The KBS team is always looking for ways to modernize our facility cleaning service programs, and our Outcome-Based Cleaning Program is a perfect example. By shifting clients from a traditional hours-based program to an outcome-based approach, we can yield better performance for their cleaning scope of work at a lower cost. And with 91% of KBS’ retail cleaning clients adopting this approach, the results have been proven repeatedly.
What is an Outcome-Based Cleaning Approach?
The name says it all. It is a contract scenario in which clients pay for realizing their expectations of cleanliness. Whether it takes six hours or eight hours, the client cost is the same. In short, budgets are tied to specific results – not time. It is an alternative to the hours-based cleaning contract that most facility maintenance companies offer. In the traditional approach to facility services, staff members are limited to working within a set number of hours – and depending on environmental conditions that are often out of their control – client expectations of cleanliness are sometimes not met within that allotted time frame. Further, workers will frequently spend every single minute of those hours cleaning – even after scope has been met – because they are required in the budget. The result is that the team can end up cleaning what is already clean.
Being able to achieve desired results more efficiently is especially critical today. While the facility services sector has been dealing with an ongoing labor shortage since before COVID-19, the pandemic – and an 18-month-long need for heightened sanitation due to COVID cleaning regulations – has indeed added another layer of complexity and strain on staffing resources.
If your business is struggling to meet its cleaning scope of work within budget, or are looking for ways to bring more efficiency and cost-savings to your brand’s cleaning program, there are many reasons an Outcome-Based Cleaning Program is worth considering, including:
- Consistently achieving optimal cleaning standards – By shifting a client’s focus from counting hours to achieving results, KBS can more closely align with them on what is acceptable at shift’s end, as well as better resource to the client’s unique environmental and operational needs. This approach also enables KBS cleaning staff to adapt to meet the requirements of individual locations, enabling a more granular approach to cleaning. Further, we are better equipped to support seasonal schedule adjustments, e.g., increased store traffic due to busy holiday promotions. The net result is deeper partnerships because we are aligned on the results.
- Lowering costs by eliminating unnecessary cleaning and wasted time – By aligning outcome and investment, an outcome-based program can also mitigate the continuous increase in labor costs associated with commercial facility services. Focusing on the results enables KBS to develop the most efficient and effective team to deliver for a specific space. Hours are not wasted on unnecessary tasks and the frontline teams can be flexed according to the various space profiles. In addition, there is only one performance-based bill per month, and no need to document or review staff hours. All of this saves time, streamlining operations and lessening administrative work on both the client and vendor sides.
- Allowing staff to adapt to real cleaning needs versus anticipated cleaning needs – By targeting what is important for the brand, KBS can develop cleaning efficiencies that save clients both time and money. We start by defining clear standards that drive continuous improvement through inspections and audits, and then establish expectations around what is the responsibility of KBS employees and what is the responsibility of client staff. This ensures standards are met throughout the day by client staff even after KBS staffers have finished their shifts.
How an Outcome-Based Process Works
KBS’ well-defined, outcome-based approach is straightforward, and is designed to deliver results that reinforce a partner’s brand image. It also better enables KBS to solve problems upstream and deploy rapid, intelligent facility service solutions to mitigate escalations.
Here is how it works:
- Define spaces to be cleaned: Specifying spaces to be cleaned and understanding the unique needs of those spaces is a critical first step in creating client-partner alignment for the scope or work.
- Establish standards of clean: Gaining insight into what a client considers to be an acceptable and fair level of clean better enables us to educate KBS staff around brand expectations.
- Determine cleaning frequency: Understanding each space and the standard of clean for that area allows us to create a cleaning cadence that will better achieve desired outcome.
- Supply client with program documentation: KBS provides clients with a Brand Standard Guide that includes photographs to illustrate the details and expectations of the outcome-based program.
- Change management plan: Our team reviews the brand guide with leadership to ensure everyone is on the same page. We then discuss a change program that moves a site to an outcome-based program and communicates program details to site management.
- Develop training program for KBS staff: We review the standards, processes, and guide with on-site staff, so they are clear on what needs to get done. We also ensure store leadership is looped in so they know what outcome is expected and stay focused on results, not hours worked.
Building stronger partnerships through innovation
KBS is always looking for fresh facility service solutions and approaches that deliver results, build trust, and maintain long-term partnerships with clients. Our Outcome-Based Cleaning Program accomplishes that goal. With it, our clients maximize their overall cleaning budget, reduce administrative time, and achieve the highest brand standards of cleanliness possible.
Interested in learning more about KBS’s professional cleaning services, from parking lot maintenance to facility hygiene? Contact us today!
