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Ukrainian Cleaning, Property Times, №14 (51), 18-24th of April 2005


The cleaning services are new for Ukrainian market. Even though the cleaning was existing earlier, it was non-qualified labor, where the main tools were bucket and rags. Right now the only association of work “a cleaner” is an elderly lady with a bucket. However because of appearing of new technologies and materials in the sphere of construction, the methods of yesterday aren’t enough already. For the last decade it was built lots of new buildings, trimmed with modern materials, and the requirements of care of these buildings are different. That’s why the proper cleaning of premises and facades can’t be trusted to regular cleaners. These kinds of jobs should be done by professionally trained cleaning companies only, which have all necessary professional equipment, chemicals and specially trained staff.

Cleaning Services in Ukraine Are Represented Just Partially

“There’re no companies, which deal with the cleaning services only, at Ukrainian market”, Dmitrij Galyas, the manager of cleaning direction of Center of 1000 Services, says, “There’re some enterprises, which do the cleaning, and also different services – selling of professional equipment and chemicals, greening of premises and adjoining territory, construction works (trimming, plastering etc.). The market isn’t ready yet for using of complex cleaning services. Generally these kinds of services are essential amongst the foreign companies, representatives or native companies with foreign investments.”

However Iryna Bajdachnaya, the leading marketing specialists of cleaning company Shaden Group, don’t agree with the statement. She states, that such cleaning companies are at Ukrainian market.

“In order to set the cleaning on the leading positions of Ukrainian market, it’s necessary to do some efforts. Any case should be done in professional way. In this case you have to orientate on the doing the cleaning services only, it means the services which concerned with professional cleaning and care of commercial and private real estate. The spectrum of the services is really wide – from the daily serving of big trade centers to fast service in an hour after the call of customer”, she noticed.

According to the opinion of market operators, the income of the companies from the professional cleaning is from 1% to 100%, depending on the quality of the enterprise, size of departments, type of activity. Because of the small demand (compared to the European countries), the Ukrainian companies have to do the other services and realize the professional cleaning and chemicals necessary for cleaning.

The picture of European cleaning has a different look. The foreign companies do not only the cleaning, but also the complex of services, which are essential in the administrative, public, trade and office centers.

“At the moment there’s a strict labor dividing in the European countries”, Svetlana Kostishina, the general manager of DaLa, says, “The companies are becoming more and more specialized. They do their own job, without doing the additional or secondary jobs. If the enterprise deals with computer, it doesn’t have an employee, which obligation is to check the presence of water or stationery in the office. These responsibilities should be outsourced.

As Tatyana Kostenko, the deputy general manager of Griffin, thinks, the main components of professional cleaning are:

• Experienced managers

The properly created program of object serving depends on them. Cleaning serving is first of all collaboration. It means that except of technical specificity of premises, the corporative culture should also be taken into consideration.

• High level of technical equipment

The professional equipment is one of the biggest expenses for any company. You may judge about financial stability of the company and its strategy of development by the level of technical equipment of it.

• Wide spectrum of services

It’s more comfortable for a customer to work with one supplier of services. That’s why a cleaning company is a helper in different sometimes unexpected situations. The standard set of services for big cleaning operators, except for the cleaning, includes the high-rise works, supplying with domestic chemicals and hygienic products, removing of trash and snow, providing of loading and unloading works.

• Social responsibility

It’s not a secret that the main problem of cleaning companies is fluidity of staff. It may reduce to zero all huge efforts in fighting for client. Because of the constant appearing of new inexperienced employees the quality of services deteriorates. To avoid it, the serious companies try to provide their employees with the comfortable work conditions, high level of salary, full set of social guarantees, possibility of career growth.

Market and Its Operators

The operators of market have a similar opinion that the cleaning market of Ukraine is still unfilled, it’s still developing. The cleaning direction is really interesting and prospective.

“There’s no company in Ukraine, which could embrace the whole spectrum of cleaning services, which is a norm for Europe”, S. Kostyshkina says, “The European companies do the services on a high level, the Ukrainian market isn’t yet ready for it. The native companies, which appeared a couple of years ago, became the first ones in the sphere. They were studying the bases of profession, explained all potential possibilities to their clients, positive sides and profits of professional cleaning.”

According to Vladimir Kucherov, the general director of Kiev-Berlin-Service Ltd., the Ukrainian cleaning market is formed owing to serving of big objects and representatives of foreign companies, which know, what kind of job is it. The volume of native market is estimated in 20-30 millions of Euros – the sum, which is three-four times less, than in Russia.

Amongst the leading operators of Ukrainian market the following companies could be highlighted: Griffin, DaLa, Dussman-Ukraine, Euro-City, Kiev-Berlin-Service, CleanTech, Parris, Pervaya Cleaningovaya Kompaniya, Primex, Techno-Sila, Ukrchimcleaning, Tsentr of 1000 Uslug, Chistaya Planeta, Shaden Group, and some others.

“More than 100 cleaning companies work at the Ukrainian market today”, I. Bajdachnaya comments, “The most of them are small companies with 5-20 people of staff. It’s clear, that they all have a limited list of services and the quality of works is corresponding. Only big companies may deal with serving of big objects, the ones, which may invest big money into development of their business.”

“The demand on cleaning services grows not only in Kiev, but also on the whole territory of Ukraine”, T. Kostenko adds, “It leads to the appearance of local cleaning companies and to the widening of capital operators. For the last two years we opened our representatives in Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Simferopol and Lvov.”

Together with doing the cleaning services, these companies also do the greening of premises, security services, construction jobs, realization of professional equipment and chemicals for cleaning, and also some other kinds of services.

The prospective customers for Ukrainian cleaning companies are:

• Foreign companies representatives
• Big corporations
• Companies with foreign investments
• Construction companies
• Big trade and office centers
• Public places
• Government enterprises

The work with each client is different. If the company also does the construction works, then the general repair is also ordered while putting the object into operation. However, sometimes the cleaning company also does the improving of adjoining territory.

S. Kostyshina comments:

“Cleaning isn’t a direct service of a building company, that’s why they attract the professional cleaning companies, which do the qualitative services in cleaning of premises and adjoining territory. In this case the cleaning company continues the construction, and its job is to do the effective end of the work. The owner doesn’t distinguish the job of constructors and the job of the cleaner. He needs the final result.”

The big attention is paid by cleaning companies to the professional equipment, chemicals and professionalism of employees. At the moment we don’t have any specialized training programs in Ukraine, that’s why the market operators should be satisfied with attending of seminars on using of professional equipment. Besides, the employees of cleaning companies attend the trainings of British Institute of Cleaning in Moscow. According to the words of specialists, these skills help them to understand the principles and details of working with technique and using of different kinds of chemicals for different surfaces. However, this knowledge is rather theoretical, the practical job is done first under control, then independently.

Prices and Profits

The main reason of service choosing is economical profit. The variant with employing of ten additional cleaners seems to be more profitable.

“According to the calculations the ordering of cleaning company services is more expensive for the customer than the employing of some workers. However, the demand on cleaning services is growing annually. Its growing is an index of the fact that some companies concluding the contract with cleaning companies realize, that they buy qualitative service.”

You may count the possible expenses in the following way:

• The first variant: you may hire 10 cleaners, which do the daily cleaning (the salary of each is 500 grivnas). The sum is: 500х10 = 5000 grivnas
• The second variant: the cleaning companies services: the cost of the same volume of jobs is 10 000 grivnas

After calculating of these two variants, lots of customers come to conclusion that the services of professionals cost much more. However, according to S. Kostyshina, the customer doesn’t take into consideration the fact that it’s also necessary to buy equipment, chemicals, support consumables. Besides, it’s necessary to have a warehouse, organize and control the job of the staff, give them the uniform, etc. After calculations of all expenses, concerned with cleaning, the sum will be much higher than the cost of professional team services. You should also remember that the employees have to do their main job without distracting on other obligations. These hidden expenses are rarely calculated by customer.

The same is with constructive companies. Earlier the companies gathered all their employees for cleaning the premises. However their salary wasn’t enough for that, and their qualification didn’t correspond to the necessary level. That’s why, according to the words of market operators, lots of the constructive companies want to cooperate with them. It’s much more profitable, effective, faster and more reliable.

“The prices for cleaning companies’ services are roughly the same and differ for 5-10% only. The damping prices (40-50% less than a medium price), which may offer some enterprises, means that they are not able to provide a high level of services, they just want to get a customer by offering lower prices. Nobody guarantees that the quality of their work is really a European one, and the property of client will be safe”, I. Bajdachnaya says.

“When putting the objects into operation”, D. Galyas tells, “The cleaning should be included into the estimate, which has to be paid by customer. At the moment all construction companies, which offer the cleaning companies for cleaning of their objects, pay their own money for these services.”

Attraction of professional cleaners costs more, than the work of their own employees, but it’s safer – there’s a guarantee that the works will be done in time, properly and qualitatively.

Washing of Facades Is Ukrainian Problem

Except for the complex cleaning services, the high-rise works on facades cleaning are essential in Ukraine. The rules of these jobs are getting more and stricter each year. This is one of the directions, which is offered by cleaning companies. It includes washing, cleaning and diagnostics of facades, small jobs (glass dosage, small repairs, and confinement of glasses). But the offer “on paper” really differs from the real job, high-rise job. The companies, which claim about perfect fulfillment of these jobs, don’t really do it. They ask the specialized companies for help. And we have a circle.

“Because of the complexity of jobs and high level of injuries while washing the facades, the regular cleaning company isn’t supposed to do these jobs”, Denis Lopatin, the manager of industrial climbing department of Tsentr of 1000 Uslug, comments, “It needs to hire the whole staff of trained employees, which are able to do the jobs at the good level. These are a main engineer, a labor security engineer, workers, which have the corresponding education, are professionally trained, have a medical regularly. Besides, we need to have the whole list of documentation required. Just a few cleaning companies may afford themselves these things. However because it’s more convenient for the customer to order a complex cleaning in one company, it may get a subcontractor for doing the necessary fa?ade works.

Besides, the complexity of high-rise works is not only the classy industrial climbers, but also the specificity of building’s project.

At the moment State Committee of Labor Protection Inspection inculcates the special teams, which look after the rightness of dangerous works performance, and also the presence of allowing documentation. The main reason of restriction of requirements is a big amount of deaths, which the customer is responsible for, even though they had no idea, that a company’s representative didn’t have the necessary licenses.

As D. Lopatin says, just some architects are far-sighted enough to create the possible ways of building serving while projecting it. There’re lots of constructions in Kiev, which look nice and spectacular, but their service is more expensive than construction. There’re cases, when the industrial climber can’t reach the fa?ade because of its glamour. That’s why the special technique should be used, including the tower for 2.5-5 thousand grivnas a day. The productivity of jobs while using a tower is up to 100 sq. m. These additional expenses are paid by customer just because the preliminary washing of building wasn’t foreseen.

However you can’t say that the architects don’t pay attention at the following exploitation at all. Some of them used to ask about the place and necessity of constructions for the following serving of building.

The architects and planners state that the native customer is not ready to pay the additional expenses for providing the glass fa?ade with special equipment, which may ease its cleaning.

Specialists’ comments

Dmitrij Galyas, the manager of cleaning direction of Tsentr 1000 Uslug:

—Just lately the cleaning companies started stand out against the general spectrum of services and position themselves as a single direction. Four years ago the cleaning was just an additional service to the rest of services. The cleaning started developing with growing of demand on cleaning services.

If you take a look at the experience of Russia (where the services are more essential than in Ukraine), the market is filled on 20-25% only. The same index in Ukraine is even lower. The potential customers haven’t yet realized the profitability of investing money into professional cleaning.

The one thing, which may change the situation, is time. In a while the companies will realize the advantages of hiring the professional cleaners, not the regular ones. However the direction is very prospective.

The market isn’t filled, and the cleaning companies don’t do the services to all customers, which need them. The cleaning companies don’t divide their customers: some of them (governmental institutions, for example) need to have their windows washed once in a season, the others (supermarkets) need a daily cleaning.

Svetlana Kostishkina, the general manager of DaLa:

—At the moment the level of serving of administrative and commercial building has considerably grown, together with the growing demands of customers.

Each company, which does the cleaning services, chooses a niche and potential customers, which need this kind of service. Each operator chooses its specificity and a certain circle of customers. The competition at the Ukrainian cleaning market doesn’t exist.

However, because of Ukrainian market isn’t still filled, the presence of small companies, which consist of two-three people, influences the image of market operators. After ordering a bad service once, a customer will never want to cooperate with cleaning companies again. The main advantage of unprofessional companies is a price, which may 1.5-2 times lower than a price of professional cleaners’ services. However the final job of these companies isn’t effective. That’s why you should pay attentions at some factors (professional answers of managers on all your questions, knowledge of the specificity of order and requirements, checking the object by manager of cleaning company, quality guarantee) while choosing a cleaning company.

Vladimir Kucherov, the general manager of Kiev-Berlin-Service Ltd.

—The prospects of cleaning market are huge. If the customers realize, that it’s more profitable to work with professional cleaning companies with professional equipment, using of professional detergents, they will be able to save their time on their general business, without distracting on unprofessional activity, reduce the administrative staff and expenses on maintaining the premises. The time of general repair may be postponed for two-three years.

When a customer cleans the premise just by themselves, they never calculate a cost of cleaning. The cleaning companies have a special table for this and can say, which a prime cost of jobs is, and indicate their margin. The professional companies, which are interested in the long cooperation with a customer, do that.

While ordering a professional service, a customer gets a new level of cleaning. When the customer pays for the service, they get back the added value tax and consider the cost of service as expenses.

Tatyana Kostenko, deputy general manager of Griffin:

—During the last years the Ukrainian cleaning became one of the most prospective directions of the service sphere. Of course, its volumes are small comparing to Europe and America. However the big perspectives appear with coming of western companies to Ukrainian market and growing of “civilization” level of Ukrainian cleaning. Lots of native companies invest money into their image after getting a financial independence. The professional cleaning is a necessary and irreplaceable element of image. Meanwhile more and more leaseholders of prestigious office areas appear; the modern office centers are created, which can’t be ruled without using of professional cleaning technologies. One of the main problems for serious operators of cleaning market is constantly appearing small “cleaning companies”. The group of people, which has just one vacuum cleaner, is able to do a lot. For example, they can with a big tender because of using the strict damping. It may lead to groundless reducing of prices at the market and to the negative treatment of cleaning in general. The term of life of these companies is small, but the mass character of their appearance makes us worry.

Iryna Bajdachnaya, the leading marketing specialist of Shaden Group:

—At the moment the number of companies, which do the cleaning service, is growing. It’s convenient and prestigious to use their services. The question of profitability of collaboration with cleaning companies should be considered separately. It’s not a secret that the sums wasted on exploitation may increase because of the necessity of planned redecoration. The right approach may cause the reducing of prices.

Altogether the understanding of profitability of collaboration with cleaning companies is increasing, so does the level of their services. The really professional company, which has a claim on European level, should have the strong material and technical base, the park of specialized equipment, reliable repair base, and its specialists should use the modern materials and technologies, they should be able to create a strong partnership. It means that the cleaning company is able to do the jobs of any complexity and do the shopping malls, the offices, the industrial enterprises clean and shiny.

Source: “Property times”

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