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Embracing the future of cleaning: the hybrid working model

9th of October 2024 Article by Wesley Smith

The traditional 9-5 has changed enormously since the pandemic and many organisations are moving towards hybrid working, offering their employees the flexibility of combining remote and office working. The Office for National Statistics in the UK states most people who took up homeworking because of the pandemic plan to both work from home and in the workplace in the future.

And according to Forbes, as of August 2024 30 per cent of people in the UK were working in a hybrid model. So how are companies managing their workspaces efficiently, and what impact is this having on the cleaning industry?

Wesley Smith, sales and marketing director at services provider The Clean Space, looks at how commercial cleaning companies are adapting their service offerings to accommodate the new hybrid working model, and how they're using technology to ensure they can meet their clients evolving requirements.

One of the biggest challenges for commercial cleaners in the corporate world is the hybrid working model. To survive and thrive in our industry we must adapt our service offerings to accommodate a hybrid structure, including fluctuating occupancy levels and all of the associated requirements that go hand in hand with this.

At The Clean Space we offer our clients flexible cleaning schedules that accommodate their hybrid working patterns. This includes adjusting the frequency or timing of cleaning visits based on when employees are in the office. We've also developed customised cleaning plans that focus on high-traffic areas and shared spaces, especially on days when more employees are expected in the office.

We maintain open communication with office managers and on-site teams to co-ordinate cleaning schedules effectively and most importantly we remain adaptable to changes in office occupancy and hybrid work arrangements, adjusting our services as needed.

With employees working on different days or different times, keeping premises thoroughly clean and safe is critical for our clients to help reduce sickness and boost the productivity and wellbeing of their employees.

A data led approach

By embracing technology and a data led approach to cleaning, commercial cleaners can use technology to help with the demands of ‘hybrid cleaning patterns', to make more informed decisions about scheduling, monitoring cleaning tasks and communicating updates with clients and cleaning operatives.

Technology platforms can provide valuable insights that help to structure resource models and allow organisations to make operational decisions based on real time data. They can also provide contract performance metrics and reports which are great for providing clients with service transparency.

Our clients expect detailed information about cleaning processes, products used and the frequency of cleaning. This transparency helps to build trust, ensuring they're confident in the cleanliness and safety of their premises.

Digital infrastructure

To help deliver a comprehensive cleaning solution that accommodates hybrid working patterns we've partnered with PEGO, which has allowed us to digitise our contracts and operations. The platform has streamlined our operations allowing us to set customisable cleaning tasks on a dashboard for each contract with real-time task lists delivered to cleaning operatives and full visibility for building managers.

At the beginning of 2024 we trialled the PEGO platform at our client L&Q's head office in Stratford, London and its Cray House site in Sidcup. Not only did the technology platform deliver a 20 per cent productivity saving for L&Q, it also demonstrated how we could use proof of service to give our customers added confidence that our contract terms are spot on in terms of resourcing and allocated hours.

As a result of the PEGO trial the on-site team at the head office identified several areas of the building that weren't being used on certain days - such as boardrooms and closed-off offices - due to hybrid working. "This meant we could redeploy our cleaning operatives to high traffic areas such as receptions and washrooms," explained Simeon Preddie who is responsible for the daily management of the contract. "We also switched some working hours from night to day shifts to ensure L&Q was getting the most efficient service for their specific requirements."

Not only does data led technology have benefits for our clients, but we've also been able to address multiple sources of inefficiency in some of our existing cleaning practices such as wasted management hours assigning tasks to operatives, and manually auditing our service delivery. It's clear that although initial investments in technology platforms may seem substantial, they often translate into serious long-term cost and efficiency savings.

By focusing on flexibility, communication and adapting services to fit the changing needs of hybrid work environments, commercial cleaners can absolutely support businesses in this new working model. And by embracing technology platforms and a data led approach to cleaning, they can gather operational data that will allow better resourcing for contracts, thus reducing costs in the long term and delivering a model that will help to assist clients with a hybrid working structure.