Outsourcing

Outsourcing is all the rage these days and almost every company is jumping into it and outsourcing non-core functions. My company is exploring the same and one of the first few services to be outsourced is sanitation. Those at the top who look at financial numbers and do not walk the ground will think that the outsourcing is fantastic. Now, costs of keeping the place clean are lower and the cleanliness is still of comparable standard... However, is that the real truth?

After the cleaning services were outsourced, the contracts were for very short terms of a few months. The cleaning personnel changes so often and the quality of service varies tremendously. Just today, I had to search through 5, yes 5!, toilets before I found one with toilet paper available. My trash bin is not longer emptied on a daily basis. The office's floor is no longer swept regularly. The shredder machine is not emptied. The toilet's auto flush sensor has been spoilt for weeks.... The management will not see these lower quality of service as the contractors will ensure that the areas frequented by them will be maintained in tiptop condition. Yet, how many people will use those areas? The bulk of people moving around the company will be experiencing lower levels of sanitation.

From a macro view, outsourcing may be beneficial to the organisation but on the micro level, outsourcing does present some tough realities which are not on the radar of the management.