Janus Awards Elevate Campus Cleanliness

In July of 2012 the Custodial Services Department introduced the Janus Award to staff of the department. The award introduced a friendly competition between crews in the department and has elevated the overall cleanliness of buildings.

The purpose of the award was to help build consistency in cleaning standards and expectations for the department and after more than a year the results are proving the award has been a success.
In year-to-year comparison for the months that overlapped, there was 3.6-percent increase across all areas. Some individual buildings have seen as much as a 20-percent increase in their monthly scores.
The crew that has the top score wins a catered breakfast.

While at first staff was hesitant towards the idea of competition the majority of crew leaders have embraced the program and now have metrics to more accurately gauge their work flow and better train their staff.  Scores are tabulated based on averages across square footage. Inspectors visit each building every month to check items of importance to the department. They inspect numerous elements of equipment, restrooms and common areas.

The staff that inspect for the award are students at the U. Custodial Services department sees this as a boon because they are the target demographic the department cleans for.

“It is great that we are able to employ students as building inspectors,” says Stacy Hendrickson, a trainer for the department. “We get the perspective of our campuses main users, and that is a great benefit to us.”

In year-to-year comparison for the months that overlapped, there was 3.6-percent increase across all areas. Some individual buildings have seen as much as a 20-percent increase in their monthly scores.