Stats Support Cleaning Initiatives

Fighting for funds to maintain the cleanliness of buildings — and by extension, the health of their occupants — appears to be an ongoing and universal struggle for facility cleaning executives, regardless of facility type. Although the pandemic elevated the perception of cleaning, casting custodians in a more favorable light, many of the concerns that facility managers voice today are on-par with pre-pandemic challenges — particularly when it comes to budgets. 

In schools, commercial office buildings, hospitals, and hotels, facility cleaning managers are often tasked with increasing efficiencies and productivity while keeping costs in check — a delicate balancing act for custodial departments saddled with limited resources and insufficient staffing. 

It’s no surprise then that staffing problems are a recurring theme in facility services: According to the 2024 Facility Cleaning Decisions Management Survey, a whopping 85 percent of participants said additional staff would help to guarantee the facility is cleaned properly. Another 53 percent of managers indicated that hiring adequate staff was the biggest employee issue impacting cleaning departments. And before the pandemic, a 2019 management survey showed the same percentage of managers (53 percent) believe their departments are inadequately staffed. 

Armed with relevant statistics and data, facility cleaning managers can more easily defend their position to stakeholders as they advocate for additional resources, up-to-date technologies and an increase in well-trained staff — asks that will pay back in spades by preventing the spread of disease, averting slips, trips and falls, and creating lasting first impressions. 

The following stats back up the financial burden of inadequate cleaning in various vertical facility markets and reinforce the positive aspects of well-managed, well-funded cleaning programs. 

Kassandra Kania is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is a frequent contributor to Facility Cleaning Decisions.