Love your cleaners, but not the cleaning company?

Posted by admin, January 24, 2018

If you run a business with premises, you’ve almost certainly asked yourself, why is nothing ever simple.

Take your cleaning contractors: there’s nothing wrong with the people on the ground – they’re honest, trustworthy, conscientious. If only their management were half as reliable!

What you need is the HR equivalent of changing your mobile phone provider while keeping your existing number – in other words, to terminate your relationship with your contractor but hang on to your current cleaning staff.

The good news is you can do this. In fact, it’s a principle enshrined in employment law and it’s called TUPE – Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment).  It’s applied whenever an organisation takes over staff from another company as part of a transfer of responsibilities.

As a provider that is regularly engaged to replace a less efficient competitor, and that attaches great importance to the quality of front-line staff, we have devised a set of protocols to simplify the TUPE procedure so that employer and employee alike gain the maximum benefit from the system. The client is relieved of the time-consuming details of managing the changeover, while cleaning staff are treated with the proper respect and consideration.

“Our last cleaning company promised the world but consistently failed to deliver. Staff who were great at first began to lose their motivation. When Glenn contacted us, we were dubious.  We needed a better supplier, but we wanted to retain most of the existing workforce.

“Glenn assured us that staff development and management were their guiding principles. They handled everything, from establishing employment status to meetings with the cleaners, keeping them involved throughout. We’ve retained 100% of the original cleaners. Most have learned the skills to go into supervisory roles.

Glenn have invested time developing and motivating the people, ensuring that our team here delivers an outstanding job…”

Our way

Having confirmed that TUPE rules apply to the changes in question, we approach the incumbent provider for details of their staff – dates of employment, personal records, holidays taken, etc.  And we go out of our way to reassure those staff members at what is always an unsettling time that their positions are secure and that they are valued.

We note any labour disputes, on-going disciplinary or grievance procedures, and manage them accordingly. All without directly involving you, our client. It is important for everyone involved to recognise that this is not simply a change in uniform, but a significant shift in values and attitudes that will positively affect the entire business.

We then consult with the staff, reassuring them that their jobs are secure.

We then take over their management, putting any struggling staff members through our performance improvement programme where appropriate.

The result

We provide a seamless transition between ourselves and the outgoing contractor, handling all of the ‘behind the scenes’ work to ensure that you enjoy a full and efficient service at your site.

Moreover, you will retain the expertise of good cleaners who will go on to receive the world-class training and development for which Glenn is renowned. And because they will retain their length-of-service benefits, they will remain motivated and committed.

So you get to keep proven, trusted people without having to spend valuable management time tying up all the loose ends. Everyone, as they say, is a winner.

“When I heard about the benefits of working for Glenn, I really wanted to stay at the site and work for them instead of my old employer. But I knew that it can be a big deal, making that kind of switch. Glenn sorted it out in no time, though, and I couldn’t be happier.”

• Maria Coulson, Specialist Medical Cleaner

If you are considering changing your cleaning company, but love your cleaners, then please get in touch today to see how we can transfer across your valuable assets.