National Distributer Cleaning Case Study

TCFM delivers a gold standard cleaning service to this well-known distributer

• Sector: Distribution
• Location: Nationwide
• Number of sites: 51
  
• Initially, this distributer was looking for a cleaning partner who could work collaboratively with them to improve cleaning across their UK portfolio, whilst engaging with the team.
  
• They required a provider who understood the dynamic complexities and compliance demand of a distribution business.
  
• At the time of takeover, quality had dropped across most of the sites, with issues in communication, no management support, underperformance and additional resourcing complications due to COVID.
  
  

Services we Deliver

• Warehouse cleaning.
• Head office cleaning.
• Window cleaning.
• Touch point cleaning.
• Waste management
• Ad hoc specialist cleaning
• Office cleaning.
• Deep cleaning.
• Satellite sites setup during peak
  

Challenges and Resolutions

• Phased Early Mobilisation
  
  • A decline in quality from the incumbent on five sites caused them to approach TCFM to begin mobilisation of these sites early.
    TCFM were able to facilitate this in a phased implementation from June 2020. They also acquired a greenfield site with no cleaning services at all, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Within one week, TCFM had completed site visit, recruited for the vacancy and fully mobilised the new site.
    
  • This swift action allowed us to ensure all problem sites we safeguarded before the official launch of the contract.
    
• Colleague Unease
  
  
  • Due to a series of shortcomings in the performance of the incumbent’s HR management, internal relationships within the team had stagnated and this was having a negative impact on performance.
    
    Through our official HR channels, we offered the team support such as mediation.
    
    We also saw the TUPE process as an opportunity to make a great first impression, addressing concerns and making them feel valued from day one.
    
  • These efforts helped nurture a highly engaged team, dedicated to working together to deliver service excellence.
    
    
• COVID
  
  
  • During the Covid-19 pandemic, their deliveries had increased significantly which meant our services were required just as much. Our cleaning colleagues were on site as key workers.
    This required us providing them with the correct letters in case they were stopped by authorities.
    We had to be mindful of Health and Safety associated with the pandemic, ensuring all colleagues wore masks and were correctly sanitising.
    
  • This resulted in us adding touch point cleaning to the specification and daily sign-offs.
    
    
• Recruiting the Right Colleagues
  
  
  • When TCFM took over the contract, there were a large number of vacancies in which our HR team successfully recruited the right colleagues for.
    
  • Our HR team created job adverts on various job boards and recruited locally through initiatives such as Remploy and Ingeus, utilising our recruitment platforms Eploy and Experian to complete the vetting process for all colleagues.
    
    

Goals and Outcomes

• Resolve Cleaning Issues
  
  
  • We achieved this by providing all colleagues including TUPEd colleagues with thorough training and retraining through iHasco. We have clearly communicated site-specific cleaning specifications and requirements along with what we expect and what they expect from our colleagues.
    
  • We also conducted trials at problematic sites, addressing neglected areas such as the carpets and introduced new equipment. specific to each site such as Tenant Scrubber dryers and pedestrian scrubbers, RotoWash, and RotosScrubs to improve efficiency.
    
• Improve Hours Delivery
  
  
  • In order to reduce the hours and reduce costs to the customer, we equipped our colleagues with the correct tools and instructions to ensure minimal waste of consumables and improve efficiency.
    
    We implemented Sisense which allows the customer full visibility on site performance, hours delivered, training progress, accident reports, and audit scores.
    
  • Through this, we were able to suggest improvements
    

Innovations and Added Value

• Specific Innovations
  
  
  • Adjustments: During the transformation phase, we decided to adjust the shift times to be more aligned with their business needs. This helped with productivity and minimised the impact of our cleaning teams disrupting business operations. We also adjusted the machinery on site so it was more suited to the tasks and desired results.
    
    Regional Management: Regional Managers were designated as the main point of contact for each site. They visited a minimum of monthly for audits and problem resolution. If there were issues on the site, the frequency would be increased to twice monthly visits.
    
    Investing in The Team: We chose to empower the site supervisor with additional responsibility, giving the team more support. In turn, we invested in this role and raised their pay rate to reflect their additional duties.
    
    Adhoc Work Carried Out: Since the beginning of the contract, TCFM has completed many additional services including:
    • Decontamination cleaning.Post-fire cleans.Oil spillage cleans.
      
      
    TCFM has added additional cleaning areas to the specification at no additional cost into their sites.
    
    This has provided added value by deep cleaning:
    • Water coolers.Fridges.Microwaves.
      
    Asbestos cleaning.
  • Confidential waste removal.
    
• TCFM Standard Innovation
  
  
  • Setting Expectations: Our team spent the first three months of the transformation stage setting expectations of standards. This was followed by training and additional measures as needed to manage quality.
    
    Producing a full audit trail with robust vetting and right to work checks that cannot be overridden to provide an additional layer of security.
    
    Improved reporting and accountability with joint sign offs and clear next steps.
    
    A geofenced application that ensures the correct colleague is in the correct place at the correct time.
    
    Improved reporting with clear lines of accountability for resolution and trend monitoring for proactive adjustments and corrective action.
    
    We implemented our Business Intelligence Portal for measuring and reporting performance.
    
  • This gives the customer total visibility of hours delivered, tasks completed, incidents, time and attendance, audit scores and health and safety, streamlined into a live management information dashboard.
    
    

Outcomes

• Contract Highlights
  
  
  • Immediately reset standards to raise audit scores.
    
    Provided consistent Senior Management visibility with Area Managers acting as the sole point of contact for resolving any escalated issues.
    
    Full training package delivered to all colleagues and set expectations.
    
  • Joint, unannounced mystery shopper audits completed by TCFM to ensure quality, compliance and standards.
    
• Audit Compliance
  

• Throughout the duration of the contract, we have improved performance and now continually score 100% on audit compliance with an average score of 97%