College Planning & Management

MAR 2013

College Planning & Management is the information resource for professionals serving the college and university market. Covering facilities, security, technology and business.

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My Advice to You With education and experience on their sides, both managers have advice for other custodial managers trying to get the job done and satisfy customers. In terms of getting the job done, Wormwood suggests having a good sense of custodial staffi ng standards: "I'm a fi rm believer that using APPA custodial standards to design housekeeping assignments for maximum efficiency. If you don't have an assignment that is well designed and adhere to it, then housekeepers create their own work flow, and that doesn't always equate to doing a really good job." Wormwood also recommends investing in your staff by hiring capable, energetic people. "Often, these folks have not done housekeeping before, so training is important," he observes. "If we don't provide training, they'll clean the way they 52 know, and that's not always the best way in that it makes it difficult to provide excellent customer service." Gowe suggests always trying to go above and beyond. "It's hard to please everyone," he notes, "but never, never, never give up." Similarly, it's about dedication. "This is not a 7:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. job for management," he says. "It's a seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year job." In terms of satisfying customers, Wormwood advocates developing relationships with building managers. "We're depending on people telling us what to do," he says, "so we have to invest in our customers." He similarly stresses communication. "If customer service recovery is required," he says, "we need to communicate quickly and effectively." That includes taking responsibility for the service and placing the responsibility on COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / MARCH 2013 TYPHOONSKI / DREAMSTIME.COM CUSTODIAL STANDARDS: FROM BETTER TO BEST the front-line staff. Gowe indicates that your staff is your best defense for satisfying customers. "The most important advice I can share is that you win with people," he says. "You can have all the greatest plans and equipment but, if you don't have the people, you're not going to get the job done." Spoken like a winner — an award winner, that is. CPM WWW.PLANNING 4EDUCATION.COM

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