Updating and introducing new cleaning procedures is an essential part of quality control. Here’s how to get your staff to adopt those changes.
As we learn how to make commercial cleaning more efficient and effective, it makes sense to introduce new cleaning procedures. Whether it’s new equipment, standards, or methods and protocols, these advances help keep employees and customers safe. They help create an environment that limits or prevents the spread of bacteria and viruses; they prolong the life of facility assets, such as hard floors and carpets; and they can be more profitable.
However, if you’ve tried to introduce new cleaning procedures in the past, you may have found that it’s not always so easy. Even simple changes can be met with resistance, making them challenging to put in place. There are reasons for this, as well as some ways to work through that resistance.
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Integrating new cleaning procedures into your janitorial operations
One thing to understand about adopting new cleaning procedures, or anything new for that matter, is that changes bring uncertainty. And we humans generally prefer certainty. So anything new threatens to upset that. We don’t know what the outcome will be, and while a change might be positive, it could also be negative.
Specific to the janitorial industry, new cleaning procedures could take longer. There is a concern that changes will require more work from an employee. Some employees fear that new procedures won’t be effective.
Your employees are correct in thinking that. I imagine we’ve all worked for someone at one point who had no clue what their employees’ work was really like, but decided to put a new procedure into place because they assumed it would save them money.
New cleaning procedures can also take effort, even when the end result will make things easier. And sometimes, it can be difficult to look beyond that initial adoption period and see the return on the investment of time and energy.
One simple way to work around these issues is to be open and transparent about the process and involve your team. Most people want to do a good job and want to be proud of the work they do. They want to feel valued. And the surest way to reach that goal is to get their opinion and feedback. The more involved they are in the process, the more invested they will be in the result. It’s a chain reaction: work hard for your employees, and they’ll work hard for you and your customers.
Another helpful hint is to be open to adjustments. Listen and consider what your team has to say about any new cleaning procedures. No matter how much you plan and prepare, you never know for sure what the outcome of a new procedure will be until you put it into action. And since your employees have direct experience, they will likely have the most informed assessment.
You might think that none of this is as easy as it sounds. You’re right. It’s not. You can use that to your advantage. How? Be upfront about the challenges of adopting new cleaning procedures. Just like everything you’re reading here will take some work and effort to put into practice, so will many new procedures in your day-to-day.
The goal, of course, is to push through that challenge and have procedures in place that save you time or energy or have better outcomes for cleanliness or disinfection. The trick is to be clear about the benefits.
What are those benefits? It could be safer working conditions if you switch to green cleaning practices. Suppose you’re adopting new software like Janitorial Manager. In that case, there are numerous benefits, including accurate timekeeping, so your team gets paid appropriately without worrying about forgetting to clock in.
What if you do all of this and it doesn’t work? You involve your team in the decision and get their input and feedback. You’re transparent about possible challenges, and you share the benefits of making new cleaning procedures work. And even with all of this, your team still doesn’t want to follow through.
No doubt, this is a frustrating situation. It’s not a disaster, though. First, talk to your team. Is there a reason they aren’t adopting these procedures? Would more training help? Were you clear about the benefits and importance of the changes?
Don’t underestimate the importance of asking your team for help. Working with people can often help further your cause.
If all else fails, you do have penalties at your disposal. I would caution, however, that penalties are best used as a last resort. Everyone on your team knows that you’re the boss and it’s in their best interest to work with you rather than against you.
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