Articles

20 Years of ARCSI New!

Categories: ISSA Insights

When my husband Terry and I decided to start our residential cleaning business, we talked about how to differentiate ourselves and grow to be one of the best in our industry. The primary point of differentiation we chose was professionalism.

The residential cleaning industry is often associated with people who do this work as a side job with little or no professional training. The experience that clients have, in this case, can vary greatly and leave them hoping for better service. Many of us start this way but quickly become “accidental entrepreneurs” as our business grows beyond what we can do on our own. Terry and I knew that to overcome this gig-cleaner stereotype, we had to seek out people in our industry to help us reach our goal of becoming residential cleaning experts and respected professionals in our local community.

The fact that Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI), a Division of ISSA, was founded in 2003 by owners just like us, and has continued to innovate over the years, made us confident that this was the best organization for us to join. ARCSI’s merger with ISSA in 2017 elevated the organization even more, giving members access to more education and training opportunities, events like the ISSA Show North America, governmental representation, and member benefits.

This is why we didn’t hesitate to become members of ARCSI when we learned about the organization through our partnership with Cleaning for a Reason. ARCSI has provided us with many resources to achieve our goals, including the IICRC House Cleaning Technician (HCT) training and certification program, Professional House Cleaning (PHC) Certification, Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC) training, and connecting us to other professionals and experts through many virtual and live training events.

I can’t say enough about how important it was for our business to be part of ARCSI, a division of ISSA, during the pandemic. The representation of the cleaning industry that ARCSI and ISSA provided to our state and federal agencies during that time was priceless and helped us to thrive instead of faltering in the face of those unprecedented challenges.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of ARCSI, I am personally so grateful for all those who invested their time and resources in the beginning with a vision to unite and strengthen professionals in the residential cleaning business. And I want to say thank you to every ARCSI volunteer and leader who has helped us grow to where ARCSI is today.

I urge every current ARCSI member to learn how you can be more involved and take advantage of all that this amazing organization has to offer. And don’t keep ARCSI a secret. Invite others you know in our industry to become part of this community that will welcome them and help them grow to become the best they can be.

Happy 20th anniversary to ARCSI!

About the Author.

Jeannie Henderson is the CEO of Jeannie Cleaning, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and chair of the ISSA Residential Cleaning Council. Her entrepreneurial record includes building and operating over 30 franchise restaurant locations with her husband, Terry, before starting a residential cleaning business. Jeannie Cleaning was recognized as a “Top 10 Partner” in 2020 by Cleaning for a Reason, an ISSA Charities program.