5 Ways To Make The Most Of Employee Appreciation Day

Considering the commercial cleaning industry has an average turnover rate of 200 percent, sometimes reaching 400 percent, it’s time to focus on how to improve employee retention. With Employee Appreciation Day taking place on March 4, ABCO Cleaning Products, a leader in sustainable cleaning tools, today shared best practices for showing gratitude to cleaning professionals.

“Cleaning professionals have been at the forefront of keeping the public safe and healthy during the pandemic, and often go unrecognized for their efforts,” says Carlos Albir, president, ABCO. “Employee Appreciation Day is just one occasion for organizations to give back to staff. An employee-centric culture can improve recruitment and retention, which in turn, yields more consistent cleaning results and enhances customer satisfaction," he adds.

This Employee Appreciation Day, consider the following tips for celebrating and supporting your workers:

1. Establish training courses in custodial workers’ native language and English to foster a culture of learning and minimize language barriers. Ensuring comprehension is key, especially as employees will work with various specialty tools and machines and will need to properly apply cleaning solutions. With educational materials in various languages, you can enhance employees’ understanding of key concepts.

2. Provide employees with high-quality cleaning tools and equipment so they have essentials that help them improve the efficiency and efficacy of cleaning. Each year, roughly 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries occur, which could result from poorly maintained or faulty equipment. Routinely check that cleaning tools are stored correctly and function as intended.

3. Implement safer chemicals to reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Unfortunately, when certain common cleaning chemicals are mixed, they can produce extremely harmful outcomes. Some even contain abrasive additives and fragrances that can irritate the skin and eyes. Simplify the chemicals available to reduce the risk of injury and make sure staff is well trained on how to use the products.

4. Take time to regularly recognize employees whether that’s by launching an “Employee of the Month” program that includes an incentive or nominating your best custodial workers for industry-wide recognition programs. While all custodial workers have gone above and beyond as frontline workers, highlighting exceptional employees and providing regular rewards can help boost motivation and retention.

5. Keep the lines of communication open to solicit constructive feedback. Have safe ways for employees to share comments and concerns to improve your company’s culture, employee performance and customer service.

ABCO Products, based in Miami, has a strong presence in Central America, as its manufacturing plants are located in Choloma, Honduras. At these production sites, ABCO offers a free clinic to its employees and their families to ensure they have access to quality medical care year-round. Additionally, ABCO has subsidized 53,000 meals for its employees in just one year.

For additional CleanLink coverage on Employee Appreciation Day, click here.