Back to blog 06/03/2022

A Customer-Driven Approach and Employee Retention in Facilities Maintenance Services

Contributed by Dennis Ritt, Regional Sales Executive

For every facilities maintenance service provider, ensuring a low employee turnover translates to the company’s standards of quality, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and competitive advantage. While employee retention leads to a host of benefits for the service provider’s own success and growth, it becomes even more meaningful when the company works with a customer-driven approach. When customer satisfaction and happiness is top priority, facilities maintenance service companies choose effective personnel management and leadership techniques that foster a culture of delivering outstanding customer experience. However, the labor market dynamics have not only changed rapidly in recent times but the facilities maintenance industry has also been substantially influenced in terms of a rise in employee turnover. Consequently, building and nursing relationships is no longer a customer-centric strategy only, as employees are also looking to work for companies that can deliver certain levels of job satisfaction, security, motivation, and performance recognition.

Consistent performance and service quality are core requirements of every facilities maintenance program, but frequently changing staff due to high turnover results in newly hired personnel with inconsistent results for customers. As the new recruits also require additional time for classroom and on-the-job training, customers face a variety of setbacks in terms of day-to-day operations at their facility. In order to partner with a service provider with high employee retention, potential customers must evaluate their internal strategies that focus on creating a positive work environment that promotes engagement, productivity, involvement, and retention. Some of the most effective employee-centric strategies with a positive impact on turnover, performance, and customer satisfaction include:

• Performance recognition through monetary and non-monetary incentives
• In-depth training programs and development opportunities
• Employee referral programs
• Diversity & Inclusion initiatives

Diversified Maintenance has longstanding experience in successfully managing labor market shifts and continuing effective recruitment and retention programs for new and existing customers. Despite the growth in recent worker shortage, the Company maintained low turnover rates through a variety of strategies including a full-time dedicated recruitment team that work across different channels to reach potential candidates. Similarly, employee recognition and development programs have proven to be effective in retaining some of the best team members. To learn more about the impact of low turnover on customer satisfaction and the success of an outsourced facilities maintenance program, send me a note at: Dennis Ritt dritt@diversifiedm.com.