Orig Post Protecting Public Health | Re-Post System4 6/1/2016
Facility managers have a wide array of responsibilities, from maintaining the buildings and grounds for an organization to overseeing the upkeep of equipment and supplies, managing cleaning schedules, coordinating repairs, and overseeing renovation projects. They also must balance budgets, negotiate with outside vendors, and oversee maintenance workers and custodial staff. On top of all of these responsibilities, high-profile outbreaks of Escherichia coli (E. coli), norovirus, and even measles have underscored the fact that facility managers and the custodial professionals they oversee also play a critical role in protecting public health and a facility’s reputation.
What’s at Stake?
Maintaining a visibly clean environment is important for influencing public perceptions because cleanliness is a top concern for customers—to the point where a negative experience can have a serious impact on a business’s reputation and bottom line.
Surveys suggest this holds true across many different industries. For example, 55 percent of young employees would consider quitting their jobs and taking less pay to work in a cleaner, more comfortable environment, according to a survey from commercial cleaning franchise OpenWorks. Additionally, a survey of restaurant patrons from market research firm Mintel revealed almost all of them—96 percent of those surveyed—ranked cleanliness as the most important component of a visit-worthy atmosphere, and 76 percent said they would be deterred from returning if the table or setting was unclean.