August 18, 2021

Increasing knowledge and education around cleaning and hygiene key for long-term customer satisfaction

It goes without saying that the coronavirus pandemic has caused a seismic shift in perceptions of cleaning and hygiene measures in workplaces and public spaces.

Our Europe-wide Changing Workplaces research program has helped us to understand how facilities and employees have responded to this shift and the resulting scrutiny of cleaning and hand hygiene measures.

81% of respondents to the survey said they’d upskilled staff with additional training in cleaning, hygiene and/or waste management during the pandemic, with one in five choosing to recruit new staff specialised in those areas. Despite this, over half of respondents believe more training is still needed.

Here, we look at why knowledge and education are the bedrocks of future success and how you can deliver training to suit your workplace.

Why knowledge and education matter

With 87% of respondents stating they believed the quality of hand hygiene and cleaning products they provide or use affect perceptions of their company’s brand, it’s clear facility users’ expectations are raised.

Delivering appropriate training and increasing knowledge across the workplace is vital to meeting heightened expectations from customers and employees. Just as importantly, it avoids the negative repercussions of getting it wrong.

Consistent and relevant training, and knowledge sharing is a key tool in influencing your workplace’s culture, meaning increased quality when it comes to hand hygiene, cleaning and waste management becomes the new standard of ‘normal’.

For example, 44% of Changing Workplace’s respondents indicated that they would benefit from support to understand how particular product could save them money, while 40% felt the same way about understanding how a product could save time. By identifying how knowledge can be shared to increase understanding, it will be significantly easier to integrate cleaning practices and hand hygiene provisions into your workplace, providing customers with the level of service they now expect from all facilities.

Tailoring education to suit your workplace

Identifying the need for more training in your workplace is only the first step. How you deliver training is crucial to increasing staff expertise across your organisation. When asked what kind of support they would prefer to help increase knowledge, Changing Workplaces’ respondents indicated interest in a variety of methods. 45% of respondents believed video tutorials would help increase their knowledge of using new products, while 36% identified case studies from similar organisations would help contextualise the practices they carried out in their own roles.

By working with staff to identify their preferred methods to receive training and share knowledge, you can increase confidence in your practices within the workplace.

Consulting employees on new products or cleaning measures will go beyond ensuring their work meets the heightened expectations of facility users and help to increase morale within the workplace. 

Building a culture of continued learning is of course a long-term strategy.  However, there are simple steps that can be taken to get off to a good start:

• Online research can be helpful and is readily available. Point team members in the direction of our resource centre where they can download user guides, case studies and videos. 
• Why not book an appointment with a product specialist? RCP’s technical experts are always on hand to talk through everything from cost in use to how to get the best out of a product.
• The value of cascading information through your own company shouldn’t be forgotten. 80% of Changing Workplaces survey respondents now class themselves as very knowledgeable about hand hygiene. With the majority of people who took part in the research program falling under the profile of management or decision maker, it’s time to share valuable learnings from the pandemic period with the rest of the team. 

At RCP, we help our partners by providing relevant, dependable educational support based on cross-sector research. To find all the insights on changes, and challenges reported by workplaces across Europe, download our complete Changing Workplaces report here.