The 'gladiator' effect

You may have seen or heard of the film Gladiator set in ancient Rome and starring Russell Crowe. If you have, you will probably recall the scene in the Colosseum where the Roman Caesar decides whether the Gladiator lives or dies by putting his thumb up or down.

There are many times every day when we choose to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down about something. It is widely recognised that it takes less than 4 seconds to make this decision. In fact according to Malcolm Gladwell's book 'Blink', in many cases the decision will be an instant gut reaction. At NJC we call this the 'gladiator effect'.

So why is this effect so important to facilities managers and property managers?

It's all about first impressions. A good first impression will make sure that you get the thumbs up! The standard of cleaning in your premises can speak volumes about your company and it's service values.

There are many positive commercial effects of smart, clean, tidy and well presented premises. The main positive effect is a good first impression to both prospective customers and employees. Good first impressions will always make it easier to attract the right staff and impress visiting clients and suppliers. The worlds leading companies have always paid very careful attention to the presentation of their buildings.

Why else is a good standard of cleaning so important?

Good standards of cleaning are the physical representation of the brand values and efficiency of your organisation. In addition, smart and clean premises will give an increased feeling of employee well being. This leads to higher employee productivity and higher rates of retention. We all know that good people are an organisations greatest asset. Keeping them is critical to the success of the operation. Having a high rate of employee retention will substantially reduce the high costs of re-recruitment, re-training and business disruption.

For property investors and managers, the quality of common area cleaning can have a direct impact on investment performance. This link has been more evident since the introduction of the RICS service charge code in April 2007. All property managers know that good quality common areas keep tenants happy and 'happy tenants are a good investment'. The company responsible for the common area cleaning (entrances, receptions, stairwells, lifts, lift lobbies, toilets etc) are trustees for the first impressions of all tenants in a multi-let building.

For tenants in a multi-let building there are benefits to using the cleaning company that cleans the common parts. You should benefit from the continuity of service from common parts to your demised space, the existing site management structure and the economies this will provide.

Reuben Heppelthwaite
Not Just Cleaning Ltd
127 Cheapside
London
EC2V 6BT
0207 600 1956
rheppelthwaite@notjustcleaning.com
www.notjustcleaning.com

Greener cleaning - environmental responsibility

Environmental responsibility is high on the agenda at Not Just Cleaning. We realise that all companies have a responsibility to help safeguard people’s health and safety and protect the environment for future generations. We are always looking for new ways to improve our sustainability profile and reduce our carbon footprint.

Today it is more important than ever for us all to minimise our carbon footprint. Not only are the developed western countries producing more and more carbon emissions, but there is a growing problem as the population in Africa and Asia start living improved lifestyles which consume more energy. We need to lead the way.

The following are Not Just Cleaning initiatives which reduce our environmental impact.

Microfibre cleaning systems – By introducing microfibre cleaning systems into the commercial cleaning regime, the use of chemical cleaning fluids can be reduced by 70-80%. Cleaning fluids and sanitisers should still be used in hygienic areas to kill germs, however, general use areas such as offices can be cleaned effectively with a microfibre system.

Save paper – Stopping its use is the best way to save paper. Not Just Cleaning’s online service desk and document management system substantially reduces the amount of hard copy documents required for compliance. In addition, encouraging employees and customers to think before printing emails is an easy way to reduce paper use. Paper that is used on one side should be re-used for making notes and for fax machines. Paper use can also be reduced by printing and photocopying double sided, increasing page margins, decreasing font size and using software with reading layouts (to prevent the need to print to read).

New age hand dryers, like the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, are an eco friendly alternative to paper hand towels. Even recycled paper has a few drawbacks related to its "green properties". To make one tonne of recycled paper, it takes 7000 gallons of water, 360 gallons of oil, 158 million BTUs of energy and 86 pounds of pollutants go into the atmosphere. In addition, modern 650W hand dryers provide considerable CO2 savings when compared with conventional 2400W dryers.

Save water – Not Just Cleaning encourages employees and customers to save water. We provide and promote the use of biological urinal blocks which can dramatically reduce water usage from flushing urinal cisterns. Urinal blocks contain a biological action that keep urinals free flowing and odourless. Flushing frequency can be reduced to just four times each day. Tests have indicated financial savings of £150 per urinal per year. In addition, around 115 thousand litres of water per urinal per year will be saved. Other water saving measures include making sure dishwashers are fully loaded before use, training operatives to not overfill buckets and the use of the host® dry carpet cleaning system.

Alternative fuel / hybrid electric vehicles – Not Just Cleaning uses LPG dual fuel vans. LPG gives a 10-15% carbon dioxide reduction in comparison to petrol and is on a par with diesel. LPG also delivers 80% lower nitrous oxide emissions than diesel, along with zero particulate emissions. We are also introducing Toyota Prius hybrid electric vehicles as company cars for our Account Managers. Hybrid vehicles are powered by a combination of petrol or diesel and electricity. This cuts down on the amount of fuel needed, meaning drivers will produce fewer emissions.

Reducing deliveries – Not Just Cleaning encourages less frequent deliveries of cleaning materials and consumables to customers’ sites. Fewer deliveries means a reduction in the fuel used and the emissions produced. However, adequate storage space is required at the site. Customers may need to provide alternative storage as traditional cleaners’ cupboards are often inadequate.

Eco-friendly carpet cleaning – Not Just Cleaning uses the host® dry carpet cleaning system which is Green Seal® certified. The green seal demonstrates that the product promotes a cleaner, healthier environment, causing less pollution, reducing waste and conserving resources. The host® system uses a natural product moistened with water, detergent and a small amount of safe-to-use-solvent. When compared with high flow wet extraction systems, the reduction in chemicals and water used is 97%.

Eco-friendly window cleaning – Not Just Cleaning uses the reach & wash system of window cleaning using the ionic cleaning action of pure sterile water. Cleaning is carried out without the use of any chemicals or detergents.

Recycling – Not Just Cleaning use and supply 100% recycled toilet rolls and hand towels. We also recycle printer cartridges, mobile phones and general waste. We encourage all customers to recycle and provide a mixed recyclables collection service.

Travel less – Not Just Cleaning encourages its staff to car share to work or use the bus or train.

Reuben Heppelthwaite

Not Just Cleaning Ltd

127 Cheapside

London

EC2V 6BT

0207 600 1956

rheppelthwaite@notjustcleaning.com

www.notjustcleaning.com

Are you in the honeymoon period?

Imagine that you have managed to find a cleaning contractor from the 10,000 operating in the UK, that you are happy with. You have been working with them for a few months and it looks like you made the right decision. The feedback from the company staff or tenants is good and everything is going just fine. If this is where you are, then you are in the 'Honeymoon Period' with your cleaning service provider.

Perhaps it's only natural that the more comfortable and familiar your cleaning contractor becomes, the more complacent they are likely to be. The challenge is to adopt a strategy for performance measurement that will add value to the contract, maintain good standards of cleaning and enable your chosen cleaning service provider to avoid complacency.

Not Just Cleaning has developed a process to self manage quality and measure performance to ensure optimum and consistent operation of the service throughout the whole of the contract term - with no complacency guaranteed!

Why not contact us to find out how?

Kind regards

Reuben Heppelthwaite
Not Just Cleaning Ltd
127 Cheapside
London
EC2V 6BT
0207 600 1956
rheppelthwaite@notjustcleaning.com
www.notjustcleaning.com

Beware under priced cleaning contracts.

Commercial cleaning is a very competitive industry. There are nearly 10,000 contractors in the UK and choosing one can be a very arduous task. This is exacerbated by the fact that many cleaning companies under price contracts to win business. For these companies, their only differentiator is being cheap. Experienced buyers will understand that there are simply no bargains to be had in service industries. Perceived bargains always become a false economy.

Cheap contracts come at a price. The cost of under resourced cleaning contracts include:

1. Unhappy clients and occupiers
2. Unhappy cleaners (being asked to do too much for too little pay, without any job satisfaction
3. Breakdown in relations and trust
4. Risk of bad publicity for low pay rates in London - London Living Wage Campaign.
5. Little or no account management and supervision
6. Little or no training
7. Little or no compliance with health, safety and environmental issues
8. High cleaning staff turnover - no long term established team
9. Continuous expensive re-tendering
10. Increased cost of maintenance (redecoration, carpet replacement etc.)
11. Clients do not get what they have been promised
12. Clients are regularly told "that is not included, that will cost extra"
13. Hassle, hassle, and more hassle!

Under resourcing a cleaning contract by having too few labour hours, cheap cleaning chemicals, no account management and supervision and no training does not make the contract achievable or sustainable in the long term. There may be a short honeymoon period to get the contract off the ground, but complacency and the contractors' bottom line will soon dictate the poor cleaning standards received by the client.

Value for money is the answer, but how can it be defined? Not Just Cleaning describe it as the balance of the required cleaning standards, with a low risk of service failure at an appropriate cost. Cleaning standards can be agreed by simple task frequency schedules. Low risk of service failure can be achieved by standard processes for training, health & safety, quality control etc. The appropriate cost will include for the right amount of resources. This will include sufficient labour, good quality materials & equipment, supervision, appropriate training (and re-training as required) together with fair rates of pay. This will ensure that the contract is properly resourced from day 1 to completion of the term.

The economies desired at the outset come with added value service from the cleaning company, innovation through understanding and meeting the clients changing needs and the trust built over a long term sustainable relationship.

Kind regards

Reuben Heppelthwaite
Not Just Cleaning Ltd
127 Cheapside
London
EC2V 6BT
Tel: 0207 600 1956
rheppelthwaite@notjustcleaning.com
http://www.notjustcleaning.com/