Talking Stick - May/June 2008 - 22

Facilities Make Your Custodial Staff Shine by Dave Sagaser Boosting your custodial staff will not only help you achieve clean buildings but can also give you high marks from students and parents. Cleaning standards should be reinforced at every step along the way in order to become a point of pride and accomplishment for each team. A successful selection process for new staff focuses on establishing the job expectations as much as on conﬁrming the information provided on the application. Attendance, team work, prescribed standards, and the opportunity for advancement are just as important as, and maybe even more important than, conﬁrming the applicant’s work history. This applies both to potential staff applying for their ﬁrst jobs and to those with a long work history. It is important to stress that during probation the employee will be asked to learn the department’s program and methodology, which may mean learning new techniques or adding new skills. The prospective employee should have a clear picture of what a successful team member represents. Additionally, letting new employees know they are on a career path in the custodial unit that will affect promotion and salary will go a long way in reducing turnover and in building morale. During probation, the employee should learn the skills necessary to meet the department’s standards of cleaning and customer service. Normally, these skills include ﬂoor care, the use of chemicals and of equipment, stripping and waxing procedures, and safety, just to name a few. The initial training program should include an orientation to the building Often overlooked, and understaffed, residential custodial operations provide a promising but often unrecognized opportunity for housing and residence life departments to make a good ﬁrst impression on prospective students and parents. Those initial images are important because they become lasting impressions for those students who become residents. Residence halls and apartments that look great on opening day – and throughout the year – don’t just happen by accident; they are the result of hundreds of hours of labor and resources. These positive effects can be enhanced when an organization has a missioncentered program that extends to maintenance and custodial service staff. The results are not just those related to the efforts of planning and supervision – they are also related to dedication, which is a dynamic ingredient that leads to superior results. How do we add dedication to the other building blocks necessary for a successful custodial program? If a program is set up to encourage motivation and dedication during the training program, it may be too late. High standards of performance and high expectations should be emphasized much earlier, during the hiring process, and they should be reinforced throughout the probation period. An effective training program is intentional and includes aspects of motivation and team building, rather than being just a process of marking skills on a checklist. First impressions are important, and the condition of the residence hall is a direct reﬂection on the supervisor and the housekeeping staff. 22 Talking Stick

Talking Stick - May/June 2008

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