Nationwide Retail Cleaning Case Study

This supermarket is one of the world’s largest multinational retailers. Founded in 1919, It has grown from a small market stall in London to a global retail powerhouse, operating in multiple countries across Europe and Asia. It is a diversified retail company that offers a wide range of products and services, including groceries, clothing, electronics, financial services, and more.

• TCFM worked alongside this supermarket and assisted it with several of its strategies from 1962 – 2017, including a focus on customer satisfaction, innovation in product offerings and services, operational efficiency, and sustainable business practices.
  

Services we Deliver

• Sector: Retail
• Number of sites: 177 sites nationwide
• Warehouse Cleaning
• External Cleaning
• Home Delivery Van Cleaning
• Graffiti and Gum Removal
• Emergency Response
• Periodic Cleaning
• Deep Cleaning
• High Level Cleaning
• Facia Cleaning
• Catering
• Window Cleaning
• Diamond Floor Polishing
• Sparkle Cleans
• Strip and Seal
• Security
  

Total Customer Experience

• Clean as you go
  
  
  • TCFM also worked alongside this supermarket to implement and develop clean as you go in their stores.
    
    We worked alongside Instore Managers to define what the colleagues in store and the contracted cleaning colleagues were responsible for.
    
    The primary focus of clean as you go was to reduce the possibility of slips, trips and falls from spillages.
    
  • We trained the in-store colleagues to react to and deal with spillages as they occurred quickly.
    
    
• Express Focus
  
  
  • Due to the Express Stores’ opening hours, we split the four hour cleans across two shifts, between 5 am and 9 am, then 3 pm to 5 pm.
    
    However, the credibility and cleanliness of each Express were based on the working relationship with the Local Management Team.
    
    As part of the face-to-face weekly management visits and audit inspections, the following weekly cleaning hours were agreed upon subject to the individual store requirements. For example, if a delivery was planned for 4 pm-6 pm, we wouldn’t clean during our usual hours of 3 pm to 5 pm but would instead complete the cleaning after the delivery that day.
    
    Another example of how we flexed our cleaning times to ensure we maintained the highest cleaning standards for this supermarket was based on the geographic location of an Express.
    
    For example, in a city centre, the requirement was to usually clean between 2 pm and 4 pm after peak lunchtime trading hours.
    
    However, for stores based in more remote locations or near schools, we usually cleaned them between 5 pm and 7 pm after the flow of school pupils has decreased.
    
  • We also completed periodic cleans on a 4 week cycle at the express stores, including additional areas of cleans such as, signage, pillars on sale floor, deep clean entrance mats and customer toilet walls.
    

Resolve Cleaning Issues:

• We implemented our comprehensive training program through iHasco for new and transferred colleagues. We clearly defined expectations for colleagues
  
• Geographical Spread
  
  • Due to the size and nature of the contract, we had to flexibly adjust our resources to meet demand and ensure minimal disruption to their business operations and customer experience.
    
• Covid – 19
  
  
  • Crowd control, cross contamination, and personal hygiene became a priority more than ever before during the pandemic.
    This supermarket increased the demand for extra cleans and we subsequently adjusted our operations.
    
  • During a 3 month period at the height of Covid-19 we successfully delivered at short notice:
    
    
    • 6,200 additional weekly housekeeping hours.
    • More frequent cleaning of high-footfall areas in every store.
    • Increased deep contamination cleans for delivery vans.
    • Implemented 24 hour sanitation cleans in high touchpoint areas.
      
• Store Development
  
  
  • TCFM colleagues were required to work around builders and the dirt from such projects while maintaining the professionalism and standards that this supermarket expects.
    
  • TCFM was also deeply involved in getting the stores ready for the re-launch after the developments, providing builders’ cleans, sparkle cleans and diamond floor polishing.
    
• Obstacles to Cleaning
  
  
  • All petrol station forecourts had electrical equipment, such as lighting and CCTV, which must be avoided while cleaning.
    
  • TCFM developed covers which could easily be temporarily installed and removed to protect the obstacles from any water or chemical damage during the cleaning process.
    

Output Specification

• Our cleaning solution was based on an output specification and fixed cost model.
  
• This allowed us to provide greater support, especially during seasonal demands, as we had the autonomy to move hours within and across stores within the core hours.
  
• We worked alongside this supermarket to develop their Blue Sky specification, a specification still in use today.
  

Consistent Reviews

• TCFM held weekly conference calls with this supermarket, monthly customer review meetings, and monthly meetings with the dedicated procurement manager.
  

Restructuring

• During the restructuring of their cleaning contract, over 1,800 colleagues were transferred to TCFM, which presented our operational and HR teams with a huge task.
  
• We did not assume vetting had been completed, found ghost and illegal colleagues, and began recruiting colleagues to ensure gaps were filled from day one.
  
• During this, we conducted our colleagues’ consultations and checked details such as clothing sizes to ensure that colleagues had a smart appearance from day one.
  

Partnership Approach to Support Their Projects and Growth

• We collaborated with their development teams to plan and schedule their big projects.
  
• These include refits and refreshes, diamond floor polishing and new store openings.
  
• Our collaboration allowed stores and depots to remain open through these activities.
  
• Based on the strength of our delivery in this regard, they invited us to collaborate on two of their most high-profile projects.
  
• We provided cleaning services to their Bakery Hub: the first site of its kind which services smaller Central London Stores.
  
• We also provided 24/7 resourcing to their sites within the Nightingale Hospitals, providing critical cleaning services to these high-risk areas at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
  

Our Implemented Innovation

• Crimson Tide Mobile App
  
  • Job scheduling, alerting and reporting app – Crimson Tide improves the efficiency of colleagues working and captures data for this supermarket while offering the company an immediate return on investment.
    
• Trialling new methods of working
  
  
  • Examples of our innovations include trialling new cleaning methods to support the customer experience at their sites better.
    
    This includes a variety of motorised and handheld machines, as well as collaborative robot trials.
    
    We worked closely with our suppliers to discover best-fit and best-value innovation for the tasks demanded.
    
    TCFM also used innovation to digitise back-office processes with new app-based systems and a centralised support office.
    
  • This saw improvements in communication, data-led proactive continuous improvement, productivity, efficiency, and eliminating paper waste.
    
• WorkBooks
  
  
  • Group-wide issue resolution and escalation process as part of our quality management system.
    
  • This process utilised our Workbooks CRM system to record, notify and monitor the workflow of any issues raised.
    
• Auditing Systems
  
  
  • This supermarket changed its auditing systems suppliers twice in three years.
    
    TCFM worked with them each time to design data flows and ensure this was captured and relayed to the relevant stakeholders in the best format.
    
  • TCFM implemented the Winaim audit platform for all performance reporting across the portfolio.
    

Continuous Improvement

• TCFM worked alongside this supermarket to develop new specifications to meet their changing requirements.
  
• These new specifications drove value improvements and improved standards across the portfolio.
  

Enhancing Customer Experience

• The strength of our partnership meant that we were more than just a service provider to them. We were their first port of call when they sought support in new innovations.
  
• We were committed to constantly improving our service delivery, reviewing specifications and designing future specifications to support their commitment to enhancing the customer journey in their stores.
  
• Examples of our innovations included trialling new methods of cleaning to support the customer experience at their sites better.
  
• Furthermore, when they changed auditing systems (Health Checks) suppliers twice in three years, we worked with them to design how data from these platforms would be captured and relayed to relevant stakeholders.
  

Audit Process

• There was a supermarket-led audit process at all sites:
  
• The cleaning audit was completed weekly and measured the cleaning standards delivered in store based on the 82 point specification checklist.
  
• It was completed in partnership with the Compliance Manager (or designated champion) and the In Store Cleaning Manager, who walked each area of the audit together.
  
• The in-store cleaning teams’ mobile device was used to complete the cleaning audit, and upon completion, a copy was sent to the store manager.
  
• Each area of the cleaning specification was visited during the audit and was scored met or not met.
  
• The 82-point specification check list included:
  
  
  • Chemical usage.
    
    Uniform checks.
    
    All site locations quality checklist.
    
  • COSHH health and safety checks.
    

• Contractual KPIs TCFM had to deliver 90% compliance in all areas.