Nederlands
Deutsch"Digitalisation as a catalyst for growth"
From fear to innovation in the cleaning industry
Blog“In recent weeks, I have been looking forward to a new cleaning project for which I have become responsible as project manager. Now, a few weeks later, I have realized that an enormous amount of time is spent on various activities that hinder the progress of our project and do not contribute to quality. There’s a lot of administration, unclear communication, too many errors on the work floor, declining job satisfaction, and a lack of overview in activities. So I am mainly occupied with various peripheral issues and putting out fires, while the client simply wants quality cleaning!”
Does this sound familiar? In my conversations with cleaning companies, I hear many stories like this. Yet, the fear of digitalisation is significant. From entrepreneurs who have taken these steps, I often hear, “We should have done this much sooner.”
Fear of change
The fear of change may be the biggest barrier to altering your working methods. Cleaning professionals are accustomed to working in a certain way. They have been using Excel sheets, logbooks, or other outdated technologies for years. It works well enough; they have developed their own methods to make it work and find it daunting to let go of that approach. “It works just fine for us,” or “We’re still growing,” are common responses to my questions about why they don’t want to take the steps to digitalise.
However, this fear and doubt can be costly in the future. While your company may currently be growing, this could turn into decline if you’re not careful. The demands in cleaning are increasing, with more clients requiring periodic reports, quality checks, and digital support in tenders. Moreover, digitalisation can significantly reduce your administrative tasks, leading to more productive hours on the floor and higher margins.
Is digitalisation the holy grail?
To what extent digitalisation will help your business in the future largely depends on your expectations and your willingness to make concessions. Working digitally often means adopting a new way of working and accepting that you can’t always do things the way you’re used to. So, while digitalisation is incredibly powerful and valuable, it isn’t necessarily the ultimate solution to every problem or the answer to every question. It’s merely one tool in the toolbox of progress and innovation.
So, why bother?
Digitalisation is sometimes a choice and sometimes a necessity, depending on various factors. These factors include how quickly your industry is demanding digitalisation, how much visibility you currently have over all processes, whether the quality is in order, and your competitive position. However, many cleaning companies are already experiencing the numerous advantages that come with taking further digitalisation steps! Let’s look at some of the benefits a project manager, for example, experiences:
- Efficiency improvements: Project managers can save time in planning, assigning tasks, and tracking the progress of cleaning projects.
Improved Communication: Project managers can communicate more easily with their team members, clients, and suppliers, making communication more efficient and transparent. - Greater engagement with employees: The cleaning industry often employs staff who are not proficient in the Dutch language. A digital environment allows them to communicate in their native language, reducing errors, saving time, and increasing engagement in the workplace.
- Better planning and resource management: With digital tools, project managers can better plan projects, allocate resources, and optimise the use of materials and personnel, leading to cost savings and improved project efficiency.
- Real-time tracking and reporting: Digitalisation enables real-time data collection on cleaning activities, giving project managers quick insight into project progress and allowing them to proactively address any issues. They can also generate accurate reports for clients and stakeholders.
- Improved customer satisfaction: Digitalisation allows project managers to better meet the needs and expectations of clients through faster response times, better communication, and transparency about project progress and quality control.
- Scalability: Digital systems can make it easier for cleaning companies to scale their operations and attract new clients, as they can more efficiently manage and coordinate multiple projects.
In summary, digitalisation offers cleaning companies the opportunity to improve their operational processes, strengthen communication, increase efficiency, and enhance customer service, ultimately leading to a competitive advantage and business growth.
Are you ready to change and want to be inspired by how this can work for your company? Leviy, with its years of experience, is an expert in cleaning, holiday parks, and healthcare. We would love to inspire you!
Written by
Jeroen Wijninga
Seeing is believing