What Tech Innovation Is Your Company Embracing?

Mary A. Miller

JANCOA is embracing technology in all areas. There was a time when business in our industry was handled with mops, buckets and rags. Today it is not only computers and servers but the Internet, smart phones and laptops. In sales we are staying connected and growing our business with all the new social networking Web sites, including LinkedIn and Facebook. In operations we are working with new green ways of cleaning including microfiber cloths and tools and the always changing software to manage work orders and workloading. We can manage communication more efficiently with e-mails and texting (even taking pictures) right from our mobile phones.

It is more important today than ever to stay connected with industry associations and informed with industry periodicals. One of the most important ways to increase my company’s capabilities and stay competitive is by embracing technology innovation.

Jim Massave

The present economic climate has required J. & S. to pursue technological innovations. We have a vertically integrated cleaning company and found that in a down economy customers are striving for cost containment.

Quarterly, we e-mail a customer survey requesting feedback as to how we may better service them. We ascertained that insurance costs were a high priority. We explored service options that could assist our customers in their quest for this reduction.

How could we as a BSC best accomplish this task through vertical integration? Our first thoughts went to liability insurance exposure. As president, it piqued my interest as it would “add” to sales.

We decided on training with a slip resistant floor process including slip meters to measure and reduce the co-efficiency of friction for multiple hard floor surfaces. We then provided this service and it was received most favorably. This tech innovation not only boosted our sales but resulted, on average, in a 20 percent reduction in liability insurance for our customers.

Matthew R. Sullivan

Great topic, as I believe that technology used the right way can improve the efficiency of your managers as well as improve in all areas of communication between the BSC and the customer. However, the tech innovation that Coastal Building Maintenance has truly embraced is our Web-based, automated time and attendance system.

As we all know, payroll is our biggest expense and if not controlled and managed properly, it could cost a company dearly. This system requires our employees to call an 800 number when they report to work and call again when they leave in order to track their in and outs; we also have ID swipes for the larger accounts. This gives us real time reporting and provides us a birds-eye view of all our accounts instantaneously to make sure we are providing the required amount of hours for each client.

Our customers love it because we are always tracking our employees and their hours. We have seen a considerable amount of savings each and every pay period plus the processing is much easier every pay period than when it was being done manually.