ServiceMaster Building Maintenance aims for job retention
September 22, 2008
Original Article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/sep/22/focus-employment-partner-of-the-year/
Albert Wright, 47, a service partner for ServiceMaster Building Maintenance,
hadn't traveled much before this year. But thanks to his own hard work,
he's begun to see the world from a broader perspective.
"I wasn't too sure about that airplane at first," said Wright,
recalling his first-ever airplane trip in July, when he traveled to
Orlando to receive the Service Partner of the Year award from
ServiceMaster Clean, a franchise division of ServiceMaster, which is
headquartered in Memphis.
Additionally, in July, ServiceMaster Building Maintenance received
the ServiceMaster Clean President's Cabinet award for owning the
largest contract janitorial cleaning franchise in the world. The award
recognizes the top performing franchise owners from more than 4,500
businesses worldwide.
ServiceMaster Building Maintenance is a 29-year-old local franchise
of ServiceMaster Clean, which employs about 375 service partners
throughout the Mid-South to provide corporate janitorial services to
various businesses and industries.
ServiceMaster uses the term "service partner" instead of "employee"
to define the kind of relationship that corporate leaders hope to build
with those who work on the front lines, said Stacy McCall, chief
financial officer of ServiceMaster Building Maintenance.
"Our service partners have an opportunity to touch our clients," she
said. "We encourage them to develop relationships when they have the
opportunity. We want to tell our customers that the person you see
tonight will be the same person you see tomorrow night and next year."
Wright celebrated his second anniversary as a service partner in
September. He's part of a staff that cleans FedExForum in the evenings
and after events. Also, he continues to work privately at the Ronald
McDonald House, who originally hired him through ServiceMaster.
Wright said working among children battling catastrophic illnesses
gave him impetus to do his work well since many of them have weakened
immune systems. Doing a thorough job, to him, means protecting the
children from germs and bacteria.
"They told me in the beginning that not everybody can do that kind
of job, but I tried it and I found that I can do it," Wright said. "I
found a will, and I found a way."
But the relationships he formed at Ronald McDonald House have given him more than a few moments of pause.
"When you come in and find out that one of them didn't make it, it's
real hard," he said.
Wright was chosen from a pool of several thousand
nominees for the Service Partner of the Year award.
Retaining employees like Wright is a major challenge according to
Chris McCall, the president and CEO of ServiceMaster Building
Maintenance, who is married to Stacy McCall. He said maintaining trust
is the ultimate factor in having award-winning service partners.
Stacy McCall estimated that the janitorial services industry faces
200 percent turnover each year from janitorial staff. But annual
turnover at ServiceMaster is about 45 percent.
"We offer strong benefits like a 401K to service partners who work
over 20 hours, but really, you just have to tell them that you value
them," she said.
Last year the McCalls calculated their average service partner's
length of employment to be a relatively high 2.9 years, which they
attribute to training and discipline, both of which give service
partners a sense of belonging and attention.
For his part, Wright says that the award was nice, but the real
payoff is a sense of accomplishment for having made someone's life a
little bit nicer.
"It's something I feel like I accomplished, and I'm proud of it," Wright said. "It makes me feel good to go to work every day."
By: Jonathan Devin
ServiceMaster Building Maintenance
Top officer: Chris McCall, president and CEO
Employees: 375
Address: 832 Virginia Run Cove, Memphis, 38122
Phone: 683-0064
Web: smbmclean.com
Back