Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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EFCI (the European Cleaning & Facility Services Industry), which brings together associations representing the industry at national level and as such is recognised as the voice of the cleaning & facility services industry in Europe, has just issued its latest trend report on the sector, which represents an impressive 270,000 companies.
'The European Cleaning Industry 1995-2016' makes interesting reading and contains a wealth of information not just collectively, but by individual country as well. For example, it notes that the volume of cleaning services that are contracted out rather than being performed in-house, is still growing - increasing from 61% in 2003 to 66% in 2016 - despite calls in some areas to bring cleaning back in-house to save money and have greater control. Apart from Portugal and Italy, national contracting out rates reached higher levels for all countries in 2016, compared to 2003.
It is also interesting to note that while the percentage of part time cleaners has fluctuated over the years, it has increased considerably over the last two decades, with almost seven out of 10 working part-time in 2016. The tradition for cleaning when buildings are empty of their normal occupants has largely continued, although Finland bucks the trend with daytime cleaning representing an impressive 75% of the working periods. In Spain, night-time cleaning increased from 13% to 25% of the working shifts.
I agree wholeheartedly with the comments made in the foreward that: "Despite suffering from a so-called 'invisibillity', the sector shows its undisputable relevance in today's society, not only for the essential services it provides, but also as regards the enormous impact it has in terms of employment. Only what is measurable can be managed, so we encourage readers to look at and interact with the data presented and think about the work behind the numbers. It is precisely this effort which has ensured that the sector has not only overcome the financial crisis and the latest recessions, but which has allowed it to continue growing."
For what has often been referred to as a 'Cinderella' industry to have tripled revenues to 107 billion Euros and increased the number of employees by 80%, to nearly four million people over the last two decades, we're really not doing too badly, are we?
You can download the report at:
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Yours,
4th July 2019