Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo - (Page 8)

Frugal (continued from previous page) as housekeeping, landscaping, or security *Personnel issues: In most cases when one completely outsources a function, personnel actions and issues are taken care of by the company awarded the contract. Issues such as payroll, time keeping, labor relations, benefits, disciplinary actions, etc., are handled by the contractor and this alleviates the administrative burden on an organization. *Other benefits: In addition to items mentioned above, outsourcing could provide the benefits of better technologies and the availability of greater resources (i.e., the ability to call on a large pool of employees at a moment’s notice if the contractor is a large one or has access to large quantities of equipment). Too many people see outsourcing as an all or nothing option—either cleaning is performed completely in-house or it is contracted out to cleaning services. However, there are several other outsourcing options administrators can consider that are basically on a continuum from partial outsourcing to complete outsourcing: 1. Outsourcing of the management component of an operation while retaining all non-exempt employees. 2. Outsourcing of some functions of the operation while retaining the key core competencies. For example, the general cleaning function may be retained in-house, while functions such as carpet cleaning may be outsourced. This affords the cleaning manager the option to concentrate on enhanced performance in the area of general cleaning. 3. Outsource the entire operation, replacing management and non-exempt employees with a team of managers and cleaners from a contract cleaning company. 4. Other options may include hiring persons through an external job training program or through temporary staffing agencies either to complement the in-house staff during shortages, or when the job training program can actually provide employees to fill some existing openings. Some organizations have hired employees through special social services programs that seem to work very well. A clue to what type of strategies we should develop is indicated in a brief article titled “What Should You Ask a Prospective Facilities Services Provider?” before signing a cleaning contact. The article listed some “smart questions to ask before you sign” and was written by a vice president of business development for a large contract cleaner. The questions have been abridged below so that we can use them to evaluate an in-house operation versus the services provided by a contractor: *Is there a formalized benchmarking process to evaluate cost effectiveness and best practices? *What are the key performance indicators that are measured on a regular basis? *What are the current continuous quality initiatives? *How is the company taking the operation to the next level, to drive down costs and improve quality? *What Internet (or computer) tools does the vendor use to measure performance? *How is employee satisfaction? *How happy are customers? *How is customer satisfaction measured? These are critical questions that each one of us should ask of our operations and that we should be able to answer in a meaningful and measurable manner. We need to learn from the best in-house service providers, as well as the best contracted services providers, as we develop the best strategies for the provision of cleaning services for the future. A good place to start is to read the following resources about contract management: 1. “Contract Management or Self-Operation: A Decision-Making Guide for Higher Education.” Authors: Philip J. Goldstein, Daphne E. Kempner, and Sean C. Rush. This book is published by the Council of Higher Education Management Associations (CHEMA) and is available from the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA) at the following Web address: http://www.appa.org/ applications/publications/search. cfm. 2. “Contracting for Facilities Services” by various authors, published by APPA, at the APPA Web site listed above. 3. “Facility Management Outsourcing White Paper: Seven Steps to Success.” This is available from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) at www. ifma.org. It probably doesn’t matter which side of the coin you are on when you read this article, whether you prefer an in-house or an outsourced operation, you will probably find advantages that have been overlooked or liabilities that have not been discussed. The main purpose of this article has been to try to address both sides of the coin and to show that there are benefits and liabilities whether an organization has custodial services provided by an in-house operation or by an external outsourced operation. W © Copyright 2007 Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger. Alan Bigger is the Director of Building Services at the University of Notre Dame and the President-Elect of APPA. Linda Bigger is a freelance editor. E-mail them at frugalperson@comcast.net. Now through September 1, 2007: Refer a colleague to join I.E.H.A. and receive TWO MONTHS of membership FREE! 8 Executive Housekeeping Today/July 2007 http://www.appa.org/applications/publications/search.cfm http://www.appa.org/applications/publications/search.cfm http://www.appa.org/applications/publications/search.cfm http://www.ifma.org http://www.ifma.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo

Contents Executive Corner FTEs: A Fresh Approach to an Old Challenge Cleaning in the United Kingdom Frugal Housekeeper The Green Scene

Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo

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