Faces of the Frontline

TODAY'S JANITORIAL WORKFORCE is more diverse than ever before, especially since the recession hit in 2008, with layoffs in all fields flooding the employment pool with qualified applicants willing to take any available job. Suddenly, the cleaning industry — which has historically had major turnover problems — found itself in a good position to retain and attract employees.

The public perception of janitors may not have changed much in the last few decades, but thanks to innovations in the industry such as greener cleaning formulas, ergonomically designed machines and tools, and scientific evidence that cleaning supports the health of building occupants, janitors know they play an integral role in public health. They take pride in the work they do, and are usually able to smile in the face of the stigma they're still trying to shake.

Many janitorial workers enjoy and value their jobs, even though it's almost universally true that they didn't initially plan on entering the field, but took a good job opportunity when it came to them. They have a personal passion for providing cleanliness and service, enjoy work that keeps them moving and challenged and like interacting with people while still being able to work independently.

"We've always had a real variety of folks working for us, from husband-and-wife teams to job supplement, where someone is working part-time in the evening because they're saving up to buy a home or something like that," says Janelle Bruland, president of Management Services Northwest in Ferndale, Wash. "We have college students in school during the day who want a part-time evening job, to the full-time career janitor."

Most BSC executives probably don't have the time to get to know their workers on a personal level; sometimes, the closest they can get is through employee profiles on the company website or in newsletters. As the janitors and managers profiled here demonstrate, there are some truly dedicated, passionate and professional frontline workers in the field — and their stories should inspire others to take joy and pride in what they do.

Jorge Gallego, 50 Operations Manager Magic Touch Cleaning Lee's Summit, Mo.

THE DIVERSE JANITORIAL WORKFORCE includes workers who do not speak English as a first language, many of them immigrants. For most regions of the country, the most prevalent non-English language is Spanish, so having bi-lingual supervisors and managers is very important to BSCs. Gary Walker, owner of Magic Touch Cleaning in Lee's Summit, Mo., found what he considers to be a gem of an employee from an Hispanic recruiting agency; Jorge Gallego was hired as night supervisor and within a few years, has worked his way up to manager of operations.

Gallego is a native of Colombia, where he had earned a degree in business administration and owned his own corporate bakery before he fled to the United States in the face of threats from guerillas who were trying to extort money.

"My first job in this country was only changing trash in a hotel," Gallego says. "My life changed 100 percent, because in Colombia I had my own company, my own business, my own dreams."

He then got a job working as a carpenter, and over the course of about four years, was promoted to project leader after the company president recognized his passion for organization. It was his leadership and organizational skills that so impressed Walker.

"Always in my life, I love to be very efficient. My dream, everyday, is to get 100 percent efficient and zero percent waste," Gallego says.

Another passion for Gallego is for the environment, and he is happy to work at a green-focused company like Magic Touch, which has led the way among BSCs in its dedication to green cleaning. Coming from a poor country where people cannot afford to waste as much, he is dedicated to helping Americans conserve resources and waste less.

John Schilling, 62 Janitor/Utility Associate Team MJV Lafayette, Ind.

AS THE BABY BOOM GENERATION enters retirement age, more and more older workers will be seeking part-time work. John Schilling, janitor for Team MJV in Lafayette, Ind., dislikes the term "retiree" and calls himself "semi-retired." He took his janitorial job when one of two tenants in the medical office building he owned moved out.

"It didn't hurt me particularly but I needed the extra income so I started to look for a job," he says. "I really didn't want a full-time job because I needed to spend some time at the office building during the week, and no one would hire me. It was really kind of funny."

Schilling is an example of the type of applicant that BSCs might consider overqualified for a job. He appreciates that Team MJV, which found him through a temp agency, gave him a chance.

"I had no janitorial experience; in fact, I had even talked with a guy who owned a janitorial company and he wouldn't hire me. I even offered to work for him for two weeks without any pay and he wouldn't do it," Schilling says. "So I came to work here and went to work being a janitor."

He eventually wound up supervising a group of janitors at Purdue University, cleaning student housing. Later, he took on a laundry route, "so I am currently president and CEO of the laundry route," he says, laughing.

Schilling likes working with people, the freedom to do a good job and the satisfaction of a job well done. A freshly polished floor, for instance, is a point of pride. Also, he says, the work is always there.

"It's never-ending. That's kind of a neat idea when you think of it," Schilling says. "As long as there's kids going to school and people working in offices, you're part of this."

Some BSCs worry that hiring overqualified workers is counterproductive. The fear is that as soon as things get better for them or in the job market, those workers will leave their jobs, creating even more work for contractors, who would then have to hire and train replacement workers.

But Schilling encourages employers to be willing to take a chance on the right candidate.

"There are a lot of people who are like me in this industry," he says — people who may not initially seem like they're the best fit. "I would encourage employers to make sure they're not afraid of people's credentials. That becomes a problem. Maybe you get Albert Einstein in here but he needs a job and if he can physically do the work, that's a good thing."

He has since sold his office building, and is looking forward to continuing working part-time for Team MJV.

Chris Holeman, 37 Janitor Management Services Northwest Ferndale, Wash.

MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT aim for careers in janitorial frontline work, but Chris Holeman of Ferndale, Wash.-based Management Services Northwest is an excellent exception. Holeman, 37, has been working as a janitor for about 13 years, full-time for the local school district and part-time for Management Services for the past 11 years.

In comparing the two types of work, he says the main difference between public and private sector work is that the private sector values the visual aspect of things as much as it values cleanliness, whereas schools have a solid focus on sanitation first.

Like many of his peers interviewed for this piece, Holeman says the desire to give good service keeps him motivated to stay in the industry. As a janitor, he knows he's helping occupants stay healthy and businesses stay successful.

"It's hard to get up and say, 'I'm going to go clean up after a bunch of people,'" he says. "That doesn't sound like a fun job. But when you think about it, I've been doing this for a while and when I go into a business, the first thing I look at is if it's clean or not. Then I wonder what kind of business they do and how they take care of their customers. So I know that when I clean a business the best I can, I know I'm giving them a nice clean facility to impress their customers."

Communication between managers and janitors is crucial to doing the job correctly, Holeman says, and having good work acknowledged makes a big difference in job satisfaction.

"If you take pride in it and you have the right mindset it is enjoyable to do. It takes the right person, like not everyone's going to want to sit behind a desk and look at papers all day or run in and out of the FedEx truck all day," he says.

Michelle McClurkin, 46 Janitorial Trainer Pro Clean Building Maintenance Altamonte Springs, Fla.

JANITORIAL WORK can provide excellent supplemental income for people who already have full-time jobs. Michelle McClurkin works days as a seamstress for a mattress company. She got a part-time janitorial position with Pro Clean Building Maintenance, Altamonte Springs, Fla., two years ago when business slowed down at her day job. She was on the frontlines for just months when she was promoted to trainer. That her hard work ethic of going the extra mile in her buildings — for instance, being extremely friendly to building occupants, or spending a little extra time cleaning — was noticed by her area manager is still a point of pride.

Her position now allows her use the experience and knowledge gained on the frontlines to help other janitors learn how to correctly and safely clean buildings. She also uses her warm personality to get to know the workers — and her work ethic to give them "tough love" when they need a little extra pushing.

"As far as the training goes, you have to have a caring attitude and you have to have a calmness about yourself, a patience, because some people don't get it right away," she says. "You have to be able to communicate well and you definitely have to be able to understand people's personalities and whether they are going to be a good person or a bad person for the job."

McClurkin admits she sometimes misses working on the frontlines, and being able to put her "signature" on facilities.

At the end of the day, she feels a loyalty toward her employer, for working with her schedule and for rewarding her hard work, and appreciates good management.

"When you have management that show you they care about you, then you have their managers giving positive feedback, it makes it all the better," she says.

Adam Schneider, 18 Janitor Zastrow Building Maintenance Appleton, Wis.

COLLEGE STUDENTS can make terrific employees, especially when they're enthusiastic go-getters like Adam Schneider, who was initially hired at Zastrow Building Maintenance in Watertown, Wis., when he was just 16.

"My other jobs were working in fast food places and a restaurant. And the boss I had there was not a very nice man," Adam says. "The business I worked at before that, they actually closed down because of the recession."

He's now studying to be a network specialist. Not only does he prefer this type of work to being stuck behind a desk, but he gets to meet interesting people and it's helping him pay for school.

"It's definitely paying for my finances and it's also something to do," Schneider says. "Otherwise I'm going to be sitting around being a couch potato. Plus, it gives you a good amount of exercise, too. I'm always running around."

Schneider describes one cleaning job taking him to the student dorms at the University of Wisconsin, where conditions were awful (at least for someone with the eyes and nose of a janitor).

"They were the filthiest places I've ever cleaned. I couldn't believe some people were living in those places."

So, his job has taught him how to keep his home neat and clean — a life lesson that some teens may never learn.