Upskilling’s a key part of being a franchisee
Tauranga franchisees have been mastering new skills to make sure they’ve got the know-how to tackle every hard floor surface they may encounter.
And like learning anything new, it was case of practice makes perfect as Master Cleaners Hard Floor Trainer Pinakin Patel guided the business owners through the process of achieving a satisfying shine on a professional job well done.
Tauranga’s Pillans Point School provided the ideal location for the two-day course, run by the Master Cleaners Training Institute, which is accredited by the British Institute of Cleaning Science, as well as an NZQA-accredited Industry Training Organisation.
Before things got under way, the big focus was on health and safety.
Pinakin also took course participants through a range of techniques before the practical side of things began.
Buffing, scrubbing, burnishing, stain removal, stripping and polishing were covered. The day also included identifying various floor surfaces and the correct treatment.
The operation and the care of buffing machines was a main feature of the training day. Franchisees who successfully completed the Hard Floor upskilling day received Certificates of Completion.
“There is a lot more to floor care than most people think. Using a buffing machine takes some time to perfect. It’s a case of mind and hand coordination,” said Pinakin.
“At first it can seem hard but after a short time it gets easier as the franchisees learn how to control the machine. Definitely a case of practice makes perfect.”
Pinakin demonstrated how to avoid problems with floors that were uneven or had bumpy areas.
“Every surface is different. Difficult areas require more control and care to avoid damaging the machine.”
But the rewards for the time and effort spent on a floor brought enormous job satisfaction, said Pinakin.
“When a floor is 100 percent shiny you know you’ve done a great job.”
Franchisee Malcolm Brown said attending the course had been great and he’d learned new techniques on floor care.
“It’s definitely been worth it. It was very useful learning about different pads you can use on each different floor surface.”
Jan Lichtwark, Regional Manager for Tauranga, said: “These days we have many different floor types, from vinyl to polished concrete. They all have vastly different requirements for keeping the surfaces in pristine condition.
“We have franchisees who are specialists in hard floor care but all franchisees must know how to deal with every floor surface so training and upskilling is paramount.”