We started this series with a simple question: how can in-house custodial organizations at colleges and universities compete with the outsource option? We began by defining custodial benchmarking: using industry standards and best practices to improve your operations and become a better, more efficient cleaning department.

We talked about how you can benchmark against a peer group, engage your supplies and equipment vendor, and join a trade association. Today, we’ll add a final ingredient to that recipe for success: an independent custodial consultant.

An independent custodial consultant will have both in-house and outsourcing experience. Additionally, an independent cleaning consultant does not represent any equipment or supply manufacturer. This one is especially important – a consultant must remain objective if it wants to have any amount of credibility.

Next, an experienced consultant will have participated in many recent market-driven improvement efforts. Remember those trade associations that we suggested you join? A good cleaning consultant is not only a member of such organizations but an expert in the field and an arbiter of the newest techniques and best practices in the cleaning industry. An experienced consultant will go a step further: not only will they pass along the best information, but they’ll also put that information in context. It’s one thing to know, for example, about the newest technology for cleaning tile floors. It’s another to know how (or if) that information should affect how you clean your facilities.

Lastly, a good consultant will help you develop and implement improvement recommendations that work. The real value of a consultant is its ability to help you determine the right mix of information and how you can translate it into actual cost savings and improved performance. If you want to be competitive with the outsource option, you’ll need to benchmark the custodial program at your college or university in as many ways as possible. For many organizations, an independent custodial consultant pays for itself because of the value it brings to this process.

To find out more about how Core Management continues to lead the industry in custodial consulting, visit us here.