The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way we work and live. The cleaning industry has also undergone a complete change with expectations and needs shifting. Coronavirus still seriously impacts how all reputable cleaning companies do their business. Everything is different now, from service design to staffing, and businesses must adjust to stay relevant. Here are five major ways the pandemic has affected the cleaning sector and why you should be aware of them.
1. New Responsibilities
Cleaning has undergone significant modification in the post-covid era. Sanitisation and disinfection have replaced simple dusting and vacuuming. According to the HSE, organisations and employers have a fundamental responsibility to protect their employees, clients, and customers and the cleaners are expected to make sure that this is done.
They must use new equipment, methods, and technology in addition to their expanded roles. For instance, deep cleaning and disinfection are no longer considered speciality services but rather are now a part of the regularly-performed tasks.
2. A Hit on the Labour Market
The “serious” staff shortages in the cleaning sector are made worse by COVID-19. The pandemic struck just as staffing issues brought on by Brexit started to arise. As a result, there is an increasing lack of personnel to fill the vacant positions.
Laid-off staff members occasionally took up alternate jobs. Some have changed careers because of better pay or more flexible work arrangements in other industries.
Even organizations with adequate employment levels are struggling, and high COVID-19 absence rates are a typical worry.
Cleaning companies are unable to count on a supply of labour. Instead, they need to manage their existing personnel more skillfully. Some new tactics include providing more work benefits, including a pay rise and ensuring that the most capable people can climb up the company ladder.
3. Need for New Services
Cleaning businesses must diversify to remain successful. The epidemic demonstrated that the ones that were quickest to react were the most profitable.
Generally speaking, diversification entails providing customers with a wider range of services or longer work hours.
Cleaning companies that work with retail clients have felt the need to diversify the most. They frequently migrated to new clients in different industries to lessen the impact of the forced shut down of stores, entertainment venues, and commercial buildings during the pandemic.
There is always a solution to a problem, and forward-thinking office cleaning providers have already developed cutting-edge techniques and offerings. For instance, antiviral fogging is gradually becoming one of the most popular new approaches. It uses a BS EN 14476-compliant antiviral disinfectant solution to sanitise vast spaces and remove germs, viruses, and other dangerous biological agents. Because of how effective the treatment is, even hospitals now use it.
4. Home Office Replacing the Traditional Workplace
The requirement to start working from home was among the most significant changes that the Covid-19 pandemic brought to office workers.
It also forced business owners to ask themselves: “Why should companies spend thousands of dollars renting and maintaining massive corporate premises if people can work from home and produce at the same levels?”
So now, multiple businesses choose to let their employees work from home and maintain only a few office desks open. Unfortunately, this hit hard on cleaning companies that had to reduce the number of bookings and commercial contracts. As a result, all across the industry, we can see a decline in the need for office cleaning services and an increase in the domestic ones.
5. Evolution of the Cleaning Services
The attention has shifted both at home and in the workplace.
Up to 2020, office administrators and staff members wanted a tidy workplace. But in the post-Covid era, the standard “touch-points” like door knobs, light switches, and shared office supplies (printers, scanners, etc.) are the primary concern. The single working station is no longer the main focus; instead, the staff and conference rooms, restrooms, and communal areas are the main areas of attention. If vacuuming and dusting were the mainstays of the previous workplace cleaning regime, disinfection and pinpoint cleaning are become the new standard.
The situation is not much different at home. Nowadays, people don’t just want a tidy house – they want to feel safe in it. That is why new disinfectants and solvents have been introduced, as domestic cleaning involves more sanitising and less tidying up.
The cleaning industry has never been the same since COVID-19, which established a new standard for products and services. Cleaning companies must be aware of these issues and respond to continue being effective and lucrative. Their service package has to be updated to meet the new requirements of clients.
Delivering excellent services to consumers is the cornerstone of a successful cleaning company, despite the fact that the scenario and circumstances may have altered.
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