What would a former President of the United States have to say to the cleaning and janitorial industry? That’s what we wondered when we found out that President George W. Bush was going to be at ISSA Show North America 2018. He and ISSA Director John Barrett hosted an informal “fireside chat” that covered a wide range of issues. It was fascinating to hear from these two on how leaders can improve. President Bush’s main Read more…
ISSA Show North America 2018 is wrapping up in Dallas today, and so far, we’ve had a blast meeting new people, saying ‘hi’ to our clients, and showing off our janitorial inspection software and app. If you’re at the show, please stop by! So far, it’s been a great show. It’s always amazing to meet so many people who are passionate about what they do. Did we meet already? Make sure to check out our Read more…
We work with all sorts of cleaning, janitorial, and maintenance teams here at OrangeQC. They range from small, family-run businesses where the boss makes the coffee to huge BSCs that employ hundreds of people to clean entire airports. There’s one crucial thing that every business we work with has to do: manage its employees well. That’s true whether your team has two people . . . or two thousand. It’s not the mop that matters; Read more…
Every janitorial team faces challenges — and the occasional crisis. It’s not a question of if, but when. Today, we’re looking at how to deal with three common problems that can send a cleaning business into full-out panic mode. The problem: A big client is unhappy and threatens to leave. That’s where Thats Clean found themselves back in 2012. You might have read owner Tony Witana’s story before: he thought everything was going smoothly, but Read more…
We’ve finalized our 2018 summer/fall conference schedule, and we’re so excited to meet new teams, connect with our clients, and learn from other industry insiders. Are you going to any of these trade shows? Add our booth to your favorites and be sure to stop by: APPA 2018 National Conference (August 3–5 in Washington, DC) at booth 615. Rocky Mountain APPA (RMA) 2018 (September 24–26 in Aurora, Colorado). ISSA Show North America 2018 (October 29–November Read more…
Do you want to know the absolute easiest, cheapest way to transform your janitorial business? Write better inspection forms. It might seem too good to be true, but a good janitorial inspection form can make the difference between getting great feedback about your team’s cleaning quality, knowing who needs more training, and fixing client issues before you lose business . . . or not. The truth is, how you write your inspection form makes a Read more…
Alan Slinkard is a Facilities Management project specialist at the University of Colorado Boulder. He’s also a former Microsoft and Apple employee who brings a tech-savvy edge to his work. He’s a part of a team that’s open to new ideas like translation earbuds for non-English-speaking staff. The Facilities Management group he’s a part of promotes ideas such as drones that fly up and check gutters for icicles or use infrared signals to find energy Read more…
Imagine you’re on the phone with a prospective employee, trying to find a good time for an interview. They throw out some dates, and you check to make sure you’re free. Once you pick a time, you jot it down — whether it’s on your calendar, your phone, or a notepad — before you even hang up. Why? Because if you didn’t, you’d forget. External reminders make sure things get done. The same is true Read more…
Janitorial quality control is always important, but the stakes are unusually high for hospitals and healthcare facilities. As Renee Kavanagh (Environmental Services Coordinator for Mary Rutan Hospital in Ohio) says, it all comes down to safety. “Working in a hospital environment, obviously we deal with infectious things,” she says. “Our key focus is to make sure our workplace is safe.” That’s not just for patients, but for the doctors, staff, visitors—and everyone else who walks Read more…
We have a rule here at OrangeQC. We never say “We don’t have time for that.” Instead, we force ourselves to admit the truth: “It’s not a priority.” This simple swap, popularized by a Wall Street Journal article, keeps us honest. In work (and life), a lot demands our attention. There are the daily tasks that keep the lights on and the business running. There are the calls, emails, and problems that pop up and Read more…
