James Marston, Trainer and Inspector, British Institute of Cleaning Science, reports.
Workforce training has been completed. Management eagerly waits for the benefits of a stronger, better service to materialise. They are right to get excited after the investment by all concerned to assure the organisation going forward.
Changes in these times are coming thick and fast. Good examples are new chemical ranges, new contract arrangements or the need to change because the service is not hitting audit goals.
Staff and management need to keep up. If change is a constant, then the pathway to change must be embedded in operations and ready to go when the button is pressed. A dynamic workforce able to adapt to new practices in a ‘business as normal’ setting is a goal of any organisation.
Survivors of changing organisations will tell you that planning, execution, staff retention, morale, safety, training and resources are all vital components amongst others. Change resilience and success requires the bedrock of clarity. Company policy needs to change first. It needs to be signed off by senior management and communicated. Risk assessments, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), COSHH/SDS and any affected policies will ignite the change organisations seek.
Good SOPs are the culmination of policy, specification, risk assessment, training, and specific needs of the environment to be cleaned and maintained. The bedrock of knowledge and procedures for operators to work consistently and to the highest standard possible.
If produced in this way, SOPs become invaluable. They are living documents which can be amended, updated, and supportive of improving performance. Staff can feedback on their views, and formal amendments are made and communicated effectively. A catalyst and a key driver of productive change in organisations.
Management (supervisors) are front and centre in consolidating new operational change. Their support and enforcement are necessary to embed new methods of working – for example, shift changes, new products or machinery.
Their reporting process may need to ramp up a few levels to ensure decision-makers are abreast of new developments, keeping up with operational reality, identifying shortfalls, client feedback and suggestions from the frontline in real-time. Reporting can return to normal frequencies when the change is complete.
How do you know you have succeeded?
If it’s a chemical range, the checks and evidence could be straightforward to gather. For example:
- Successful delivery of stock
- Training completed
- Roll out confirmed
- Feedback from users highlighting the next steps to consolidation
A relatively straightforward example – evidence identified, gathered, and conclusions made.
A change in management style or a positive shift in workforce morale is not so easy to evidence. Evidence to indicate success is less obvious and maybe opinion based. Several indicators over time would confirm success. It is just as vital to commit the time and money to gathering evidence and conclude the change has happened.
In the cleaning sector (unlike many others) successful change often hinges on the cleaning operative. The person who often physically works the hardest and gets the job done delivering the service paid for. Forgive my words here. I will always fly the cleaning operative flag.
They are often at the receiving end of change. Staff views are important and the path to change can be very different for each member of staff.
Maybe greater emphasis in job descriptions, reporting and communications that change is never far away is a positive step. Preparing staff to embrace change and take part in its conception and mobilisation seems to work best. Some changes are not so positive and derive from outside forces affecting teams. Management that anticipates both the positive and negative effects and shares with their teams goes a long way to relaying people’s fear of what’s to come.
http://www.bics.org.uk
About the contributor
James Marston
Trainer and Inspector
BICSc