Managing a facility is a tough and sometimes thankless job. There are so many tasks to juggle on a daily basis, and emergencies that need your urgent attention often come up out of the blue. It’s your job to ensure that your building runs like a well-oiled machine, no matter what. One of the best indications that you’re doing a good job is when your tenant and guests do not have any complaints. One of the areas that may receive complaints is the washroom.
What do employees say?
- Research has shown that Washroom complaints are one of the top 3 received in the facility. … it is clearly one of the most challenging spaces to get right.
- Up to 65% of employees say “the condition of the washroom is a reflection of how much my company cares”.
- Up to 55% of office workers say they “sometimes go to the washroom for a break from work” because 73% of workers feel they are expected to be ‘always on’ which increases stress levels.
- 20% of office workers are frustrated with the washroom, but very few ever complain. So even though you may not be receiving official complaints from your tenants, you can be sure they aren’t all satisfied with the state of your washrooms.
Identifying key challenge areas in the washroom
Most Facility Managers are surprised to learn that the bathroom is more important to tenants and guests than they realised and recognising the importance is a great first step. The next step is figuring out the specific challenge areas that you need to solve in order to place your building’s standards above the rest.
Here are a few we see reasonably often as we partner with customers:
- Meeting tenant expectations
Office workers visit the washroom 3 to 5 times per day, which provides ample opportunities to make an impression1. Unfortunately, if the washroom is not well maintained, the impression may not be a good one – and can impact the overall impression of the building quality.
“The washroom can make or break an account. It tells a story about how the whole building is run. A bad washroom suggests there are other cracks in the facility management to be uncovered” BOMA focus group FM
2. Time management
Because of time constraints and the sheer volume of tasks that have to be completed on a daily basis, Facility Managers may often be focused on immediate problems rather than long-term strategy, making solutions reactive, not proactive2.
3. Getting results while keeping within budget
The costs of
contract cleaning labour, consumables and the hidden cost of complaints
continue to rise while the budgets remain the same or even decrease. Failure to
understand your tenant’s dissatisfaction and action on their complaints run the
risk of you losing current and future tenants in your building. You have to
find a viable solution for your washroom issues that don’t break your buildings
budget.
Tackling these issues can seem like a daunting task, but don’t worry. Help is close.
Optimal hygiene and efficiency is now available in a black! Elevate your washroom appearance with a stylish, sleek black design. Find out more about Kimberly-Clark Professional® range of black Aquarius® dispensers.
References
Source 1. Challenger Omnibus Global Key Findings, Slide 3.
Source 2. KCP Washroom Needs Assessment, October 2013, slide 8
Source 3. http://www.cleanlink.com/sm/article/Bad-Smells-Leave-Bad-Impressions–17646
Source 4. Kimberly-Clark Professional* Challenger Omnibus Survey – US. April, 2014
