Applied Workplace Practice - Jims Cleaning Franchise - Personal Statement Example

Occupational & Health Safety Management A Weekly Journal for Jim’s Cleaning Franchise and Number Submitted Introduction In this report, I intend to provide an intensive overview of my experience managing the overall operations of Jims Cleaning franchise. As such, this weekly journal shall focus on discussing the key issues that have emerged during the covered period, as well as on assessing the solutions that have been developed and implemented in response to such issues. To maintain focus and succinctness in my discussion, I wish to divide my report in three parts. The first part will give a brief background on Jims Cleaning in order to highlight: (1) its primary business operations; (2) my function as a franchisee; and (3) relevance of operational and health safety (OH&S) management in this line of business. The second part, on the other hand, will be dedicated to my three-week journal. In this light, each weekly journal shall narrate the critical happenings I have encountered and how my team and I were able to come up with sound solutions to solve them. Emphasis will also be placed on the essential insights I have gathered in relation to business management and people empowerment. The last part will end this report through a conclusion, as well as recommendations on how to improve the operations of Jim’s Cleaning. I. Company Background: Jim’s Cleaning A. Business Operations Jim’s Cleaning is dedicated to “providing its Franchisees with the safest workplace practicable, taking into consideration state legislative requirements, information from current Australian Standards and industry best practice” (Jim’s Cleaning Group, 2012, p. 1). Safety, therefore, becomes the core value of Jim’s business operations. In this regard, the company has concretized this vision by developing strict guidelines on safety, as embodied in its health and safety policy that outlines safe work methods and procedures to protect not just the lives of the client being serviced, but more importantly of the employees working. It is in this mindset that the company also recognizes the need to ensure that its operations do not place the community at risk of injury, illness, or property damage, in order to also ensure the preservation of the surrounding environment (Jim’s Cleaning Group, 2012). Jim’s Cleaning believes that the realization of these goals rely heavily on the concerted efforts of its franchisors, franchisees, and employees. Thus, constant communication and coordination is being strictly implemented throughout the company. It is through this emphasis on the proper alignment and enforcement of operational health and safety (OHS) that the company was able to develop its standard procedures and processes. For one, Jim’s Cleaning ensures to render proper induction and training to its newcomers for them to understand their responsibilities in the business operations. In this regard, all relevant reports and manuals are completely handed down to them. In addition to this, the company also makes sure that it is able to track the performance of their regular employees through the strict implementation of one-on-one coaching and on-field monitoring. Through this initiative, the company is able to achieve operational excellence as the employees are encouraged to submit weekly reports on safe work methods and risk management. Such include: (1) evaluating the work environment in relation to foreseeable safety threats; (2) correct handling use hazardous materials; and (3) categorizing incidents according to their impact on human life. B. Job Functions as a Franchisee As an owner of Jim’s Cleaning, I oversee the business planning and operations of my franchise. I currently have an average of 35 active customers which vary from fast-food chains to domestic homes. A complete list of my clients can be seen in Appendix A. As a franchisee, my job functions can be divided into three (summary can be seen in Appendix B). Firstly, I manage my overall business by ensuring that my franchise is doing well financially. This entails weekly and monthly meeting with my finance, accounting, and marketing teams to determine sales performance vis-à-vis sales targets, current business issues and opportunities being spotted, and solutions that could be formed (from operational, financial, and marketing perspectives). Secondly, I make sure that I get to constantly communicate with my franchisor and divisional managers to align to them the performance of my business, and to get assistance on the facets I would need much help on—i.e. managing resources and optimizing cash flow. Lastly, I train my employees as they are in the forefront of my business. As such, I make sure that they undergo proper training and performance monitoring in order to maintain quality cleaning service. Aside from this, I also do my site visits to build and nourish the relationship with my clients, as well as spot business opportunities that may arise. C. Relevance of Operational and Health Safety (OH&S) Management At this point, it can be claimed that proper OH&S management is at the core of my business operations. Being in the service industry that takes care of my clients’ health and safety, the appropriate implementation of standard operating procedures could truly influence the success of my business. As noted by Interfaith Worker Justice (n.d.), maintain high safety standard reflects how the company values not just its bottom line, but more importantly its human capital. More often than not, a company that adopts good models on operational safety increases its productivity and lessens its cost, thereby attaining profit growth. This mindset is also shared by Green Seal Inc. (2006) in its report that exposed the impact of the company’s compliance to environment standards in relation to its attainment of quality business operations and good publicity. II. Weekly Journal for Jim’s Cleaning At this point, I would now like to go into the details of my weekly journal as the owner of Jim’s Cleaning Franchise. But before I do so, I would like to underscore that this part is dedicated to narrating the key events that happened during the week covered, as well as the most important lessons that I have gathered through my field work and consultations with my business counterparts. A. Week One Journal The key highlights for this week are as follows: (1) induction and training of five new employees; (2) safety concerns and solutions in two of my clients; (3) high level of absenteeism which has rapidly affected productivity and sales growth; and (4) delays in payment. I shall briefly state the contents of each highlight. 1. Induction and Training of Five New Employees This happened during the first week of the day. From a hiring process perspective, the five new employees proved to be helpful in increasing the productivity of my franchise as they not only showed the interest in getting the job, they also possessed certain skills that are well aligned with the demands of the job. Through this intensive induction and training program, I was able to cover the following lessons with the five new hires: (1) OH&S policy and responsibilities; (2) OH&S reporting procedures; (3) correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE); (4) handling hazardous substances; (5) safe work method standards; and (6) ethical safety requirements. 2. Safety Concerns and Solutions Through the strict reporting system, my employees were able to inform me as regards safety issues in two of my clients: KFC Restaurant and The Body Shop Boutique. Through an analysis of the accident reports, I was able to pinpoint the safety issues and its root causes. As for KFC, the issue has been attributed to the improper use of orange squirt concentrate that led to the irritation of the employee’s right eye as well as skin. First-aid was applied to the victim through flushing the affected areas with running water for 15 minutes while the eyelids were kept open. To ensure that the incident will not happen again, the employees were reminded on the proper handling of cleaning materials as well as the constant of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as eye goggles and gloves. As for The Body Shop Boutique, the employee had minor cuts after falling from an unstable ladder. Fortunately, first-aid measures were applied and the employee was quickly rushed to the clinic. After this incident, a re-orientation on safety measures and lessening safety risks was conducted. 3. High Level of Absenteeism An alignment meeting with my Human Resources team helped me identify another critical issue for the week—high level of absenteeism among my employees handling Office Works Super stores. Such event demanded immediate attention and action as it negatively affected the productivity rate of my employees. To address this issue, I quickly asked for a one-on-one meeting with the employees to get into the reasons behind their absences, and it turned out that it was the attitude of the store managers that was affecting their productivity. Because of this, I personally went to see the store managers of Office Works to advise them of the current situation and agree on the next steps to be done. Fortunately, they admitted their mistakes and promised to treat my employees to treat done more nicely once they see them at work. 4. Delays in Payment The delays in payment were forwarded to me by my finance team as they pulled down the sales performance of my franchise for the current month versus the previous month. Problems were caused by my domestic clients who exceeded credit terms. To respond to this issue, official calls were made by my customer care service team to notify them of our payment guidelines. B. Week Two Journal The key highlights for this week are as follows: (1) continued sales decline as evidenced through the weekly sales trending; (2) competitor’s activities (3) alignment meeting with franchisor and division managers to address sales decline and respond to competitor’s activities. 1. Weekly Sales decline of Jim’s Cleaning Through the consolidation of the reports submitted to my sales accounts planner, I was able to detect the sales decline of my franchise for the current week (second week of February) versus previous week of current year (first week of February) and first week of current year (first week of January). Looking at the actual gross sales of my franchise for February 2013, it is obvious that my business is experiencing sales decline. From $35,000 of the previous week, it is now down to $30,000.   1st week January 2013 1st week February 2013 2nd week February 2013 Jims Cleaning 45,000.00 35,000.00 30,000.00 Wit this in mind, I tried determining the decline of my sales in terms of percentage by comparing with: (1) sales performance during first week of January, 2013 which serves as my benchmark sales; and (2) sales performance during second week of February, 2013 which serves as my up to date status. The formula I used in getting the sales performance in percentage is: Percent Growth/Decline = (current period – previous period)/previous period.   % of Year-to-Date Sales Growth/Decline % of Week-Ago Sales Growth/Decline Jims Cleaning -33% -14% Breaking down the figures in accordance to my two client types (commercial and domestic), I was able to know that the commercial group was contributing to the decline at -33% YTD sales and -20% WAGO sales.   % of Year-to-Date Sales Growth/Decline % of Week-Ago Sales Growth/Decline Jims Cleaning -33% -14% Commercial -33% -20% Domestic -33% 0% In order to better understand the issue, I interviewed the employees assigned to my commercial clients and also did my fieldwork in these accounts. As a result, I was able to find out that the top reasons for the sales decline were as follows: (1) loss of two clients for the current week due to the cheaper service offering of my top competitor—Mark’s Cleaning services; (2) low productivity rate of the employees assigned due to tardiness; and (3) unresolved accounts receivable issues. 2. Competitor’s Activity: Mark’s Cleaning Services In response to the unpleasant sales figures for the second week of February, I opted to pay a visit to my top three clients, namely KFC, Tupperware, and Toyota Australia in order to get their feedbacks on the competitor activities of Mark Cleaning Services. Through this experience, I was able to find out that the other company tried offering my top clients a cheaper service rate (nearly 5% versus my average hourly rate) and longer credit terms (3 months versus my credit term of only 1 month). However, thanks to the strong relationship that I was able to build with these accounts, they chose to remain with my company (thus, declining the offer of Mark’s Cleaning Services). As they told me, they truly value the high quality of service that my franchise was able to render for the fast five years. Although they will be able to cut down on their costs by choosing Mark’s Cleaning Services, they appreciated the good business relationship that our companies were able to build. 3. Alignment Meeting with Franchisor and Division Managers Given the two alarming issues on sales decline and competitor’s activities, an alignment meeting happened during the last day of the week. As agreed, actions will be made to arrest the sales decline of my franchise for the second week of February by calibrating the compensation package of my employees alongside the stricter implementation of credit terms. To protect the customer base of Jim’s Cleaning from its rival competitor, intensive marketing and sales activities would be launched starting the first week of March. C. Week Three Journal The key highlight for this week was the creation of the March, 2013 business plan and the stating of the parties-in-charge. 1. Jimy’s Cleaning March, 2013 Plan In order to improve the sales performance of Jim’s cleaning, I spearheaded an internal meeting with my finance, accounting, marketing, and human resources teams to craft our business plan for March, 2013. As agreed, the monthly targets of my company were as follows: Business Issue Business Target 1) Declining Sales Performance for February 2013 March Sales Growth of 15% 2) Lack of competency among employees (high level of absenteeism and tardiness) - Stricter enforcement of employee performance monitoring - Enhancement of compensation and benefits package for the top-performing employees 3) Competitor’s activities Strategic execution of marketing activities to get new clients and retain the current ones 2. Parties-in-Charge Business Target Responsibility March Sales Growth of 15% All - Stricter enforcement of employee performance monitoring - Enhancement of compensation and benefits package for the top-performing employees Human Resources with Accounting Strategic execution of marketing activities to get new clients and retain the current ones Marketing III. Conclusion My experience in handling the overall management of Jim’s Cleaning franchise has taught me three valuable lessons. Firstly, that constant coordination and communication is vital in order to address business issues through sound and cost-efficient solutions. Secondly, that people management and relationship enrichment are both important in keeping the loyalty of both employees and clients. Lastly, that having a leader with a visionary mind can truly lead the company to success. Appendix A: Current List of Clients of Jim’s Cleaning Commercial Clients Anz Bank Central Security The Body Shop Brenton Carpet Citycircle, Qualital Tupperware Fulton Hogan Tiger Airline YMCA Super Clinic Toyota Australia St. Brenden Church Australia Post New Homes Crestwood Development Kentucky Fried Chicken Simonds Home HR Accounting Firm Avalon Airport JJ Kings Homes Summit Construction Office Works Super Stores Domestic Clients Jim Mona Carley Sue Sharon Maryanne Mel Karen Tim Julian Donald & Mary Appendix B: My Weekly Job Functions (Summary) ADMINISTRATIVE WORK: A. Creation of weekly field work plan: a. Includes the sites to be visited b. Issues to be resolved / opportunities to be explored B. OHS Reports checking for consolidation (as sent by the employees), and sending to franchisor. Contents include: a. Safe Word Methods statements b. Hazardous materials c. Other reports as contained in the manual C. Business review with subordinates a. Sales growth for the week vs weekly costs (reference to the area where I operate) b. Employee productivity report c. Competitor report (spotting if activities of my competitor) d. Customer payment e. Accounting books concerns D. Conduction induction & safety training to incoming employees FIELD WORK: A. Site Visit a. Inspection & Maintenance ** Includes: checking compliance to health standards as set by the company and by the government ** Highlighting issues that need to be addressed b. Coordination with the employee-in-charge c. Communication with the customer: ** Such coordination with employee and customer shall include monitoring competitor’s activity Bibliography Green Seal Inc. (2006). Green Seal Environmental Standard for Cleaning Services. Retrieved 8 Mar 2013 from http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/UserFiles/File/Cleaners/Standards/GS-42_cleaning_services.pdf. Interfaith Worker Justice. (n.d.). Health and Safety in the Cleaning Services Industry. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved 8 Mar 2013 from http://files.iwj.gethifi.com/workers-center-network/health-safety/CLEANING_WORKERS_TRAINING.pdf. Jim’s Cleaning Group. (2012). Health and Safety Management for Jim’s Cleaning Franchisees. Australia: Jim’s Cleaning Services Inc. Read More