Cleaning Services Manager
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What does it mean to be a cleaning service manager?
To be a cleaning service manager is to be responsible for your own cleaning team, but what does that entail?
Cleaning Services Manager careers: What's involved
A cleaning service manager will have plenty of responsibilities but primarily you are responsible for the welfare of your cleaning team and making sure that all work is compliant with the client’s standard. As the manager it will be your duty to engage with your team and communicate your needs to the team, if there is sickness that needs to be covered it is your responsibility to make strategic decisions to ensure that your site is covered and standards are not compromised, this may need some encouragement and motivation. The job may also include supervising the team, training them, hiring people to join the company but sometimes you may be required to help the cleaning operatives.
One thing that is worth bearing in mind, the bigger your company and the more cleaning operatives you have the likelihood the bigger your management/support will be. If you are a small company and only employ 5 cleaning ops the likelihood is that you will not have a supervisor but if you have 15+ employees, then you will have a supervisor that you can share some of the responsibilities with. The hours you will work will be dependent on the company’s needs, you may be required to work weekends and sometimes unsociable hours, but this will all be discussed at the start of your employment.
How much money can you earn as a Cleaning Services Manager?
These LMI Job Trends give you a sneak peek of how much you could earn starting out for this career, and how much your salary could grow with experience.
Salary guide for Cleaning Services Manager jobs
The average salary for a cleaning service manager is around £29,000 (per annum) but this is dependent on a few different factors. One of the most obvious factors to your salary is if you are employed full-time or part-time, the following figures are based on full-time employment. At the start of your journey as a manager you won’t have the same experience as someone who has been in the industry for years, so naturally this will affect how much you are paid, the starting salary for a cleaning service manager is around £23,960 (per annum).
The more experience you have, the likelihood the higher your pay will be the highest salary tends to be around £32,500 but there is more that can affect your salary then just your experience. Where you are living can affect your salary, the cost of living is higher down in locations like London, so if you are living in that area then your pay will be higher than someone living in the North.
Cleaning and facility management career FAQs
To progress your role more speedily, or, to gain insight into these fantastic roles, why not take a look at some of the great training offerings that are out there?
Some examples include:
- BICSc Licence to Practice Qualification
- Certificate in Cleaning and Support Services Skills
- Certificate in Cleaning Principles (RQF)
You can find out more with the British Institute of Cleaning Science.
You can also try out these amazing FREE certified courses to build your CV!
Assistant Technical Specialist Kelsey Hargreaves is a young person who has got far in the world of cleaning, hygiene and facility management. She shares her top reasons for getting into the world of cleaning after university, and her reasons might inspire you too:
- I wanted to help create safer environments
- I wanted to help give people opportunities
- I enjoyed working alongside hard working people
- I wanted a career in an industry that was trying to solve environmental issues
- I wanted a career where I could develop
- I wanted to work in an industry that was diverse and vibrant
- I wanted a career where I would be listened to
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Becoming a Chartered Practitioner in Environmental Cleaning involves one of two routes and is great recognition of your achievements in the industry as you grow in experience.
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If you’re wondering just how big the UK cleaning industry is – and who can help you get ahead – then check out this megalist of organisations in the sector and how they can help you get ahead.
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Skills you need to become a Cleaning Services Manager
To be a cleaning services manager you are going to need a mixture of different skills. The assumption is going to be that you need all business skills because you are expected to help that company run but due to the nature of your role you will also need interpersonal skills as you are dealing with a team of people. To be successful you will need to find that balance:
Useful skills to put in your CV:
IT: Within the role you may be asked to use several devises i.e., a tablet, phone, computer, laptop and their operating systems and software. It is about being able to operate these comfortably.
Leadership: The ability to be able to aid and guide your team so you can achieve set goal
Motivation: Have the ability to encourage and inspire colleagues and employees.
Organisation: Be able to manage your time effectively, set goals and prioritise tasks o you are able to achieve set goals.
Teamwork: Be able to work well within a team and work together to achieve the same goal.
Time management: The ability to use your time wisely and efficiently so you are able to achieve the goals you set out for yourself in the day.
Customer service: Demonstrating patience and understanding whilst being able to solve problems and show initiative to keep a customer satisfied, especially if they have a complaint.
Attention to detail: You will need to be able to focus on all areas of the task or project.
Communication: Is the ability to convey or share feelings/ideas effectively without any misinterpretation, misunderstandings, or misleading people.
Problem-solving: Being able to recognise and identify a problem either before it occurs or being able to implement the best solutions afterwards.
Work under pressure: Being able to deal with situations that can result on strains in your day-to-day work that may be beyond your control. You can deal with this pressure and remain good natured.
Adaptability: Being able to adjust to any situation, sometimes with short notice and change and adapt your own actions as needed and not being phased by the change.
Top Skills-boosting Tips
Do some personal research into how the cleaning industry puts a big focus on safety, health and the environment.
They are all really important in the world of cleaning!
How Do You Get These Skills?
Vocational qualifications and work experience will help you build these skills over time.
What Qualifications & Training Do You Need For Cleaning Services Manager Careers?
The good thing about this industry and this job role is that there are not any specific qualifications that you will be required to have in order to get this role, there are qualifications that may assist you when you are applying for the job but nothing that is a necessity.
Most people who have this kind of role have been educated to a GSCE level or equivalent, but that does not mean you cannot pursue this at a university level.
Apprenticeships
As an alternative there are apprenticeships available for this type of study and are great way to gain an insight into working life. If. You are looking at a level 2 apprenticeship you will need to be 16 or over and not in full time education, if you are looking into an apprenticeship at a level 3 then you some employers may require you to have at least three GCSEs or equivalent at grades 9 to 4 (A* – C) some places may also require some work experience. It is always a good idea to keep a CV that is up to date with all your relevant experience, if you have any experience in leading a team it will reflect well on you.
For more information and guidance on courses at a university level and apprenticeship please follow the link to the UCAS website – https://www.ucas.com
University
If you are looking to stay in education then a degree in business studies or management studies would be beneficial to you. Naturally the entry requirements for some of the course will vary depending on what kind of degree you are wanting to pursue, are you looking at a foundation degree or a bachelor’s degree? For a foundation degree you will usually need a minimum of three A Levels
Training
You can also further your knowledge through certification and extra training. This is not a requirement to become a cleaning services manager, but it is something that is desirable.
IOSH/NEBOSH – Knowledge in health and safety is something that employers find desirable, certification can be obtained through IOSH and for more advanced health and safety knowledge this can be obtained through NEBOSH. Of course, these courses do have a cost involved, however sometimes your employer may pay for the training course for you if they see that it will benefit for the company, and you will be able to complete the course alongside your current job.
https://iosh.com
https://www.nebosh.org.uk/guidance/guidance-for-learning-with-nebosh/
BICSc – The British Institute of Cleaning Science have various training courses for the industry, offering different training on specific cleaning skills. They also have other courses that focus on different areas of the industry i.e., auditing, principles of health and safety, principles of cleaning science, the control of cross contamination and more. Some of the courses do have a charge, but again your employer may pay for your courses if they benefit the company. BICSc also offer some free courses that are recognised courses and can be put on your CV.
https://bbs-virtual-training.thinkific.com/collections?category=cleanlogic&page=1
Who can help?
Many professional bodies also offer a range of training opportunities, including activities that count towards continuing professional development (CPD). Find out more below:
The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc)
BICSc is the largest independent, professional, and educational body within the cleaning industry providing training and education, setting standards and procedures for cleaning. BICSc membership now stands at over 55,000 individual and corporate members in the UK and Internationally.
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) is the body for workplace and facilities professionals. IWFM empower and enable workplace and facilities professionals to expand their potential and have rewarding, impactful careers. The IWFM was established in 2018. It builds on the proud heritage of 25 years of the British Institute of Facilities Management.
What Work Experience Do You Need For Cleaning Services Manager Jobs?
With most managerial jobs it is advised that you do partake in some sort of work experience, although it is not something that is necessary, but we would certainly recommend it for this type of job.
Most people before they become a cleaning services manager will have between 6 – 10 years’ experience within the cleaning industry, normally beginning as a cleaning operative, then a supervisor and then eventually a manager. Any cleaning experience or even experience supervising a team.
Those who usually have experience in their chosen field usually become the best managers because they understand what the job entails as and because of this there tends to be a mutual respect between the operatives and the managers, which helps to create a healthy work environment.
The cleaning industry is a great industry to learn and develop because it is the kind of environment where you can learn and do on the job training taking away some of the pressure.
What Does A Cleaning Services Manager Do?
Your working day as a cleaning service manager can vary from day to day, no two days are the same. Your duties will include:
In all parts of the industry you can expect to:
- Supervise and manage the cleaning team.
- Manage the time and attendance system, verify data and time sheet.
- Delivery of some of the training programs.
- Monitor of work performance and welfare matters.
- Ensure service level agreements are met.
- Performance reviews
- Complete return to works.
- Ensure all duties are being carried out in accordance with health, hygiene, and safety procedures.
- Maintain records.
- Creating staff rotas.
- Recruitment.
How To Find Cleaning Services Manager Jobs: Next Steps
There are a few ways you can enter this job role. You can of course apply for the role of cleaning services manager through any of the job search engines and apply for the role directly, below are some of the sites you can search through:
- Indeed
- Reed
- Totaljobs
- Glassdoor
The most common way of getting this type of job role is to start off as a cleaning operative, learn everything that the job entails at ground level, from this the next step up would be a promotion to a team leader and/or supervisor. Whilst you are in this position you can demonstrate your leadership skills and the other transferable skills that you will need to be a successful manager, and then you can either apply for the position when it becomes available or your employer may contact you directly.
You can take a look at our database of local opportunities to see if there are any relevant jobs, work placements, or careers events and workshops to help you get started.
Get Into Cleaning Careers With Caring Employers
These employers and organisations are here to help. They care about your potential and desire to learn, not just your qualifications and experience. They may be able to offer traineeships, apprenticeships, graduate schemes, first jobs, careers advice, wellbeing support and much more.
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