Managing a multi-site cleaning contract can be a complex challenge. Coordinating cleaning services, schedules, and resources across tens, hundreds, or even thousands of locations demands effective management.
Despite being part of the same organisational structure, sites can differ greatly in usage, geography, and facilities. To maintain consistent, high-quality standards across each site, a robust, effective management structure is essential.
At Samsic, we specialise in managing multi-site cleaning contracts for diverse facilities including offices, retail stores, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and industrial sites, and many more. We recognise that successful management comes from seamless coordination, clear communication, and efficient logistics. Our approach ensures tailored cleaning and sanitation solutions for every site, addressing their unique needs whilst ensuring consistent service quality.
In this guide, we offer expert insights to help you navigate the complexities of multi-site cleaning contracts, empowering you to structure and manage your operations effectively. We will be using our Samsic cleaning methodologies as best-practice examples to help inspire and encourage your own operations.
Understanding the Scope
Achieving success in a multi-site cleaning contract requires a profound understanding of both the client’s requirements and the unique characteristics of each location. At Samsic, we construct bespoke implementation plans by leveraging insights gained from comprehensive site surveys and consultations with client management and staff. This understanding of the scope of the broader geographical landscape and each site’s characteristics is essential, and can be achieved by utilising:
Site Surveys
Conducting thorough site surveys, either individually or as part of a project management team, is essential to identify specifications, challenges, and risks at each location. Whether dealing with manufacturing facilities, retail spaces, or offices, each site can present different cleanliness requirements and compliance requirements. By visiting each site and understanding the requirements of each, actions to improve standards and ensure ongoing maintenance and management can be arranged. Recruitment can be arranged if required, as can additional management support, and the development of equipment or the cleaning inventory. Additionally, site surveys also serve as an introduction to client staff and existing cleaning operatives, promoting proactive relationships in the multi-site cleaning contract from the outset.
Implementation Meetings
Instrumental in planning key dates and milestones, implementation meetings ensure the effective mobilisation of a multi-site cleaning contract and cleaning services overall. Cleaning management teams facilitate implementation meetings to ensure that progress is aligned with the requirements of the client, with agreements following the meeting to be distributed and communicated to all key stakeholders. Should progress be insufficient for the client, implementation meetings enable fluid communication and issue resolution. Alongside being used to implement new services and cleaning providers, implementation meetings can also be tailored to accommodate new processes or contractual adjustments within existing cleaning teams.
Mobilisation Planning
At Samsic, we develop bespoke mobilisation plans for all new clients. This comprehensive plan details the rollout of our services, including the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) process for existing cleaning staff, any necessary training required, and the implementation of new processes. These plans can be customised by site or region, ensuring progress and alignment with client expectations across the entire estate of sites within the multi-site cleaning contract, while keeping management informed.
Audits
Performing comprehensive site audits is best practice for analysing cleaning operations on an ongoing basis. Audits help to gauge adherence to agreed standards, pinpoint service gaps, identify training needs, assess equipment sufficiency, and ensure client satisfaction. These audits inform the mobilisation plan, guiding individual actions and project managers to optimise ongoing workload management, whilst measuring each site within the multi-site cleaning contract using key performance metrics.
As the scope of the contract and site management establishes, it’s essential to establish performance metrics and goals to validate the success of the mobilisation process and uphold ongoing cleanliness standards across all sites.
Building an Effective Team
The success of a multi-site cleaning contract relies on the strength and effectiveness of the team, regardless of the estate’s size. At Samsic, we utilise the expertise of our mobilisation team to facilitate our client’s transition to us as their new cleaning provider. Following initial mobilisation, our operations team, comprising management and our Cleaning Operatives, is trained to deliver service excellence to our clients.
The Mobilisation Team
For large-scale clients with multiple sites, we provide a specialist implementation team to support the transition process. This team includes:
- A National Account Lead: To oversee the strategic alignment of all cleaning services per client objectives, and to act as the main communicator between the needs of the client and Samsic.
- An Innovations Lead: Spearheading the introduction of new operational innovations to streamline processes during the implementation phase and beyond.
- HR Support Team: To manage staffing requirements, including the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) process.
- SHEQ Support Team: Ensuring compliance with safety, health, environmental, and quality standards throughout the entire multi-site cleaning contract.
- IT Support Team: Handling technology integration and data management solutions, ensuring a seamless transfer of reporting software such as our ECAT system into existing systems.
- Finance and Payroll Support Team: Managing financial aspects and ensuring timely payroll processing for all staff.
- Regional Area Managers: Acting as liaisons between client representatives, cleaning operatives, and management teams at each site and within each geographical area. Providing proactive support to all teams within the multi-site cleaning contract.
This diverse team structure facilitates seamless coordination, effective communication, and an efficient mobilisation process for clients with multiple sites, ensuring client satisfaction and operational excellence.
Operational and Management Teams
The ongoing operational effectiveness of any multi-site cleaning contract relies heavily on the strength of the team of Cleaning Operatives in place. At Samsic, we support our people with a robust management structure that works to partner with our people. We encourage their satisfaction with work, their ongoing career progression, a positive work-life balance, and their long-term retention within our business.
Recruitment and Team Alignment
To ensure our clients receive service excellence and that our internal teams are working in cohesion with one another, we have established a rigorous recruitment process that aims to build teams that match our organisational values. Samsic’s recruitment process provides a positive and supportive experience for the applicant, whilst ensuring their compatibility within the existing team, promoting cohesion and minimising disruptions in daily operations. We want to provide our clients with an innovative, honest, and thoughtful service that inspires engagement between all parties, and we cannot do this without a unified team that mirrors our values.
Staff Incentives and the Living Wage
To further support our people, we offer a host of staff incentives to support their financial and mental health and are an accredited living wage employer. Samsic employees have access to exclusive discounts from High Street brands, grocery chains, and offers on activity days and experiences.
Each month our management team awards exemplary team members with certificates and vouchers, the value of which is based on the standard of the nomination against a pre-set criterion. The purpose of these awards is to honour team members who consistently portray our company values in their daily work.
Continuous Development
With an established team, we look to ensure team retention and growth. As an organisation, we provide ample professional development opportunities for all our people, including for those within multi-site cleaning contracts, such as in-house training through our BICSc-accredited Professional Skills Suite Academy which has received awards for excellence in training and assessment. We offer certified apprenticeship courses to our internal teams, virtual reality training, and provide access to hundreds of free online courses through our Learning Management System (LMS) which covers everything from basic skills training to personal support courses, with over 58 learning categories to choose from.
Career Progression
We prioritise the professional development and progression of our people throughout their careers, offering clear pathways for advancement to support their careers. Many individuals, like Katrina Sanna, have risen through the ranks within Samsic, with Katrina having transitioned from a role in Health and Safety to becoming the key account manager of a major client. Supervisors and regional managers often develop internally, taking advantage of our support to help them progress within the organisation.
Unified Support Structure
The success of a multi-site cleaning contract is dependent on establishing a comprehensive team structure with management and operational support at both site-specific and regional levels as needed. This ensures consistent service quality across the entire contract and promotes communication and collaboration across all sites. A national lead may also be appointed to facilitate communication and convey developments to the client, ensuring alignment and transparency throughout the contract period.
Ensuring Consistency in Multi-Site Cleaning Contract Service Delivery
Many organisations with numerous sites encounter challenges with inconsistent service standards. Discrepancies can arise from variations in cleaning teams, levels of management support, and access to basic equipment, making it difficult to maintain uniform high standards across all locations. At Samsic we endeavour to support our multi-site cleaning contract clients by ensuring each client site receives consistent, high-quality service, regardless of differences in cleaning specifications and geographical factors.
Establishing quality control measures
To empower our teams, ensure high-quality standards for our clients, and push the boundaries of continuous improvement, Samsic utilises technology to establish and monitor quality control. With technology, we can also maximise the results and hard work of our people.
ECAT
Our digital quality auditing tool, ECAT, provides our clients and managers with a 24/7 accessible platform of real-time audit data. Audits are conducted on each site on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or even ad-hoc basis as required, and our teams load data into ECAT directly, with photographic imagery to support findings. Samsic management and clients can then access the user-friendly dashboard to view performance, use the data to modify processes to encourage continuous development, and communicate with one another to help solve any discrepancies. ECAT results are also reviewed as part of implementation meetings, helping to show developments within each site and communicate progress of the complete multi-site cleaning contract to clients.
Samsic Sensor Technology
Our sensor technology monitors how our multi-site cleaning contract client sites are being used by their employees and visitors, allowing for smart pro-active cleaning based on use, trends, and patterns. By utilising sensors, we can ensure areas such as washrooms are cleaned as required and eliminate the unnecessary cleaning of areas that have not been used. Sensor technology increases on-site efficiency and quality, drives sustainability as all resources are directed where needed, and reduces costs. All data is shared with the client and can be accessed through a web browser, building confidence and trust between cleaning operatives and management.
Time and Attendance (T&A)
Our bespoke T&A application ensures accountability across our people and comprehensive reporting. The app is used to accurately track our people’s hours and attendance, enabling us to analyse how best we can maximise efficiency within our client’s sites through process amendments. Our T&A systems are integrated with payroll, eliminate ‘buddy punching’, ensure site compliance, and eliminate the need for paper timesheets across the multi-site cleaning contract.
Conducting Regular Site Inspections and Audits
Regular inspections and audits, and measuring results against KPIs and performance metrics, help to show development and progress against the mobilisation plan and show areas of success and improvements required within the multi-site cleaning contract. Utilising auditing software can help to monitor quality standards and showcase patterns and trends within the contract, and can help to implement changes at site, regional, or even national level.
Soliciting feedback from the client themselves however can be instrumental in building a complete picture of a multi-site cleaning contract’s success. If the client, or the employees of the client, have positive feedback of the cleaning operations then this can help to strengthen the service based on their feedback. Negative feedback can help to give a clearer view of any changes which may need to be implemented.
Managing Client Relationships
Establishing long-term partnerships and enhancing your industry credibility and reputation depends on cultivating a strong connection with clients. This involves understanding their needs, addressing concerns promptly, and consistently delivering exceptional service. By building trust, a cohesive working partnership can form, enabling collaboration to elevate service standards and enhance the overall site experience.
Understanding client expectations and preferences
Understanding the scope and nurturing client trust is critical in managing client relationships within multi-site cleaning contracts. Regular meetings and audits, and building a close rapport with the client, are instrumental in ensuring that clients expectations and their needs are being understood and met as the contract evolves.
For instance, Samsic began working with Virgin Atlantic to oversee cleaning operations across 11 retail locations and their airport facilities, including their VIP Clubhouse. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that adjustments to their multi-site cleaning contract were required, such as restructuring staffing to deploy minimal cleaning operatives for essential areas only. Samsic adapted to accommodate these changes. Post-pandemic, Samsic adapted again, understanding that the client’s expectations had evolved, with new requirements for Samsic to resolve recruitment issues and restore estate cleanliness to standard levels. As client demands often fluctuate in tandem with their business, a cleaning provider must demonstrate flexibility in adapting to evolving requirements.
Providing customised solutions for each site
Once client preferences and expectations are understood, its essential to adopt an open approach to meeting their requirements. Tailored solutions are necessary to accommodate each client’s unique preferences.
An illustrative example of this approach is in Samsic’s collaboration with SharkNinja. Initially engaged to provide cleaning services for their London headquarters, Samsic expanded its scope to include security services as SharkNinja’s needs evolved. This included manned guarding to deter potential security threats and extend a welcoming presence to office visitors. Over time, this service grew to include concierge services to maximise the visitor and employee experience. The concierge service involves meeting and greeting visitors, managing appointments, handling mail duties, reception duties, and acting as a representative of the SharkNinja brand. With each emerging challenge or service requirement, Samsic has tailored our offerings to ensure SharkNinja’s evolving needs are met.
Resolving issues promptly and effectively
Conducting regular audits and hosting regular meetings with clients is vital when building trust and delivering a consistently excellent service. However, it’s equally important to swiftly address any issues and anticipate potential on-site difficulties, which can be particularly challenging across a large multi-site cleaning contract.
Our work with Jewson, sees us manage the cleaning requirements of an extensive network of 600 retail locations. To maintain consistently high standards and drive continual improvement, Samsic employs the ECAT auditing system to manage standards effectively. Regular discussions with Jewson’s senior management ensure that projects are closely monitored, communication with the client remains open, and results are meticulously tracked. This process is constant with issues being logged and resolved on an instantaneous and ongoing basis.
In addition to proactive monitoring, Samsic has implemented responsive measures to support Jewson. A mobile cleaning team and area management cleaning systems are in place to provide immediate backup for on-site emergencies. This setup also allows for employee holidays and sickness absence coverage, maximising operational efficiency by ensuring cleaning operatives focus their efforts where they are most needed, with additional work being covered by the mobile team as required.
Samsic Can Support Your Multi-Site Cleaning Contract
Managing a multi-site cleaning contract requires needing to navigate various challenges, from coordinating services across diverse locations to ensuring consistent standards of excellence. Samsic, as experts within the cleaning industry, specialise in overseeing complex, large estates, working with organisations such as Jewson, HP, Virgin Atlantic, and Coty. Through tailored solutions and innovative methodologies, we deliver exceptional service quality across all our client sites, driven by the belief that “you’re only as good as your weakest site”.
Our commitment to promptly resolving issues, understanding client expectations, and providing customised solutions emphasises our dedication to excellence. That’s why we’re committed to supporting organisations and industry leaders in enhancing their own multi-site cleaning contract sites, offering our expertise and guidance for their benefit. Let us help you elevate your cleaning operations to new heights.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your business.
FAQs
What are the main challenges in managing multi-site cleaning contracts?
Managing multi-site cleaning contracts involves coordinating services, schedules, and resources across numerous locations, perhaps even thousands of locations, each with unique characteristics, potential issues, and requirements. Ensuring consistent service quality across all sites can be a significant challenge.
How can organisations effectively understand the scope of multi-site cleaning contracts?
Effective understanding of the scope involves conducting thorough site surveys, holding implementation meetings, and performing regular audits to ensure plans and actions are aligned with the client’s expectations and address site-specific needs.
What strategies can be employed to build an effective team for multi-site cleaning contracts?
Building an effective team during the mobilisation phase involves utilising a diverse dedicated mobilisation team, incorporating support specialists such as a National Account Lead, Innovations Lead, HR support, SHEQ support, IT support, finance and payroll support, and Regional Area Managers, to facilitate seamless coordination and efficient mobilisation.
On an ongoing operational basis, a rigorous recruitment system, which hires candidates based on how their values match that of the organisation, and incorporating initiatives to support employee development and retention, ensures that valuable teams have longevity within the contract.
How can consistency in service delivery across multi-site cleaning contracts be ensured?
Consistency can be ensured by utilising effective management and technology such as digital quality auditing tools, sensor technology for smart pro-active cleaning, Time and Attendance (T&A) systems for team accountability, and comprehensive reporting to maintain high-quality service delivery across all sites.
What are effective strategies for managing client relationships within multi-site cleaning contracts?
Effective client relationship management involves prioritising the understanding of client expectations, providing customised solutions for each site based on this understanding, and resolving issues promptly and effectively through regular communication, audits, and operational responsiveness.
Can businesses receive support for cleaning across their multi-site operations?
Yes, Samsic specialises in managing complex multi-site cleaning contracts and offers tailored solutions, expertise, and guidance to help businesses elevate their cleaning operations. Contact Samsic today to learn more about how they can assist your business.
