Building service contractors in the US, just like their international counterparts, have to deal with and overcome language, cultural and legislative barriers. In light of globalization on all fronts, most business service contractors (BSC), including cleaning service providers, prefer offering their services to government offices in foreign countries.
Yet international competitors soon found out that language, demographics and economies are not the main issues when aiming to provide top-notch services. The real major problems are keeping costs manageable and in finding and retaining qualified employees.
Reasonable Labor Costs Amidst Global Inflation
South Africa for one has an unemployment rate of 37% and inflation rate of 12%. The demand for higher wages is a challenge as the value of workers’ salaries aren’t enough to pay for basic necessities. Moreover, labor unions are in the midst of negotiations, which makes keeping labor costs at manageable levels tough for contractors.
Finding and Retaining Good Employees
Unemployment is a condition in which there are individuals looking for entry level work but do not qualify for jobs that have high demands. The demand for cleaners for one is high but even if the work involved seems basic, not everyone who applies as a cleaner, turns out to be capable of carrying out competent and world-class cleaning jobs as a long term career. The keyword here is long term because BSC companies train employees at different levels before actually deploying them for overseas work.
In many countries like the US, landing a job as a cleaner is not held in high regard. An exception is in Germany because the country recognizes cleaning as a respectable occupation. The government requires BSCs to hire only highly competent and well-trained employees.
German technical schools offer vocational courses and Masteral classes in cleaning, which makes it easier for BSCs to find and keep good employees. In fact many of those who have achieved Master Cleaner titles have ventured into the business of providing domestic and foreign business contractual services.
Even as they meet the German government’s standards for cleaning contracts and occupations, most German BSCs provide 3 to 5 levels of training based on an employee’s educational background and experience. German employees who technically qualify but lack a formal educational backgroun in cleaning and maintenance, can still work toward achieving the equivalent of a degree; or take the option of formally attending related in-house training programs.
Promoting Strong Work Ethics
Seeking and establishing strong work ethics is also important as this is how the BSCs in Australian states and in Canadian provinces succeeded in making outsourced cleaning a prevalent industry. At first, savvy Australian BSC providers convinced building owners and facility managers to try out services for non-core functions. In a few years time, the outsourced cleaning services industry grew rapidly as even Brisbane homeowners found Brisbane house cleaning done right a beneficial lifestyle change.
