Here's Why Companies Need to Invest in Cleanliness & Hygiene The most competitive segment of cleaning industry is consumable products.
By Niyati Purohit •
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We are all facing a challenging & demanding market. In such times since increasing revenue is becoming more challenging most companies go on a cost cutting spree. The economic crisis has forced corporates to curb costs, including their spends on cleaning. Reducing the frequency of cleaning, cutting manpower and using inferior cleaning products are few options that they adopt.
Many consider this compromise acceptable and to have negligible consequences, but in the long run small changes or rather compromises create permanent damage to property & in some cases manpower.
Cleanliness is never a number one priority while choosing a mall or restaurant to go to. But the lack of hygiene and cleanliness very quickly become a reason not to go to a certain place. The lack of obvious benefits leads manager to believe that the lack of effective cleaning will not have obvious drawbacks. We all have avoided going to some or the other mall or restaurant because their washrooms are not clean or the parking area stinks. Poor hygiene is certainly going to lose your business very fast.
The survey conducted between September 2014 and September 2015, in which 26,297 travellers participated Chennai airport was ranked as one of the worst airport of Asia because of its dirty toilets. India is welcoming business from all around the World to invest in the future of our economy. Is this really the first impression we want to give them?
Cleanliness is Very Subjective
The root cause of this cascading problem is that the person making a decision on the budgets of cleanliness and hygiene is often unaware of what it takes to maintain those high standards. As cleanliness is very subjective, judging the effectiveness of the efforts and stating the standards of the client is often complicated. The janitorial staffs rarely know what the result of their work should look like.
Organizations spend substantial amount of money in building art of the state facility with most exquisite floorings and world-class bathroom fitting just to find all this falling apart as a result of poor cleaning and maintenance. Crude products & chemicals may damage the property and thus causing the organization long-term losses. The preservation & extension of life of a capital investment can only be done with exceptional maintenance & upkeep. Poor hygiene standards lead to unforeseen additional problems like pests & scavengers spreading across your facility. This is turn can cause electrical issues, short circuits, etc.
The most competitive segment of cleaning industry is consumable products.
The price of each product is scrutinized down to the ultimate cost per sq ft. While this minuscule expense is being examined under a microscope, janitors are consuming hours to perform tasks with inadequate & inefficient products and tools.
The fact is, even after hard work the lack of science and intelligence in cleaning often results in the goal being left unaccomplished. Until we begin to recognize that cleaning is a science and a make it a priority to educate ourselves and our employees on what clean really looks like, the only green cleaning being performed is in the form of dollars being cleaned out of pockets.
(Written by Niyati Purohit & Ashwin Suresh )
