FMJ.CO.UK CLEANING FOCUS
MARCH 2019 41
KEEP IT
Iain Fraser-Jones, MD of Greenzest Sustainable
Cleaning Services, explains the benefi ts to
FMs of a wider interpretation of sustainability Sustainability in cleaning has come
a long way since the mid-2000s
when it was really just another word
for ‘environmental’. Yet while there’s
no denying the industry has adapted
well to the environmental brief
with increasing use of water, steam,
microfibre and energy-e icient
machines, a new sustainability
challenge is now emerging.
When the details of Carillion’s demise
were picked over, sustainability
reappeared in a di‚ erent context.
The word ‘unsustainable’ was used to
describe the type of contract no one
wants to be involved in – a low margin
a‚ air, with little transparency and, all
too ož en, unwanted consequences
for customers, contractors and sta‚ in
the chain.
With its low wages and price
competitiveness, the cleaning industry
is only too familiar with this scenario.
But why does it have to be that way?
Surely the time has come to look for a
new sustainable model of cleaning that
considers the environment, people,
customers and financial viability in
equal measure?
Greenzest has developed a framework
to help us build a holistic model of
sustainability. We call it our ‘four pillars
of sustainability’: planet, people,
partnerships and productivity.
PLANET
We minimise our carbon footprint
through two key elements: use of hybrid
vehicles and resistance to opening
a physical head o‚ ice, with all its
associated environmental impacts. We
also use low-impact cleaning methods
such as water, steam and microfibre
wherever possible, reducing our use
of packaging and harmful cleaning
chemicals.
Operating without a physical o‚ ice
is, we believe, unique in the industry
for a company of our size. It’s made
possible by a combination of cloudbased
technology, secure data storage
for company documentation, and the
use of third party apps and systems to
manage key processes such as training,
quality auditing and right to work
vetting. Management meetings are held
at customers’ premises – which has the
advantage of allowing our managers to
see at first hand the cleaning operation
at di‚ erent sites.
PEOPLE
In our industry, we cannot rely on
high pay rates to retain frontline sta‚ ,
although wherever possible we pay
Living Wage Foundation rates, not
minimum wage. This means we need
other ways to motivate and engage
our people. UhUb is our smartphoneaccessible,
City and Guilds approved
sta‚ training and engagement app. It
works for our business in three ways.
First, it means our entire workforce can
receive training in a range of cleaning
skills. Second, it means everyone can
access important documents about
right to work, HMRC and health and
safety, as well as company policies.
Third, it provides an active medium
through which the company can
communicate with sta‚ individually
or en masse. This has brought the
company together in a way that is
di‚ icult in cleaning, where 95 per
cent of sta‚ work remotely, mostly
out of normal o‚ ice hours and quite
ož en alone. It means sta‚ enjoy their
work more and feel a greater sense of
belonging.
PARTNERSHIPS
Asked what is the most important
thing an incumbent contractor can do
to improve their chances of winning
a contract at re-tender, an FM once
said: “During the term of their existing
contract they should communicate
constantly what they are doing and
show the value they are providing. It’s
too late at the re-tender to tell everyone
what you have been up to for the last
two or three years.”
It therefore makes sense for
cleaning contractors to support their
FM customers in a professional and
collaborative way, partly because
they are essentially colleagues in
the management of their building,
and partly because the contractor
should be able to demonstrate how
the management of the building has
improved during its time as incumbent.
As an example of how Greenzest
builds partnerships, we design cleaning
programmes to support our customers’
own sustainability strategies, such as
energy-saving flow cleaning rather
than zonal. We also align our work with
customer objectives to help reduce
customer costs and adopt a ‘whole
lifecycle’ approach to our contracts.
PRODUCTIVITY
The modern o‚ ice is designed around
hotdesking, breakout areas and pristine
hygiene facilities. This challenges
preconceptions of cleaning as a rigid
service, instead requiring a flexible
approach that meets the demands of
the new workplace.
Every cleaning system should be
based on the customer’s requirements,
but the default position should be flow
cleaning with a team of day cleaners
operating in overlapping shiž s for the
duration of the working day. As well as
saving energy, this combination keeps
the building in a safe and hygienic
condition from the arrival of the earliest
employees until the last person leaves,
or an evening event finishes.
We also keep abreast of new
equipment and cleaning methods
to improve the cleaning productivity
of our teams as well as streamlining
back-o‚ ice systems to reduce overhead.
Increased productivity reduces costs
and helps secure longer customer
relationships, creating a secure future
for our sta‚ and company.
But at the end of the day,
does holistic sustainability deliver real
benefits to FMs?
We believe all FMs would agree that
it’s only fair for contract cleaning sta‚
to earn a sustainable wage, and for the
contractor to earn su‚ icient margin
to sustain its future. All the more so
when in return the contractor o‚ ers the
transparency of open-book reporting
and high standards of cleaning
delivered by a motivated team.
The Living Wage Foundation wage is
gaining traction, with well-documented
benefits in terms of reduced sta‚
turnover and associated savings in
training, administration and vetting
costs. At the same time, we believe
FMs adapting to the di‚ erent demands
placed on their buildings by new ways
of working will increasingly warm to
the idea that partnership with an agile,
collaborative and more motivated
contractor will lead to a longer-term,
mutually beneficial relationship.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
There are certain components all
cleaning contractors should be
able to o er as part of a contract:
Vetting and entry controls
Training in building-specific tasks
Use of smartphones to
communicate with the FM team
Well-researched proposals for
maintaining di icult floor types
Disaster recovery planning
Co-operation with other contractors
Open-book contract reviews
KPIs and a formal log book of
contract improvements.