Outsourcing Housekeeping: An insight into two cleaning companies, SOL and N-Clean, in Helsinki, Finland
Hussain, Samra (2016)
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016053010696
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016053010696
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of the author was to find to get an insight into the cleaning companies, in Helsin-ki, Finland, which the hotel industry is using as an external supplier for their housekeeping de-partment. The author has looked into the cleaning companies training process for the cleaning staff, employee demographics, quality control and process of handling complaints. The ad-vantages and disadvantages of outsourcing housekeeping in the hotel sector are also investi-gated.
The research method used in this thesis was qualitative research method, and the method of collecting data was conducted by carrying out interviews. Two different cleaning companies and two different hotels were a part of this thesis. The managers of the hotels and the cleaning companies were interviewed, along with the supervisors and cleaning staff members of the cleaning companies to collect the data.
The findings showed that the trend of outsourcing housekeeping in the hotel sector is increas-ingly becoming common. Hotels are opting for outsourcing their housekeeping for several different reasons, including but not limited to; low cost, professional personnel, less staff members to manage, resulting in less responsibilities for the managers. The findings also indi-cated that majority of the cleaning staff hired by the cleaning company are non-Finnish citi-zens, all of which have different levels of education and experience. This poses problems when it comes to communication and understanding of the tasks, as many foreign cleaning staff barely have any Finnish or English speaking skills.
Training programs are offered by both cleaning companies, for which both have slight differ-ences, but mainly cover the same areas. There is definitely room for improvement, which could lead to a better understanding of the task for the newly hired staff members. The im-portance of the quality of the services provided by the cleaning companies is also discussed, highlighting the fact that nowadays this aspect has major effects on hotel’s revenue, as the guests leave their reviews of the hotel on social media during their stay. This has a direct af-fect on the prospect guests who read those reviews before making their bookings. There are both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to outsourcing the hotel’s housekeeping, however the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages which may be the reason the ho-tels are inclined towards outsourcing. The cleaning companies have established a good stand-ard of cleaning services, which makes it easier for the hotels to outsource their housekeeping to them.
The research method used in this thesis was qualitative research method, and the method of collecting data was conducted by carrying out interviews. Two different cleaning companies and two different hotels were a part of this thesis. The managers of the hotels and the cleaning companies were interviewed, along with the supervisors and cleaning staff members of the cleaning companies to collect the data.
The findings showed that the trend of outsourcing housekeeping in the hotel sector is increas-ingly becoming common. Hotels are opting for outsourcing their housekeeping for several different reasons, including but not limited to; low cost, professional personnel, less staff members to manage, resulting in less responsibilities for the managers. The findings also indi-cated that majority of the cleaning staff hired by the cleaning company are non-Finnish citi-zens, all of which have different levels of education and experience. This poses problems when it comes to communication and understanding of the tasks, as many foreign cleaning staff barely have any Finnish or English speaking skills.
Training programs are offered by both cleaning companies, for which both have slight differ-ences, but mainly cover the same areas. There is definitely room for improvement, which could lead to a better understanding of the task for the newly hired staff members. The im-portance of the quality of the services provided by the cleaning companies is also discussed, highlighting the fact that nowadays this aspect has major effects on hotel’s revenue, as the guests leave their reviews of the hotel on social media during their stay. This has a direct af-fect on the prospect guests who read those reviews before making their bookings. There are both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to outsourcing the hotel’s housekeeping, however the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages which may be the reason the ho-tels are inclined towards outsourcing. The cleaning companies have established a good stand-ard of cleaning services, which makes it easier for the hotels to outsource their housekeeping to them.