Commercial cleaning – Pandemic is a golden opportunity for commercial cleaning to shape

In this article by the owner of a US digital marketing agency specialising in the commercial cleaning and facility services sector, Jonathan Rockett shares findings of an international survey he conducted among close to 100 commercial cleaning companies. As Rockett watched the pandemic unfold into the world-changing event that nobody saw coming, he wanted to learn how it affected his clients and how best he could assist in helping them achieve continued growth to thrive in a post-pandemic world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected us. It has impacted the global economy and, honestly, our very psyche in ways we are still discovering. Many businesses have been devastated by the pandemic. In contrast, a few have thrived because of it. Still, others are experiencing a shake-up and a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to reinvent and redefine themselves.

Perhaps more than any other, the US$60 billion commercial cleaning industry is experiencing one of those shake-ups, and it is shining a new spotlight on cleaning’s role as a crucial piece of the infrastructure and backbone of the global economy. While commercial cleaning has certainly seen obstacles over the period of the pandemic, it has also been given a golden opportunity to shape its own future like never before in its history.

I’ve seen a few articles speculating on a coming boom in the commercial cleaning industry. Still, I wanted to go straight to the source, behind the lines, and hear first-hand from cleaning companies how COVID-19 is impacting them. I wanted to know more about their thoughts on the future of the industry.

I have to say, I was truly touched and impressed by the openness, enthusiasm and transparency of the cleaning professionals I spoke with, and the genuine attitude of teamwork, solidarity and adaptation within the industry. After going through this process, I’m prouder than ever to call myself part of the commercial cleaning community.

For this study, I surveyed close to 100 commercial cleaning companies, from over a dozen countries, across five continents. I conducted Zoom interviews with more than 20 of them, ranging in size from small mom-and-pop operations with fewer than five employees to large multinational companies and franchises operating in several countries. I learned a lot.

While commercial cleaning has certainly seen obstacles over the period of the pandemic, it has also been given a golden opportunity to shape its own future like never before in its history.

The impact

In March 2020, commercial cleaning crews found themselves thrust from their position as a silent service in the background into the dangerous role of front-line, essential workers – virtually overnight.

As Martin Nyokolodi, owner of Mbuti Solutions in South Africa, expressed over a spotty internet video connection,

We were like front-line workers. We were trying to save lives. But at the end of the day, we were also putting our own lives in danger.

Rocky Ramon, owner of Clean Advocate in Austin, Texas, told me about his similar experience, but with a positive spin.

COVID-19 really highlighted the front-line workers and the job we do. It went from keeping the building clean, to keeping people safe. And it also strengthened our relationships with our customers because we went through something tough together.

But with great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes not everyone is willing to answer the call of danger. I had a frank conversation with John Ezzo, CEO of New Image Building Services Inc. out of Detroit, Michigan. He shared how this situation impacted his own business.

We had this difficult labour situation, and we were having to pay more and more money to hire people, because the perception was ‘I’m taking a risk to do this work’. While everyone was afraid and told to stay home and work remotely, if possible, if you were an essential worker, you basically had no choice and were putting yourself at risk.

Ezzo elaborated,

What was once considered obtrusive to see cleaners during the day is now expected, which has presented additional labour recruitment challenges beyond the danger aspect. A client-facing daytime staff member who works alongside a client’s own staff is a much different recruitment than someone who comes in the dark of night and just empties the trash, vacuums, mops, and cleans the washrooms. Because of this, we’re facing the toughest labour-hiring situation I’ve ever seen in over 30 years.

While some cleaning companies were running up against hiring difficulties, others were experiencing the problems found on the other side of that coin. Michael Doherty, president of Building Maintenance Service (BMS) in New York, shared with me that BMS had over 3,000 employees at the end of 2019, but they had to let go almost 1,000 employees – roughly a third of their staff – early in the pandemic. Even for a US$40 million organisation that’s not likely going anywhere any time soon, that’s quite a staggering blow. It’s worth noting that by the time of our interview, about 60 percent of those BMS staff were back with the company.

As the lockdown brought businesses to a grinding halt, leaving buildings empty of customers and employees, many commercial cleaning companies also felt the brutal impact on their revenue. In my interview with Annie Ray, marketing coordinator at Buildingstars’ national headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, she said,

Our recurring cleaning services began declining because offices were closing. Clients were cancelling their services with us citing, ‘We don’t have people coming into the office, so there’s no reason to clean it.

This pandemic, of course, has also created casualties of the most permanent kind, driving some cleaning companies completely out of business. Joe Fairley, director of business development at Laser Facility Management, headquartered in Florida, said,

There was a giant shift in the commercial cleaning landscape about six to eight months into the pandemic. So many businesses in retail and other sectors were closing their doors, and many facility service companies were heavily leveraged with those clients who were going out of business, so then we saw facility service businesses start to fail too.

To read the survey results, visit www.africancleaningreview.co.za