Housekeeping
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is important for both your in house residents and your potential visiting residents. Residents and guests often associate cleanliness with quality of service and even quality of health care.
Housekeeping is different because the work of the department is very task oriented, but the interaction with the resident is often very social. The best approach to improve this department is to develop the very best methods, cleaning schedules and staff training to ensure quality is maintained in a consistent, yet friendly and flexible manner.
Case Study #21
Rob is the Environmental Services Manager of a 120 unit Retirement Community with a 50 unit Assisted Living wing on the second floor.
Using the program, Rob's challenge was to reduce the labor hours in his department and increase the service provided to a group of residents with very high expectations.
After recording all of the procedures, time requirements, supplies and equipment used by each of his 7 housekeepers, Rob saw a pattern. The pattern was that in three weeks he did not see the same thing twice. Each housekeeper had her favorite chemicals, her favorite short cuts, her choice of supplies and even vacuum cleaners. He also observed that some days housekeepers had a very good route, with assignments located one after another. But on other days, housekeepers could spend up to 25% of their time travelling from one assignment to the next.
There had to be a better way, a best way. Rob worked with the housekeepers to design one best approach for the various types of cleaning they offered - Daily and Weekly Cleaning services on the Assisted Living Unit, Weekly Cleaning in the Retirement Suites, Suite Turnover Cleaning, Guest Suite Cleaning and Vacant Suite Cleaning. Daily cleaning routes were also revised to reduce the amount of time a housekeeper had to travel each day.
The chemical company was able to offer good advice to reduce the total number of cleaners from 9 to 4 per housekeeping cart.
Training went on for 3 weeks. Rob understood that it would take a long time to convince long service housekeepers that there was 'one best way'. He also understood that helping the staff leave their old habits behind and practice a new method would be very intimidating and would require a lot of patience and constant follow up.
After four weeks, Rob's area was operating with 3 fewer housekeepers. The remaining housekeepers were able to accomplish all of the requirements of the residents not by working faster or harder, but by employing the best way to clean a room and by reducing the amount of travel time.
If you would like to speak to the Executive Director of this community call us, or send us your request.