# Employee turnover, critical product features

How do you track your restroom cleaning throughout the day?   
  
Most end users will agree that the restroom is a high-maintenance area.   
  
And, most end users feel that they are often understaffed to do an adequate job of keeping these areas in pristine condition and without of any malodor.   
  
Recap  
Last month, we addressed trends and common complaint areas identified by our readers.   
  
We presented their feedback on such questions as: What is your main purchasing source for restroom cleaning products? How many employees are responsible for cleaning your facility’s restrooms? Which parts of the restroom do you find hardest to clean?  
  
The results we received from last month’s survey showed that our readers are well-prepared for restroom maintenance and receive valuable information from various JanSan resources.   
  
If you missed last month’s article, you can read it at www.cmmonline.com.   
  
Customer retention and product needs  
This month, we wanted to find out what challenges our readers face when retaining employees as well as what product features are most important during procurement.   
  
We asked the following questions:  


  * Do you regularly experience a high turnover rate with your restroom cleaning staff? 
  * Which challenges negatively impact your ability to retain members of your restroom cleaning staff? 
  * What is your level of agreement with this statement: “I wish I had simpler, more effective products to clean our restrooms.” 
  * How important is it to you that restroom cleaning products are: Easy to use; brands you know and trust; reliable; and approved by the cleaning staff? 

Employee turnover and retention  
Regardless of the facility, end users have traditionally hesitated to deep-clean restrooms.   
  
Traditional mopping and “hands-and-knees” work were not conducive for morale or health.   
  
However, with today’s popular systems and effective products, restroom care doesn’t have to be such a laborious, unhealthy chore.  
  
Still, we wanted to know if our readers are experiencing ongoing turnover with the restroom cleaning staff.   
  


  
  
Although the majority of respondents indicated that high turnover was not a concern, several did identify challenges to retaining good employees.   


  
  
Other responses  
Twenty-seven percent of respondents indicated “other” challenges affected their ability to retain these employees.   
  
Here are some of the other challenges they indicated:   


  * Size of work/area schedule. 
  * Largely student workforce so they move more. 
  * Enforcement of cleaning standards. 
  * Boredom with routine duties; respect. 
  * Most employees look at it as a temporary job. 
  * Image cleaning or restrooms. 

Important product features   
Effective products and adequate training are vital to your cleaning staff.   
  
We wanted to know more about what features our readers look for in a product.   
  
We also wanted to know how satisfied respondents were with the products they are currently using.   
  
Below are the results to both inquiries.   
  


  
  
  
  
Although many respondents agreed with needing simpler, more effective products to clean restrooms, the majority feel that having reliable products is “extremely important.”   
  
Several conclusions can be drawn from these findings.   
  
Our readers understand that effective products are mandatory for maintaining restrooms, but, from the responses, many indicate they do not have such products.   
  
Even in an area as critical as restrooms, challenges, such as budget constraints or lack of market education, to purchasing the right products exist.  
  
Next month, we will highlight several more responses from readers, including the public’s restroom habits and how they impact cleaning.