Articles

Continued Education Makes for Better Businesses

Categories: Business Management, Cleaning Best Practices, ISSA Insights

If you were like me, as you worked your way through elementary, middle, and high school, there was nothing you hated more than homework and tests. It was more important to go to football games or hang out at the mall. And you didn’t even want to think about how much work there would be to do in college.

As I got older, I came to understand why my parents put such an emphasis on school and getting the best education I could. Learning is a powerful tool. And that has never been truer than today. The coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges to our communities, our businesses, and most importantly, our homes. As a residential cleaning company owner, my business is your home so it is critical for me to understand what it is we are facing and how I can help my customers protect their homes and families.

I think this quote from Nelson Mandela rings even more true today than when he first said it: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” And that is what we are doing at ARCSI–providing our members with the education they need to change the world and to make it a better place. Our members are trusted and experienced professionals. One thing that makes us professionals is our commitment to education–to continuing education and lifelong learning that will make our businesses better for the customers who entrust their homes to us.

By now, I hope you are aware of the GBAC Fundamentals Online Course: Cleaning & Disinfection Principles. This program was built by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA, that can help organizations and businesses prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats, biohazard situations, and real-time crises. The Fundamentals Course teaches frontline workers–like residential cleaning companies–to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biohazards in the workplace.

I encourage you to make the time to take this course if you haven’t done so. The pandemic does not look to be coming to a swift end. This course can help arm you with the information you need to know. Residential cleaning members of ISSA can take this course for just $49. In addition, Kimberly-Clark Professional established a scholarship program to help smaller cleaning organizations get critical training on infectious disease prevention and control measures for their employees. You can receive a scholarship for up to five of your employees. Contact ISSA for more information.

We created a new committee this year at ARCSI that is devoted to education opportunities and programming for the residential cleaning industry. Our committee is focusing on four areas of education as identified by our members in our spring education survey: Training; operations; marketing and sales; employee engagement, recruiting, and hiring.

Beginning this fall, our committee will begin to roll out new programs, offerings, and partnerships for businesses at all stages in both online and in-person formats.

So many things have changed during this pandemic, not the least of which is the way that we learn and connect. Our attendance at our ARCSI webinars has grown. We now offer the House Cleaning Technician training online. We are also partnering with other education conferences and events, such as the 2020 Maid Service Success Summit by ZenMaid and the Juno Summit.

Education is a critical component of membership with ARCSI. We will continue our work as an organization and provide members the resources they need so that together, we can change the way the world views cleaning.

About the Author.

Alonzo Adams is the president of Busy Bee Cleaning Company Inc. located in West Chester, PA. He is the chair of the ISSA Residential Cleaning Council, which represents ARCSI, a division of ISSA, the residential cleaning arm of ISSA.