5 Ways to Continue Janitorial Education for the Best Cleaning Team

When you and your team pursue continued janitorial education, you get better and more exciting contracts.

There’s so much more to janitorial education than most people get during those first few days on the job. Yes, it’s important to know about dwell times for disinfectants and how often to refill soap dispensers. But there are so many other topics of interest. 

Even if you don’t specialize, additional knowledge is always helpful, since you never know what you might encounter in the field. The question, really, isn’t about whether or not continued janitorial education is important; it’s about how to find and engage in those learning experiences. Here are some ideas that will help. 

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5 Ways to embrace janitorial education and training for a more successful team

Most places that offer continuing janitorial education and certification know that you and your team are busy. That means it’s easy to find courses that can accommodate working adults and offer classes online and in person. For example, the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) offers a three-hour course on Cleaning and Disinfection Principles that covers topics including how to use PPE, how to clean and disinfect properly to maintain a healthy environment, and infection and contamination control for infectious diseases. 

Here are some other ways your team can take advantage of janitorial education opportunities. 

1. Set your goals. There are numerous courses and certifications available, so it’s helpful to start by setting strategic goals and choosing classes based on that. For example, if you want to expand or get more office building cleaning contracts, then Floor Care Specialist certification from CMI is a better option than hazardous materials training. 

2. Determine your availability. This might be the most challenging part of ongoing janitorial education. Even though many courses are designed for working professionals, it still takes time. Some companies devote a specified time each month for training, while others find it’s better to plan two or three days each year to schedule training. Again, some courses only require a few hours of time, while something like the Registered Building Service Manager designation from BSCAI is much more in-depth and time intensive. 

3. Set your budget. Just to give you some examples, the Registered Building Service Manager course mentioned above is $275. A four-day, in-person Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry course offered by OSHA Training Institute Education Center is $875. And an online First Aid certification through the American Red Cross is currently $37. You can also check your professional organizations and local colleges and libraries for janitorial education opportunities. They often have free offerings available. 

4. Choose online or in-person. Some people learn better in person, while others are fine with online studies. There’s also the subject matter to consider. For example, a hands-on course might be better for equipment repair and maintenance, while you could opt for online training for topics like customer service. Your timing may also be a factor here. 

5. Pay your team. You may already know this, but any time your employees are required to be at work, whether for in-person cleaning or for training in-person or online, you are legally obligated to pay them. In other words, they get paid for training. The good news is that most of these educational opportunities can be counted as a business expense on your taxes, so be sure to talk to your accountant about that. Even better, your customers will pay more knowing their facility is in good hands.

Continuing training will help your team, and your customers will get better service because of it. But to get the most from your efforts, it’s vital to make sure your customers and prospective customers know how much your business values education. Here are some places to highlight that work. 

Your website. Don’t be shy about certifications and ongoing training. Even if it’s something as simple as First Aid and CPR certification, if your entire team has that, people will feel better about hiring you. It promotes an image of trustworthiness and responsibility. Highlight industry-specific certifications, too, of course. Anyone with expensive marble floors will love seeing your hard flooring certification, and people who manage places with heavy foot traffic will appreciate carpet care certification, and so on.

Your contracts. Highlight the time you will take for training in your contracts, and, of course, pro-rate your invoice for that time. If you let your customers know that this is part of your business, most won’t mind that you aren’t available for a day every few months. Just be open to working with them if there are issues around scheduling. 

Your social media. Celebrate your successes with your audience and highlight the excellent work your team does. Share the joy of education and shout out your team for taking steps to become the best cleaning team around. 

There’s a lot your team can learn on the job, but professional educational opportunities help your business thrive and improve your customer satisfaction results.