I have been working with small and large contract service providers for 15 years now, and in that time I have seen some tremendous changes in the industry:
- Growth of outsourcing,
- Growth of specialist sub-contractors,
- OHS laws that impact on all contractors,
- Union strength and wage claims,
- Increased sophistication and use of technology,
- And, most critically, shrinking margins.
For many contract service providers, changes across the industry have also meant a lot of changes in their own business. The “fat” times of the 1990′s when outsourcing was new, is now replaced with a new, leaner, post-GFC period of tight margins. In these times, owners and managers of commercial cleaners / janitorial services, maintenance and building services must become astute managers. It’s definitely more than the mop and bucket these days!
You've got the hardware - now get the software!
Technology for Service Providers
The contract commercial cleaning / janitorial services businesses are not the only ones undertaken big changes. Similar industry transforming changes have been taking place in the Information Technology industries. Of relevance,
- Software getting more specialised for specific industries,
- Faster, wider availability of internet,
- Software now available “on-demand” through web-based service (utility software often called “software-as-a-service”)
These changes can transform a building services contractor, including commercial cleaners / janitorial services, and all building service providers. Now, widely spread work sites and activities can be united through internet based applications. Also, Software-as-a-service allows for companies to have world-class applications, at a small cost – and to grow their use of the application as their business grows. No longer do companies have to invest hundred’s of thousands of dollars in servers and in-house applications … no longer do you need to hire network administrators, programmers, and your own IT team.
Now, with applications such as Kevah Works, any company can take advantage of world class solutions for managing periodicals, work orders and extra work on their sites, with only a small monthly fee per site and no lock in contract.
