Staff training, retention top concerns for housekeeping sector

Pressures to reduce costs and staff turnover are among the biggest issues affecting the professional housekeeping/cleaning sector this year, especially within the healthcare sector, according to the 2015 P&G Professional Cleaning Industry Survey released this week.

The survey tapped 400 cleaning industry professionals across four sectors—commercial, food service, hospitality/lodging and healthcare.

More than three-quarters of respondents within the healthcare sector have felt extreme pressures to reduce cost and become more efficient. The healthcare sector also shows a marked increase in efficiency and staff retention, with half of healthcare cleaning managers reducing turnover by 18 percent compared to the previous year.

More cleaning professionals also are using improved staff training to aid workflow. Almost half (47 percent) of all cleaning professionals surveyed are banking on better training to improve staff retention and motivation, workflow efficiency and cost containment.

About half the respondents (51 percent) named having the right products as their No. 1 concern. “With labor costs accounting for almost half of overall operational costs, it is understandable that cleaning managers want effective products that get job done right the first time, reducing the time it takes to thoroughly clean,” said Paul Edmonson, Director, P&G Professional Americas, in a company release.

Fueled partly by an increased attention on infection control and the risk of lawsuits, the healthcare sector is strongly focused on cleaning procedures. In healthcare, the appearance of cleanliness is almost more important than actual cleanliness.

The most important room for cleanliness? The bathroom, of course. Customer dissatisfaction is the No. 1 worry for cleaning professionals, and the bathroom is among the top places to garner consumer complaints if cleaning is not high quality, along with the main traffic spaces and room associated with food preparation or dining.

Download the report here.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.