[box type=”shadow” ]The passion for doing business in the cleaning industry also calls for a 24/7 commitment and working under erratic timelines – a tough choice for women who want to make a career in this industry. From manpower management to money management & escalation, the challenges are plenty and encountered at every other turn of the way. Clean India Journal spoke to some of these women who have battled these odds, founded and groomed a brand with a towering philosophy and also struck a healthy balance between home and work. These women have studied or worked in India or abroad, left their 5-star careers in hospitality or allied industries and are now rewriting the rules here.[/box]
The women in focus are
Bharathi Kamath, Managing Director, Carewel Facilities (India) Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore
Simit Thakur, Managing Director, Neat Space Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai
Prathibha Blessing, Chief Operating Officer, CAERE Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad
Anjana Umesh Vij, Director & CEO, Kibble Enterprises, Delhi
Niyati Purohit, CEO, Megamorph Marketing Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore
Bagging a good order was not the only goal but the aim was to retain and grow together with the client. Out of the 3000 workforce at Carewel, 55-60 per cent of them are women and over 40 per cent have remained with the organization for the last 8-10 years. From FM services, Carewel has diversified into providing indoor plants for establishments, doing carpet and upholstery shampooing and in a short time, will be launching pest control services too. “The industry has experienced phenomenal growth and the potential is huge. Outsourcing has spread across. But there are new companies that come into the business. The decision making factors have also changed from pricing to service delivery.”
[box type=”shadow” ]Out of the 3000 workforce working with me, 55-60 per cent of them are women. The good thing is more than 40 per cent of them have remained with the organization for the last 8-10 years. They are constantly trained and taken care of. The staff members are also trained on personality development, body language, etiquette and so on.
Bharathi Kamath[/box]
Bharathi’s grit, determination and clarity are her strengths. After Carewel experienced a painful period with defaulters, a policy change was made not to engage with such clients.
“My staff are my ambassadors.” So maximum of the the staff members are trained on personality development, body language, etiquette and so on. Soon, an institute in FM services will provide horizontal training for different positions and across verticals. The industry response is positive, claims Bharathi.
“With the industry’s growth, array of products, mechanized equipment, knowledge sharing and interface platforms, doing business at this time feels great. We have the best of vendors and are abreast of the happenings too. FM service industry is a great employment provider that has improved the quality of life of many and given them an element of security with the statutory benefits. Patience, understanding and consistency are the stepping stones for growth here,” she says summing up.
[box type=”shadow” ]Being from a working-class family, no bank balance, nothing in hand to start a business except for what was saved from the salary…. At one point of time, I was not sure if I had made the right choice shifting from five-star comfort zone to uncertainties of doing a housekeeping business.
Simit Thakur[/box]
At the time when property management services in Mumbai was just beginning to catch up Simit Thakur made an entry into the housekeeping business. Having worked with the hospitality industry since 1989 with five star properties like Hyatt Regency Delhi, Clarks Group of Hotels, Majorda Beach Resort and Holiday Inn in Mumbai, “I had gained good enough confidence, exposure and experince to do something of my own and I saw huge scope in the the cleaning business, outside the hotel industry.”
Having experienced the hardships of acquiring licences and meeting statutory compliances, which were much tougher then, Simit went about engaging professionals right from the beginning in forming NeatSpace. “Being from a working class family, no bank balance, nothing in hand to start a business except for what was saved from the salary…. At one point of time, I was not sure if I had made the right choice shifting from five star comfort zone to uncertainties of doing a housekeeping business.”
The nest egg was melting away meeting everyday needs, assaulting her from all sides and uncertainties chipping down her will. However, hard work and professional approach gave Simit a big break with a huge contract and since then there has been no looking back.
Simit’s approach lies in the appropriate application of technology to achieve the best in housekeeping. Today, NeatSpace is where she aimed it to be — in the top league. Her client list grew; NeatSpace expanded to three locations — Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. With business professionals travelling across the world, she understands that the hygiene expectations have also increased. Fittingly so, Simit wants NeatSpace to be rated on par with internationally acclaimed FM service companies and is ready to run the extra mile to achieve that.
“Housekeeping, hygiene and sanitation standards are very imperative in the progressive world and need to improve our country and it will be a nice beginning to further recognize professional personnel in the industry,” she says with a keen perception.
Being her own brand with a strong moral has helped Simit Thakur and NeatSpace journey this far in the industry. For those who wish to make a mark in the field, here is a message: “You are your own master, you can plan your day, week, month and year. I think people who have the idea and passion to do something need to come out of their comfort Zone. Conceptualize your ideas, nurture them to become a catalyst in the ever changing business environment, create more and more job opportunities for the needy and enjoy the organic growth,” emphasizes Simit.
With the on-the-job training and learning under her belt, she approached one of the companies in the newly constructed Cyber Town. The man who met her at the door turned her down since she had no clients. Not long after, through a friend, another opportunity came her way — to cater to Kirloskar’s small sales office. With just one boy, she started out. The next day though, Prathibha’s only employee didn’t turn up so her team split the cleaning among themselves. But hiccups aside, finally she had a client, a big one to boast of.
[box type=”shadow” ]Just to have hands on experience before starting my own set up, I joined as management trainee in Green Park Hotel under the senior-most janitor. I was always under the fear and stress of being found out by my family friends. I learnt everything about cleaning and kept a journal for making notes.
Prathibha Blessing[/box]
Eventually, her company found a footing and organization — they started moving around in uniforms and customized vehicles. So people started walking in for work opportunities. It was a time when housekeeping also known as cleaning was not looked down at. “But the quality of the workforce we got was extremely good — they were willing to learn, stick with the brand and willing to be trained and the retention was also good,” Prathibha tells us.
With that recognition, Prathibha was the first to substitute the blue saree uniforms with dungarees. To get the women who formed 80-85 per cent of their workforce to wear those dungarees took her through another milestone. “But that gave us the image of a progressive company, especially among foreigners,” Prathibha points out the positive.
From day one mechanized cleaning has remained the norm for The Platina. With a wealth of experience, starting a training wing was the next step on her agenda. She modeled and installed a practice station simulating the structures, surfaces for the trainees to work on. It was a crowd puller for anyone who visited and a flashing jewel in The Platina’s crown.
At that point of time, more than gender discrimination, it was the lack of respect and recognition for the cleaning industry. Prathibha battled it by being on the site day and night and “I feel fortunate to have received the acceptance and respect. They saw the honesty in me,” she says reflective of those trying times. She also fought hard to strike a balance between work and family. Currently, Prathibha handles over 30 brands and manages work in more than 300 locations. Now she networks with entrepreneurs like her to form a mandate to govern the market and also in money, manpower, unionization, escalation and in establishing a standard body for evaluation or validation of work.
Having entered the industry in her twenties, Prathibha had enjoyed autonomy and grown as a person, an individual and a professional. Above all, she adds, “We have people who have worked with us for the last 12 years and helped us create a philosophy for the company.” In addition to the retention, liberty to work and the oneness of a family are part of the culture.
Today, her company is established and her children are young adults. “Now they spend more time with me than they have ever. But even when I was working round the clock putting the company together, I made sure I spent quality time with them — took them on three long holidays when I was phone free and away from work hassles. I sincerely attribute those moments to my team,” she reminiscences emotionally.
“Then I thought, why not make these products in India. Along with Gyans Meditronics (GM) – the inhouse indigenous manufacturing facility in India, in 2007, Kibble introduced the regular consumables (of Indian make) with international quality. “Though new, the acceptance was great and together we developed a premium range of products made up of impact resistant polypropylene plastic in various sizes. “Later, in the same year, we introduced Microfibres in India, not just for floor cleaning but also for hand,wall and vertical cleaning.” She started campaigning for microfibres and was successful in making people understand the product’s efficiency too.
With time, Anjana understood the need for better cleaning solution in the institutions. “In 2009, I introduced the international concept of Colour Coding System in the Indian Market.” Her team under her special guidance created awareness among clients on the benefits of colour coding. “The market adopted this concept gradually which led to radical improvement in hygiene standards in institutions.”
In 2011, Anjana wanted to give a quality product in the affordable price range to the mass market; “DELPH” was developed with GM’s support.
This was also the time when the world was turning towards green manufacturing technology. Anjana takes the credit of being the first to introduce this concept to the Indian market. She adopted the concept and a unique technology to produce microfibre yarn by skipping dyeing process; thus minimizing pollution to the environment.
With her ceaseless work, quick learning and fearless adoption of global concepts, Anjana has taken Kibble Enterprises to a different level with prestigious clients from many leading hospitals and hotels. Kibble’s presence is wide across India with strong dealer and distributor network.
[box type=”shadow” ]The challenge was working in a male-dominated sector, be it handling manufacturing unit, distributor channel or the customers. I will not say that they were biased, but they were hesitant in the beginning as this was ‘their first time’ working with a woman in this industry.
Niyati Purohit[/box]
Her challenges began with the sourcing of new employees. “It was a new business where we had no customers and selling cleaning solutions was not a very glamorous or a cool job. The other biggest challenge was working in a male-dominated sector, be it handling manufacturing unit, distributor channel or the customers. I will not say that they were biased, but they were hesitant in the beginning as this was ‘their first time’ working with a woman in this industry.” Her passion for the business and the domain knowledge broke all ice. Being transparent and ethical in all business processes worked majorly in bringing new customers and channel partners on board.
“Having diverse interests, I was always stuck with making a single choice. But after meeting Ashwin, my husband, I found a common ground between us.” Today, she understands that being in business gives her a chance to explore all avenues and also the freedom to multi task. Needless to say, she is enjoying it to the hilt.
“Once we got a challenge from one of India’s best international school for execution of an order within a four-hour delivery window. We personally ensured it is executed within two hours and from that point there was no looking back. That four-hour window opened a lot of doors for us. The manger was very well connected and gave us great references, who are our happy and biggest customers today.”
Niyati’s business philosophy revolves around making the best out of each moment in life and in making improvements. Her dad Sanjay Purohit, who heads a pharma manufacturing unit, and particularly her mother Deepika Purohit, a yoga and meditation teacher and a recent cancer survivor is a great source of inspiration.
“Building a respectable brand is my biggest dream. I have just embarked upon the arduous journey and am quite sure of reaching the goal.”
Vijayalakshmi Sridhar