[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi
We are carrying out our commercial audits at the moment, just wondered if anyone did quality control checks with staff on domestic work aswell.

We did have an idea that we could put a names in a hat and pull out say 1 customer for each cleaner and visit them.

so each cleaner will get a visit but they wont know at which house each week.

Does this sound excessive?
Lisa

[Bertie Boo]

Hi Lisa

Do your staff understand you well enough to know why you are going to do this or will you be ruffling some feathers?

Are you considering this because you've had complaints from clients or because you feel its something that you should be doing?

Stephen

[Mrs Nicholls]

hi
im not trying to ruffle anything, we have had one or two complaints nothing major, and i have found staff doing things wrong, like wrong cloths etc wrong tasks, leaving early when tasks aren't finished or to a high enough standard.

my staff are aware that we check standards and timekeeping and customer satisfaction etc, and ive had to explain that the customer comes first and we are in an industry that has standards, if these are not met, then health and safety can be breached and also we will lose precious custom. They are fine, as they want to do a good job, and always ask if they are unsure of anything if if there is something that they do better or differently to acheive the best results.

I think that if customers are aware that we monitor everything that they will have more trust in our services. I do get alot of paraniod customers who are desperate for a cleaner but who are terrified of having strangers in the house, and trust is a massive issue. They seem to get comfort from the fact that they can always rely on us to monitor things, regularly check staff and standards and report back to them. Perhaps its jusdt the type of customer we get here, i dont know.

Just thought it might be good to keep in touch more with the cleaner like this and also the customer.

[*Chris Browne]

Lisa

It may be an idea to work with them, if they see the way you work and what methods you use regarding what cloths etc, then you are more likely to get good workers that will work with you rather than against you....


Chris

[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi chris

We work regularly with them, and are having reviews where we assess their practical skills and knowledge / theory.

But as soon as they are left on their own they revert back to the wrong practices, well i wouldnt say all, one or 2.

Even in one assessment, the cleaner used the wrong thing, we pointed her in the right direction and she then went against us and said oh it doesnt matter and just carried on!

We are collating her assessment scores and are holding her meeting next week, but we will be issuing her with a verbal warning for ignoring instructions.

It is probably a training thing anyway, but we do full induction and supervisor working with cleaner for a while before they are left on their own to clean.

I think they need some motivation to work more efficently and to enjoy the work more, and this will then yield better results. We probably havent been checking on them often enough and they have become complacent, and getting away with things.

Im not harsh, but i see it as doing it for their own good, and to ensure our customers receive the high standards of service that they would expect from us.

[Bertie Boo]

Lisa

When you are providing your staff with the resources to do the job correctly (i.e. colour coded cloths) and they consider that it 'doesn't matter' -so much so they say it to your face- then i can't see how a review or a verbal warning will make things change. If anything in my experience of working with (other peoples) staff that can sometimes make matters worse...you talk of interest and motivation, what motivation do they have at the moment and if they weren't working for you what would they be doing....i ask that as it will give you an indicator of how much (or little) the job means to them.

The problem is that when you get people who say 'oh it doesnt matter' they are generally in this mind set for good, it can mean 'it doesnt matter because i'm not arsed about this job and it doesn't pay well, and if they sack me so what'? type-thing. My concern for you is that you are trying to change someone who doesnt want to be changed....after all you say all your other staff seem to follow the procedue you've laid out. I think in principle your idea for reviews and what-not is geat, but there is also part of me that thinks you are going to taking a lot of your time to do this in order to try and salvage a lost cause.

On the subject of cloths, how are they cleaned after use? I ask this because -technically- if they are boiled after use then there is no real need to use seperate cloths for different areas, the problem comes when cloths cannot be washed at this temperature and are used repeatedly (or room-to-room) without being washed, this is why colour-coding is required...depends how you wash your cloths and where your cleaner is taking them after she's cleaned one area with that cloth.

On the subject of colour-coding, i have been told that the new NHS guidlines indicate that if cloths have been sterilised after use then there is no need to observe colour coding...i am waiting to get a weblink about this, or a document, i will keep you updated 

As always Lisa, best of luck 

Stephen

[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi

Individual staff are responsible for their own cloths, but i have advised them that they should wash them each day in the machine as reccommended by the manufacturers. They may clean 3 or 4 houses a day and so they are issued with enough cloths to accommodate this, i would feel sick if they used a cloth in one house and then reused it in another house!! talk of spreading he germs. also, what if a toilet cloth was accidently used in a kitchen? this is why cloths are colour coded and once used will be put into a dirty bag ready to be washed, and a clean cloth used at the next place.

This member of staff has just asked for 3 days off work because a cam belt made her fail her mot and its going to take £200 and 3 days to fix! and she has tried to get out of doing certain jobs recently. So i think at her assessment meeting, which i cant hold this week now, will have to be next week, we need to have some serious discussions about her committment to her job.

[Bertie Boo]

Lisa

If  a toilet cloth was used in a kitchen (or vice-versa - dont forget that taking kitchen germs into a bathroom is considered bad practice too) then there could obviously be serious problems. The point is though is that if a cloth is boil washed then it is sterile -the germs have all been killed and solid matter washed away- and technically can be used anywhere. The main point of colour coding is that cloths and mops etc that do not receive this attention are coloured so that they do not take germs from one place to another.

As a topic of interest, how do your staff feel about taking cloths home to wash them and how do you reimberse them for this?

Cheers 

Stephen

[Mrs Nicholls]

We did have a policy where all cloths were returned to me to launder but the staff decided they would rather have the responsibility for this themselves, not talking hundreds of cloths, perhaps 10 a week maybe. They are quite happy to do this, and have done without any question, and reimbursement. Should i reimburse? what would it cost to launder 10 cleaning cloths?

I think its good practice to get into the colour coding habit anyway, i take it you dont really use the system, forgive me if you do.

green cloths and mops always in the kitchen and red always in the toilet. i dont care if they are clean and their first use is in the wrong area, there has to be some structure and rules to follow, if i see a green cloth being used in a shower for example, i will hit the roof! 

[Mrs Nicholls]

i have just done a quick search, the NHS is carrying out national standards reorganisation to ensure every hospital will have the same colour coding system.

Red - Bathrooms, washrooms, showers, toilets, basins.

Blue - General areas including wards, departments, offices and basins in public areas

Green - Catering departments, ward kitchen areas and patient food service at ward level

Yellow - Isolation areas .

In our domestic work, we use red on toilets and sanitation, blue on baths basins and showers, green in the kitchen for surfaces etc and yellow is genera areas, such as woodwork, sills etc. we do microfibre cloths (used for buffing and drying) aswell where pink is polishing, green is dusting, blue is for buffing up bathroom surfaces excluding toilets and yellow is for buffing up mirrors, glass and chrome.

The system works very well for us, especially as we travel to many jobs each day / week. i do get paraniod about cross contamination so i think its best to be safe than sorry.

[Bertie Boo]

Hi Lisa

You are correct, i do not colour-code, except to say that if something comes in Blue then i MUST have it lol, all my stuff is blue, my mops, buckets, vacuum cleaners, car, shoes, even my hair is blue at the moment (i'll take a foto tommorrow, though i've shaved my beard off this morning so i still feel a bit naked).......but seriously, working on  my own i dont need to colour-code as i have a hundred weight of cloths that i use generously - probably about 20-30 per house, and the ones used in the kitchens and bathrooms are changed often and bagged immediatly after use....the only cloth i take about with me is the damp cloth i use for damp-dusting, plus the dry one i use on mirrors and glass.

You are right to insist on colour-coding where there is more than one person doing the cleaning. The cost of laundering the cloths is a tricky one, it depends on what temperature the cleaners are using - anything less than 60 degress is pretty pointless and even 60 isnt the best - a 95 degree is the only sure-fire way of getting the cloths sterile. I have a washing machine that is only used for washing my work cloths and mops. I run it on a 95 degree 'quick' cycle, which is all that is needed, there is no need for an extended wash time as all that would do is give the cloths a really good wash which is only neccesary for removing stains. That is not important in this instance, it is the fact that the cloths have been submerged for a time in (almost) boiling water, any stains on the cloths are neither here nor there.

So there is the cost of the electricity to heat the water, and then the laundry detergent (thats the most expensive part of any wash cycle, but you only need a small amount). At a rough guess about 20-30p per cycle....I am tying to recall the formula we used to work to when i worked in a showroom selling domestic appliances....anyway i won't be far off.

Cheers

Stephen

[Bertie Boo]

i have just done a quick search, the NHS is carrying out national standards reorganisation to ensure every hospital will have the same colour coding system.

Red - Bathrooms, washrooms, showers, toilets, basins.

Blue - General areas including wards, departments, offices and basins in public areas

Green - Catering departments, ward kitchen areas and patient food service at ward level

Yellow - Isolation areas .

In our domestic work, we use red on toilets and sanitation, blue on baths basins and showers, green in the kitchen for surfaces etc and yellow is genera areas, such as woodwork, sills etc. we do microfibre cloths (used for buffing and drying) aswell where pink is polishing, green is dusting, blue is for buffing up bathroom surfaces excluding toilets and yellow is for buffing up mirrors, glass and chrome.

The system works very well for us, especially as we travel to many jobs each day / week. i do get paraniod about cross contamination so i think its best to be safe than sorry.

Hi Lisa

there are some new NHS guidelines out now,  I can't tell you on here who told me, and in any event I have several NHS related contacts....one of them has said that they have seen new guidelines that suggest colour coding need not be applied to materials that are sterile, but i am waiting to find a weblink that says this.

Stephen