Founded over 40 years ago, Jani-King is now the largest commercial cleaning franchise company in the world. Today, there are more than 9,000 authorized franchisees in the Jani-King system and more than 120 regional offices in 14 countries. (Learn more on their website: www.janiking.com)
Ross Champagne, Director of Operations for the Gulf Coast Region, supports over 600 Jani-King franchise owners from East Texas to Florida’s panhandle. These franchise owners rely on the extensive training the company provides on the latest cleaning practices and equipment, including high-efficiency ProTeam backpack vacuums. The 10-quart backpack vacuum cleans facilities of all sizes, from small offices to stadiums and arenas.
“A facility of any square footage, 500 or 500,000, the backpack vacuum improves efficiency,” said Champagne. “With the length of the cord, the ease of motion, and the speed of vacuuming, we prefer this vacuum. I would never have an employee push an upright through a facility of any square footage.”
A cornerstone of Jani-King’s success is their continuous education of franchise owners who pass on that knowledge to their employees. Step-by-step, franchisees are taught the cleaning processes and the philosophy behind them. They learn about cleaning for health, using the right chemicals, and cleaning high-touch areas to create a healthy environment.
“We explain that these state-of-the-art vacuums remove pollutants from the air and remove more dirt,” said Champagne. “We don’t leave it in the facility. Instead, we contain it and remove it from the facility.”
Jani-King franchise owners set up systemized cleaning programs. Every facility has a schedule and itemized inspection sheets that address daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning tasks. This eliminates the guesswork for employees. They clean in teams with specialized technicians who exclusively handle restrooms, trash, vacuuming, etc. Then workers do designated non-daily work by zone.
When introducing backpack vacuums to unfamiliar users, Jani-King franchises often get resistance from their cleaning staff.
“People resist if they aren’t coached and properly trained on how to use the backpack vacuum,” said Champagne. “We overcome an employee’s reluctance by conducting a demo on the proper use of the vacuum. We tell them, ‘Go spend three hours with an upright, then try the backpack and compare how your arm feels.’ After that, the reluctance disappears.”
In an industry that turns over clientele at about four percent a year, Jani-King has kept their turnover at around one to 1.5 percent – proof of the effectiveness of their processes, equipment, and training. Champagne says that equipment designers are an important part of that.
“ProTeam backs up their product 100 percent,” said Champagne. “The answer is always, ‘Yes, we’re taking care of it.’ From a customer service standpoint, ProTeam goes above and beyond the standard supplier.”
Read another ProTeam success story about a franchise cleaning service here.
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