Clean business facilities don't just look better, they and their occupants function better. Morale is better when things are clean, accessible, and uncluttered. Improved feelings of well-being result in improved productivity. Customers can sense when things are running well, the energy is better, they stay longer.
See where we are going with this? A good percentage of your business's success is supported by how clean it is kept. Customers rank cleanliness as the most important contributing factor in feeling comfortable when there. It's also high in overall customer satisfaction, too.
For employees, cleanliness has an overall effect on their productivity and commitment. When you consider the estimates of how many days the average employee misses each year due to illness, you can only come to one conclusion — workplace hygiene matters.
If you take care of your cleaning tasks with in-house staff, these tips could make things go more smoothly. If you employ a business or office cleaning firm, following these tips can improve your work environment and help get the best results from your cleaning service.
Building your workplace hygiene effort — start small and be consistent
People first – get your employees on-board. Don't assume anything. Establish a to-do list for employees to follow. When you present the list to your group, make a point of how good habits and concern for others can be contagious. Each staff member should understand their part in making a better place to work — and how it will benefit them.
Once your staff has their assignments, it is up to management to verbally remind, encourage, and compliment employees. Reinforce this with some signage, especially in shared high-traffic areas such as sinks, coffee makers and other areas that can easily attract messes.
Signage is also a great way to make small reminders regarding personal hygiene like covering a cough or sneeze and washing hands. Small signs can be effective, especially in restrooms, near food handling areas, and on a shared refrigerator. With a little effort, signage can help create a feeling of shared responsibility and get everyone involved.
Note: One issue we haven't mentioned is dealing with employees who are suffering from a cold, flu, or worse. People come to work when sick for several reasons – from losing a day of pay to a sense of duty, and so on. This is a matter of company policy and must be resolved by management. Keep in mind that having a sick employee on the job is a threat to the entire staff and overall productivity.
Make it easy with a firm schedule. There never seems to be time to stop what you are doing long enough to fit in another task. This is where a schedule comes in. When an employee is officially "budgeted" to perform a task on the list, it is a lot easier to do it. For instance: "Check the fridge when you come back from break." automatically gives the person a legitimate time-frame. And this will maintain control of the hygienic workplace effort. Depending on the size of your team, you may want to rotate different people on a regular basis. Even if a professional cleaning crew comes at regular intervals, hygiene tasks are still needed and should be scheduled. All of the areas most likely to gather debris are only likely to get cleaned if it is scheduled.
Show your team that you care by making hand sanitizers and wipes available. Employees appreciate having convenient access to hand sanitizer dispensers. Sanitizing hands is a powerful way to prevent transferring contaminants from your hands to your face, especially your eyes. Anti-bacterial wipes make it easy to wipe countertops and other shared equipment. It is a fact that the average desktop has over 300% more germs than a toilet seat!
Restrooms should be spotless — something everyone will agree with. Survey after survey confirms that the condition of a restroom can make or break someone's opinion of a business. In restaurants, customers linked the condition of the restroom with the overall cleanliness of the establishment. This listing is meant to help you with what should be on your hygiene to-do list. There are many step-by-step restroom cleaning guides available. (A good article to start with is here in this blog...)
Check on how things are going
After some time with the hygiene project, it is a good idea to do an audit. Set a time for an end-of-day survey of the facility. Is everything in order? Are you seeing room for improvement? Now is a good time to consider any changes. Pay special attention to the nooks and crannies, in fact, carry a flashlight for those dark corners.
Take out the trash... bet you thought we forgot.
We hope this short list will be of help when you are getting control of your workplace hygiene effort. All of us at NLC Solutions Commercial Cleaning are dedicated to making every workplace Clean, Safe, and Healthy. If you are searching for a commercial, business, and office cleaning firm that cares, please keep us in mind. We provide full-cleaning services to many businesses in the Middlesex, Somerset, and Union county areas. All services are guaranteed.
Please call us at: (908) 753-3900.