While National Custodian Appreciation Day is in October, valuing and honouring your cleaning teams should be practiced year-round. Often the unsung heroes in a building, custodians work all hours to make the building clean and safe for staff and occupants. Keeping your janitorial or cleaning staff supported and appreciated contributes to happier staff, increased productivity, and positive company culture.

Provide a positive work environment for your custodians by eliminating some of the frustrations that they experience on the job:

• Old or outdated equipment can make more work for your teams and result in less effective cleaning and sanitization.For example, cotton string mops are 80 per cent heavier than others when saturated, so switching out some of your tools can put less strain on your custodians.
• Invest in cleaning supplies and quality tools to help simplify cleaning and provide a better working environment.
• Labour shortages can leave custodians overworked and burnt out. Top tools, efficient practices, expert labour allocation, and flexible scheduling can help better distribute the workload and allow staff to complete tasks promptly.

Making your custodians feel supported and appreciated can be as simple as setting them up for success and thanking them for doing a great job. Consider these ideas to help your staff feel extra appreciated by your business:

• Provide thorough training so that they feel confident and comfortable completing their assigned tasks.
• Offer opportunities for improvement and professional development.
• Request feedback – and use it to implement change.Creating an environment where custodians can ask questions, provide feedback, and make suggestions lets them know that you care about how they feel and gives them a voice at your company.
• Recognize your custodial team’s hard work by letting them know they’re appreciated. Take steps like calling attention to employee efforts on social media, hosting an appreciation event, celebrating their milestones, and creating opportunities for them to learn and grow go a long way in boosting morale and fostering a sense of respect and inclusion within the organization.

Custodians work hard, so make it a priority to thank them for their efforts, encourage their success, and provide a safe and positive work environment.