Promoted from within

Currently in the market for a cleaning supervisor? The unofficial rule of thumb in housekeeping circles: locate the hardest-working, most dependable and sharpest cleaning tech in your current in-house crew and promote him or her. After all, you pride yourself in “promoting

from within.” Not to mention that tapping an existing worker saves you the time and money otherwise spent on a more elaborate employee search.

Facilities management veteran Jim Alty offers up a caveat. “They are great workers and they do their jobs really well so they are [rewarded with] a supervisor job. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have good supervisor skills,” says Alty, director of facilities services at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Your star-worker-turned-rookie-supervisor better know what he or she is getting into. And as a management mentor, you better make sure your management neophyte is armed with the people skills necessary to manage and motivate — not to mention the “book” of knowledge necessary to balance budgets and decipher the ream of paperwork that shadows every workplace.

“No longer is it that the building is ‘cleaned’ but ‘what procedures were followed,’ ‘were the right chemicals used,’ ‘was it completed safely by the staff,’ ‘was it done within budget,’ and ‘did everyone do their part?’” says Ron Bailey, associate director of custodial services, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Today’s supervisors can be responsible for executing performance appraisals, monitoring employee absences, establishing training programs, specifying and purchasing products and equipment, disciplining employees, preparing payrolls, implementing quality-control procedures and recruiting and hiring cleaning staff, among other duties.

And don’t underestimate the role that the supervisor can play as a conduit linking cleaning crews in the field and facility management. The supervisor is the eyes and ears of the management team and can make invaluable contributions when it comes to evaluating employee performance, cleaning efficiency and cost control.
“A supervisor is the primary contact between upper management and staff,” says Christopher Lucier, night supervisor of custodial services, Stetson University, Deland, Fla. “The supervisor has the responsibility to communicate employee concerns with management and, in our case, to the university faculty and staff we serve.”

Despite the crucial role supervisors play in cleaning operations, organizations can be notorious for short-changing them when it comes to training and career development.

Let’s face it, the role of a supervisor can be especially difficult for people who lack basic management skills.

“[New supervisors] don’t know starting off how to deal with employee conflict or when there is not agreement,” says Alty. “It’s easy to divvy out work, but communication [is a different story]. There’s usually a supervisor orientation where supervisors are read policies and told of job duties but it doesn’t train them to be supervisors.”

People management
The transition from “friend” to “boss” is one of the most difficult for promoted cleaning workers who find themselves in charge of their former peers.

“[You have to be OK] with not being a friend to everyone off the bat,” Alty says. “It’s hard to take the ‘I’m the boss now’ position.”

New supervisors might feel pressure to ignore former peers when they try to bend or break the rules.

“Supervisors find that their friends are now looking for favors,” Lucier says. “They might try skipping out or taking extended lunch periods.”

Instead of using the higher-level position to help friends out, supervisors should use their position to gain respect from workers, Alty says. “Supervisors need to translate respect right away,” he says.

“They should treat old friends and others equally — that would be the best start. Bosses don’t have to be on the ‘other side’ or the enemy, but they shouldn’t play favorites.”

Employee conflict should be expected. Supervisors must learn to never take work conflict or disagreements personally.

“There will be staff who will push buttons and challenge you,” says Lucier. “You need to know where to draw the line and be secure enough to accept it if they don’t like you.”

The same rules apply when dealing with building occupants. Supervisors have to take complaints and criticism from all types of people — some who are not as easy to talk to as others.

For example, the new supervisor might get a call from a faculty member who is upset because his chalkboard was not cleaned the night before.

“You have to reach out to people you’ve never met and try to understand them,” Lucier says. “Maybe he or she is upset because they didn’t get the raise they wanted or something happened with the baby-sitter.”

“Golden Rule Number 1” for all rookie supervisors: remedy the problem and do not obsess on the conflict.

Cross-training
There are ways in which cleaning workers can prepare for a supervisory position.

In some cases, custodians are first promoted to group leader or team leader, then work their way up to supervisor. Employees who take this extra step have the advantage of overseeing and managing a few employees, which can help prepare them for the supervisor position.

Some group leaders at the University of Iowa (who generally oversee four to eight workers) will take the initiative to learn the tasks and duties of supervisors (who oversee 25-35 custodians), in preparation for a future promotion.

“Training is hands-on and support comes from the veterans, supervisors and managers,” says Bill Ciha, facilities services coordinator, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority calls the process “cross-training.” “Cross-training allows service workers (a position that is a step above cleaning worker) to train as supervisors so they can see what it is like to have the responsibility of a supervisor and to decide if they would like to pursue the possibility of moving up within the company,” says Monte Edralin, shift supervisor.

“The cross-training that I did really helped me understand the importance of forecasting and identifying work.”
In-house courses
Larger organizations are more likely to have the resources to offer sophisticated training for supervisors. The human resources department at the University of Iowa offers supervisory courses.

“These courses help sharpen people skills — how to relate to front-line custodians and how to deal with work situations,” Ciha says.

Some of the university’s courses are based on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Dr. Stephen R. Covey.

“A couple of good examples of The Seven Habits: [In] Habit 4: Steven Covey says, ‘Win-win is a belief in the third alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way,’” Ciha says. “As a supervisor you need to understand the problem and work with the custodian to find the solution.”

“Habit 5: ‘Seek first to understand, then to be understood,’” he says, teaches supervisors the importance of listening to employees.

Mentoring
One of the best resources for a new supervisor is a veteran supervisor, whether he or she works for the same organization or another similar type of organization.

Some organizations might have mentoring programs. If not, new supervisors can seek out a mentor by asking other experienced in-house supervisors to help. Cleaning-industry conferences, online chatrooms and e-mail listservs also are good resources for finding mentors.

“New supervisors can get advice from experienced supervisors on how they have dealt with [whatever issue] in the past,” Alty says.

Alty is putting together a supervisor training program that is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2005. The 12-month program is designed for all supervisors, new and experienced. “Everyone will grow from where they are and beyond,” he says.

Supervisors at the University of Iowa have informal weekly meetings to discuss issues and events in each of their areas. “This is a chance for newly promoted supervisors to ask advice,” Ciha says.

Trial and error
No amount of training can completely prepare newly promoted workers for the job ahead.

“There is never enough training for supervisory personnel before they are promoted — it usually happens on the job for us,” says Michael B. Smith, custodial supervisor II, Western Washington University, Bellingham , Wa.

There is not a lot of training from group leader to supervisor at Stetson University, according to Lucier. “You are firefighting for the first six months,” he says.

“You become educated through trial and error. You learn from situations and then you know how to handle it next time.”

For some people, learning by making mistakes is the best way to grow.

“The supervisors and managers that I have seen become successful are the ones that have gone beyond the normal requirements,” Alty says. “They have tried and held different leadership positions over time, grew from experience and learned from the mistakes they made. They tried new things or were willing to go to training on their own.”

Help from others
While experiencing things firsthand can be very helpful, there are some cases in which new supervisors are better off asking for help so they can focus on their number-one priority: cleaning.

“First, do your job,” says Alty. “Make sure buildings are clean and lead people to clean buildings. As far as other responsibilities go, you’ve got a lot of people around you to help you do those things. The HR department is there for you to ask them questions or to give you advice on training requirements and payroll. Be aware and take advantage of other people to help you do your job.”

Ongoing education
Supervisors in educational facilities can continually learn from others regarding how do their job better by attending cleaning-related conferences such as ACUBSS (Association of College and University Building Service Supervisors).

“This conference gives us more tools and information to take back [to the university],” Ciha says. “Supervisors get together and compare equipment, training and other issues and network throughout the year. Sometimes what they learn is other universities are in the same boat with the same issues and concerns.”

Ciha’s supervisors also attend and complete the four core areas the APPA (Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers) Institute offers for facilities management. He adds that supervisors should subscribe to trade magazines and publications that cover cleaning operations.

“I continually attend supervisor or manager seminars so I am always gaining knowledge of our industry as well as attending trade shows, such as ISSA,” says Edralin.

The best route?
While climbing the department ladder from cleaning worker to supervisor is challenging, especially for people who do not have experience overseeing or managing employees, some “climbers” would not have it any other way.

“Our custodial supervisors all have come up through the ranks,” Ciha says. “This gives us a better understanding of the challenges the custodians are faced with daily to do their job. Textbook training can only go so far — you need the experience and the actual hands-on to have the strong departmental support we offer.”