Source: CLEANTOTAL
Our article on the rather gloomy outlook for the cleaning industry, as outlined by the UWV as a result of Covid-19, appears to be hardly recognisable to cleaning companies. In fact, a tour of the cleaning companies reveals a more nuanced picture. It is precisely labour market tightness that is a concern in a recovering market.
Since we as editors were not convinced that the soup was being eaten as hot as it was by the UWV was served we made enquiries with several cleaning companies and the employers' organisations Schoonmakend Nederland and SieV. The UWV report gives a rather distorted picture of reality, according to the responses received.
Niche markets: largely out of touch
Director Ruud Danklof of Blankers Clean from Weert does not fully recognise the UWV's figures and prognosis: “In my opinion, the consequences with regard to job cuts as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are highly dependent on the customer portfolio and the sectors in which you work. I can imagine the pandemic having quite an effect in the cleaning of larger office buildings and/or the leisure and hospitality segments, respectively. However, our company also operates in the niche markets Food, Industry & Healthcare, close to our customers” core business. For the most part, the pluses and minuses cancel each other out at our company."
No disadvantage because of Covid was experienced by Blankers Schoon? ”Of course, especially in the first phase, we too faced higher absenteeism and the postponement of large specialist jobs. But on balance, turnover 2021 remained the same, mainly due to additional disinfection jobs.”
Rising demand
On behalf of the nationwide ISS Netherlands spokesman Marcel Kalmeijer tells us: “We do not recognise ourselves in the picture painted in the UWV article. At ISS, no adjustments were required in cleaning services during the pandemic and jobs were maintained. On the contrary, we are currently seeing increasing demand again, especially for specialised cleaners, such as industrial cleaners.”
Sector should instead benefit
John van de Bunt says on behalf of Visschedijk Cleaning from Hengelo: “I disagree with the content of the UWV's publication. There is growth in this country and that is exactly what the sector should be able to benefit from! However, a number of parties behaved too much like bankers during the crisis. Spending nothing, not developing and paying too little attention to employees. Just look at the contents of the recently presented black book. Service providers who focus on the people side, creativity and entrepreneurship will have many opportunities in the new reality. Perhaps not always by simply polishing m2s but looking broadly at facility opportunities. We therefore see plenty of opportunities and seize them!’
Unclear future of home working
Elbert Jan Hesse from Novon Cleaning talks about a maximum hours reduction of around 5% within his company as a result of Covid-19. Incidentally, this reduction applies only within the SME segment of the portfolio, the rest has remained fairly constant: “We have fortunately been able to keep all employees working despite the pandemic. This is partly thanks to the diversity of segments in which we operate. The contraction in hours is mainly in the SME segment within our portfolio.” Hesse further states that companies are still searching for the consequences and future of working from home: ”Nevertheless, we experience that the market is already picking up somewhat! For example, holiday parks are full again and remain full!”
Staff shortages from north to south
Effective from Groningen does not recognise the picture painted by UWV either. At least not to the extent as recorded. Nina Poort, operations director on this: “The staff shortage is still quite large. Occupancy at offices is lower, though, and we also expect there to be structurally lower occupancy there. On the other hand, we have a lot of extra demand for extra afternoon rounds, etc.” Poort expects this shift to continue and also does not recognise that there is a job shortage: “The event venues are having a tough time and relatively many jobs have been lost there. However, now that this segment is picking up, people are also hard to find here at the moment.”
On behalf of the ICS Group from Eindhoven, we hear a similar sound from HR manager Annemiek de Jong: “What we notice is that from May 2021 onwards, there will actually be many more jobs available again, and therefore much less shrinkage than the UWV states. The average candidate is therefore critical, and is also afraid of losing his/her benefits.” She does state, however, that in lockdown/2020 there was indeed a surplus of staff: “But this is now totally reversed, and we are rather facing a shortage of staff.”
There are tough times ahead
Maurice Rutgrink, chairman SieV states that after reading the report, the UWV is optimistic: “UWV states that the labour crunch is now largely over or has subsided. One expresses some expectations and tries to detect a trend.”
In SieV's opinion, however, now that the largest homeworking experiment has succeeded, building owners and tenants will take a critical look at their office space: “People have noticed that they can do with less space. How this will develop is anyone's guess. My expectation is that we will now temporarily go back to normal. When the leases expire within say three years, I predict a shrinkage of at least 5%, which will no longer be absorbed by economic growth.”
According to the employer president, the UWV is focusing on the effects of last year: “Seeing ahead what UWV is doing is based on an old business model. Das war einmal. The labour market is definitely shrinking. The industry still has an image problem. Despite job losses in cleaning and hospitality, vacancies remain open.”
Furthermore, according to SieV, the intake of young employees is increasingly becoming an issue. Partly also because of the increasing supply of people with a disadvantage on the labour market, she says. Rutgrink: “With metres and frequencies decreasing and the aforementioned influx, tough times await us.”
Larger labour shortage than before pandemic
Also Cleaning Netherlands (SNL) does not endorse the further decline in employment expected by the UWV in 2021. Indeed, right now there is rising demand says this employers“ organisation: ”. In fact, we expect a bigger labour shortage for 2021 than before the corona pandemic. Except that the tightness will be felt in other places and times."
According to the SNL spokesperson, this is caused by the fact that many Dutch people are still on holiday in their own country this year, causing the demand for cleaning staff for hotels, restaurants, holiday and amusement parks ‘outside the Randstad’ to skyrocket: “Regions that had little or no shortage before the crisis. Demand for (flexible) deployment at Schiphol Airport and NS and specialist cleaners (industry, reconditioning and glass washing) is also picking up.”
According to SNL, the vacancies are difficult to fill because the cleaners and temporary workers who lost their jobs due to the corona crisis (shrinkage of almost 15%) have since found other jobs: “ Many employers in the cleaning industry therefore have to recruit new staff. Schoonmakend Nederland is currently further developing its own impact analysis. As soon as that is completed, we will be happy to come back here.”
English (UK)