Cleaning and Support Services “A fair deal – for the employee and the contractor” Client/Contractor/Employee relationships and their links with investment in the industry Martyn Vesey - CSSA

The Cleaning Industry Cleaning – The last thing that’s thought of and the first thing that’s noticed!

The Cleaning Industry Agenda The Cleaning Industry Cleaning Contract Structure Industry Investment Some ways to “win-win”

The Cleaning Industry Presentation Purpose To outline the current situation regarding employment in the cleaning industry To propose some possible solutions that help both the contractor and the employee

The Cleaning Industry The Cleaning Industry… Size Turnover People Trends Issues Challenges

The Cleaning Industry Size 800,000 employees on hundreds of thousands of sites SIC 74.7 accounts for 45% of the UK cleaning workforce (private sector only)

The Cleaning Industry Turnover Currently estimated at £8bn - Private sector market - £3.8bn (45%) - Public sector market – 55% (est) 8200 companies (£? to £400m) Bundled services

The Cleaning Industry Turnover… UK Private Cleaning Sector by Turnover Value £m % change

The Cleaning Industry People 400,000 in the private sector 400,000 in the public sector (est) Private sector:- Average hours/week – 15 67% female employees 67% part time 35% paid at NMWage

The Cleaning Industry People… Benefits to part time work But full time work has increased from 15% to 33% over last 10 years This trend will continue

The Cleaning Industry Trends Proliferation of larger companies Diversification of services Slow Increase in full timers Slow Increase in male employees Increase in legislation

The Cleaning Industry Difficulty recruiting staff Difficulty retaining staff High staff turnover High recruitment and induction costs Low productivity as a result Poor industry image Issues

The Cleaning Industry Staff turnover - 100% plus Staff retention % Most companies report a labour shortage or difficulty in recruiting

The Cleaning Industry the work can be unpleasant wages are not competitive too many part-time hours unsocial hours (atypical hours) employees work on clients’ premises Challenges

The Cleaning Industry Easier work elsewhere at the same pay rate or better and longer hours Recruitment is a full-time task Sometimes induction and basic training only Challenges…

The Cleaning Industry Other sectors’ labour shortages have higher profile Too much emphasis on price Not helped by…

The Cleaning Industry The Congestion Charge! Thousands of cleaners affected Approx 75% changing their shifts or changing their minds about their job And now….

The Cleaning Industry But remember….. Many staff prefer part-time Some staff prefer “atypical” hours Job satisfaction

The Cleaning Industry There is evidence that… More full time staff….. higher retention Longer hours/week…. higher retention More males……………. higher retention More full-time males.. higher retention Higher retention = higher productivity = better staff morale

The Cleaning Industry Contract Structure Direct Labour Costs- 75% of Sales

The Cleaning industry Contract Structure… Average gross profit – 5%

The Cleaning Industry Investment Cleaning is seen as an expense, not a marketing tool or staff benefit (co standard) Client believes that he knows all about cleaning Too many contracts price-driven - remote purchasing managers

The Cleaning Industry WFBSC Young Executive Award: “Comparison of Global Investment in Cleaning and Support Services” Investment…

The Cleaning Industry We need to break the mould of entrenched thinking It is possible………

The Cleaning Industry

M&S and DEBENHAMS DAYTIME CLEANING EXPERIMENT Employee Sample Oct 2000Oct 2002 Part Time72% Full Time28% Total100%

The Cleaning Industry M&S and DEBENHAMS DAYTIME CLEANING EXPERIMENT Employee Sample Oct 2000Oct 2002 AllDaytime Cleaning Part Time72%60.5%31.5% Full Time28%39.5%68.5% Total100%

The Cleaning Industry Agrees to a better specification Accepts more full-time cleaning (more cleaning during working hours) or Accepts a more flexible approach to cleaning – to help towards a living wage! Possible solutions Client:

The Cleaning Industry Refuses poorly structured contracts Promotes the industry’s professionalism and best practice Possible solutions Contractor:

The Cleaning Industry CSSA/EFCI/ Uni-Europa Social Dialogue – Frame of Reference to promote better working practices Concentrating on daytime working Promotion of full time employment Improving the image of the industry

The Cleaning Industry We can all help by… Getting to know our cleaning team Defending them against our own work colleagues Promoting the industry

The Cleaning industry We can all help by giving our cleaning teams the respect they deserve

The Cleaning Industry Thank you for listening Martyn Vesey CSSA