so many players in the field coupled with high levels of competitive business and a lot of options with regard to types of manpower available with the client , service providers may have to settle for low margins

Clients who are customer and employee focused, blue chip companies, large conglomerates, or MNCs are willing to pay a high margin – but again to service providers who are able to deliver high standards of performance. This can be seen in the bigger corporate managed malls, giant corporate houses or top airports.

Coming strongly on the accusation of service providers being forced to work on reduced margins, one of the client companies says, “If reduced margin is such a big issue with service providers, they would not be in this business. Who will think of business if it is not making profits? Or, who will remain in such a business which does not offer them good money? It is not the client company that is to be blamed but it is the service providers who are eating up on the workers’ salary. How many housekeeping companies adhere to the PF and EFS norms? How many of them actually deposit the money in the workers’ PF accounts? For that matter, they cut corners in so many other ways. Their margins are much higher in terms of start up ventures.”

Another opinion shared by a client is the mindset created by market forces. With service providers having created such a scenario that the client is always under the impression that the service provider is quoting much higher. “It is always in the mind of the client that the service provider would have taken the big profit margin while making his quote and insists that the service provider reduce rates. But in any case, the service provider is never at loss.”

Client Education

Service providers are engaged/deployed by the client for their expertise. It is therefore necessary that the client too is educated on this front to be able to extract the best from the service providers.

“At Essar, my team – the client team is qualified. They know the cleaning agents and chemicals to be used. I recommend that every client company should have qualified and experienced employee/s on its side with multi-tasking abilities to supervise and oversee the service provider. Also, since commercials are involved and service providers take on many sites simultaneously – if there is no demand for quality and systematic working, they tend to slack. Ultimately, the owner of the house is the client and the pride or the backlash will go to him,” says Ralph Sunil.

Joy at Work

Both the service provider and the client should provide for good working conditions for the staff. Simple facilities like clean staff washrooms, eating places, tea/coffee vending machines, good working equipment, clean and smart uniforms, scheduled time of working, breaks, off days and periodical leave are essential to retain workers and ensure they are happy enough to deliver good results.

Over and above regular training classes, some outbound activities or a simple team lunch, out-of-office meets, once-in-a-while appreciation and recognitions in public will make the workers feel like they are part of the set up. Senior level interactions between the service provider and the client will also go a long way. Most of the times, this set of workforce is at the receiving end from all concerned, so if joy at work is practiced, it will result in a happy, smiling, energetic and effective workforce. “We practice this at Essar in managing huge campuses and facilities and we are a happy family put together.”

Chemical Confusion

Both the clients and the service providers agree that most of the chemical companies do not mention the contents on the packaging. Any service provider or a chemical vendor selling a product claiming it to be eco-friendly or green chemical, without even revealing the contents, is tantamount to “cheating”.

“How will even we know what chemical is being used and whether it is the right chemical? Even the local popular brands available off the stands do not have specifications on the packaging! This is the most unscientific approach. It is more a marketing strategy or sales gimmick in the name of green. Just how and why would anyone call anything related to cleaning a science?” asks a client.”

Interestingly, many cleaning chemicals are sold as multi-purpose cleaners and there is no clear distinction between two chemicals. Most of the chemicals sold in India are procured from abroad and have actually not been made for Indian conditions.

Resultantly, many middle-level service providers use a product as a marketing tool. “We use only Diversey chemicals or Hindustan Lever products” is a popular statement with such service providers. Without any knowledge of what the product is all about and without explaining to the client what the product can do, a claim for scientific approach is baseless.

“It is this lack of expertise and knowledge of which chemicals to use for specific area cleaning which is the biggest drawback among facility managers,” laments another client.

Time to come closer

Summing up, Clean India Journal agrees with both the client and the service provider that the industry is in need of skilled and qualified workers. While the service provider makes do with the available manpower, the client demands labour worth the penny he pays. Both are right, and yet nothing is being set right.

In the last five years, some housekeeping companies have set up training centres for basic training in cleaning and supervisory tasks. In many cases, this lot of trained manpower deployed by the service provider is subjected to the minimum wage structure by the client. While both the clients and the contractors seem to agree upon the need to change the minimum wage structure, when it come to actually giving higher wages it is overshadowed by conditions like “professional performance” and “quality delivery”.

Again, for a salary of र3000 and 4000 what quality service can one expect? Besides, which qualified worker will want to work at such salaries? If this industry has to provide qualified workers, the salaries have to be much better, nothing less than र7000 or around. Low salaries have led to high attrition rates and shortage of workers.

Quality service comes at a price. If client companies expect service providers to work at costs which are much lower than the actual expenses, the service quality will diminish. The clients should refrain from pushing the service provider to an extent that he/she cannot function.

If client companies are looking at quality service, at the time of engaging the service provider, they should guard themselves against the temptation of hiring unprofessional housekeeping companies which are mushrooming every day.

The clients are often unable to choose the right service provider. And, definitely in a market where even a security company is engaged in providing housekeeping services, how does the client ascertain which one is a genuine service provider. The client would have to insist upon engaging service providers who have qualified or certified cleaning staff. Just the number of years the company has put in the service industry often, cannot be the criteria for engaging a “qualified” service provider. It is essential to check the background of the type of service provided by the contractor.

If the clients are going to generalise that the service provider is quoting higher, and that is why they are asking the service provider to reduce costs, they are ignorant. Because of this attitude even the genuine quotes given by professional service providers are slashed.

Finally, it has got to be a team work between the service provider and the client company. Unless the two join hands and come closer, the conflict will continue.

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