Finding a commercial cleaning company that will not only deliver a superior quality of work, but collaborate with you as a partner, means more than just finding a company at the right price point.

Effective communication between client and supplier, and supplier to cleaning operative, is a key factor in developing lasting good relations, something that is supported by the supplier’s internal culture, training, and management. 

Attracting – and retaining – employees that share our hardworking ethic and diligence is crucial. Often one of the challenges within the cleaning sector is the high turnover of staff and indeed contracts. At AQS we know that having the right people in place can make or break client – supplier relations, which is one of the reasons our clients consider us a partner, and not just a supplier. 

We caught up with Kate Murray, Contracts Manager at AQS, to find out more about her role, how she recruits the right team, and how she keeps them motivated. 

1.     Effective communication

Kate explains more about how we work with clients: “We believe that the only way to really judge the effectiveness of our service is to understand the client’s broader objectives. It could be new business growth, staff retention or price increases, and so at the beginning of every job, we meet with the client to walk through the requirements and discuss specifics. 

“I spend a lot of time with each client before we get to recruitment stage, to understand everything about the site and exactly what they’re looking for. There will be a site visit where we begin to make a specification, and I ask lot of questions! It’s also important at this stage to gather any other essential information about the site: for instance, some of the factories have specific restrictions around working hours, or age restrictions. Every building is independently assessed to ensure we tailor a cleaning programme aligned to its specific requirements. 

“Once we’ve completed the site visit, I can begin to recruit the team according to the specification.”

2.     Recruitment and training 

Cleaning and FM teams are often familiar faces within a workplace, and one concern clients might have when taking on a new provider is losing these skills and knowledge. However, in many cases a Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) will apply, and employees are transferred to us when the new contract begins. 

We are committed to making a long-term investment in our people, and as Recognised Service Providers for the Living Wage Foundation, we champion the real Living Wage, giving clients the choice to implement a wage which meets everyday needs and the increasing cost of living, not just the government minimum. 

On sites where there are not existing teams in place, Kate comments: “Recruitment really varies from site to site. I look after twenty-one sites. On one of them we deliver over four hundred hours of cleaning a week and there are fourteen cleaners on site, many of which have been there for more than ten years. 

“We make sure that all our staff are fully vetted and trained in line with the recommendations set out by the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), and each operative goes through a thorough induction in which they learn about the company, our customers, and specific cleaning methodology.

“I also try to get to know a bit more about them personally, and their background,” Kate continues, “On their first shift I will often work alongside them, or they will shadow another cleaning operative, so that they’re not alone on their first day. We always make sure they have company on that first day as it’s horrible to be on your own in a strange environment.” 

3.     Supervision and culture

Kate explains more about how she manages her team once they are in place: “A few days after an operative starts, I’ll make a site visit and do a Service Level Agreement (SLA) inspection with them, measuring their work against the agreed KPIs, ensure everything is at the standard it needs to be, and offer further training based on that. It gives the team insight into what I’m looking for via the SLA and gives them the opportunity to ask for any specific training they might need.

“I tend to visit once a week to begin with, but once I know they’re happy and they know what they’re doing, I may reduce the frequency of my visits. We set up WhatsApp groups for all our sites, so the team know they can contact me any time. We have a nice relationship.

“I think because we’re not afraid to get stuck in and get our hands dirty, it makes us more approachable. Because the team know we’ll roll our sleeves up and get involved, it’s a very open culture and definitely helps to build the relationship we have with our cleaning teams.”

At AQS, we take immense pride in our staff, and its’s a fact that employees who are managed well will not only be happier and more fulfilled, but are likely to be more productive, and more motivated to find ways to continuously improve performance. As we say at AQS: “The strength of a good team is each individual member, the strength of each member is the team.”

AQS is part of The Tudor Group, a highly successful cleaning company, servicing clients all over the UK, working with national hotel chains, restaurants, educational institutions, and transport providers, to name a few. To see how we can help you, please contact 01443 217000 .