Porters provide services to help day-to-day operations run smoothly. Here are the four main porter services.
Did you know that only 14% of employees expressed confidence in their company’s leaders regarding safely returning to work?
As a business owner or manager, it is your main duty to ensure both your staff and clients feel safe to enter the premises, especially in a world more aware now of health threats than ever.
How can your business benefit from day porter services and why should you work with them? You’ll find out all you need to know in the below post.
What is a Day Porter?
Day porters may be direct employees of a business or contracted workers employed by a commercial cleaning company. They are commonly needed in environments including office buildings, retail, educational settings, hospitality, and many more.
Porters are often stationed near doors, gates, patios, parking lots, or other entrances to a facility. Common tasks include mopping up spills and messes, trash and debris removal, lobby maintenance, restroom cleaning, and cleaning carpets.
What Makes a Good Day Porter Service?
A day porter service usually operates during the workday for those concerned with maintaining professional appearances. Unlike basic commercial janitorial services that might perform services after business hours, day porters work when the facility is occupied.
The day porter is an important element of the office maintenance crew. They improve the image of your company. When your office is attractive, staff are more productive, and visitors are more likely to return.
Although janitorial services are excellent for deep cleaning, they are not always available. It is impractical to hire a professional crew to replace a light bulb or clean up the mud.
This is when you’ll require the services of a day porter. They fill in the gaps between commercial cleaning services, keeping your office spotless until the professionals arrive.
A good day porter service will adhere to the plans established by the facility manager, building owner, or operations professional. In most cases, a day porter will have both responsibilities for routine daily tasks and responding to unforeseen situations.
Why Do Businesses Hire Porters?
Businesses will hire day porters for a variety of reasons based on the needs of the facility.
When you hire a day porter, you’re hiring someone to provide services that are completely tailored to your requirements. They will collaborate with you to create a schedule that is tailored to your operations and requirements.
They are generally expected to regularly investigate the premises to identify any hazards or troublesome concerns. For example, porters might be expected to check the exterior areas of large commercial facilities multiple times per day.
In addition to cleaning, they can be involved in identifying property or equipment that requires repair. They often will work in pairs when operating in larger environments, particularly in mixed-use structures or other multi-functional physical settings.
Four Benefits of Porter Services
1. Security Services
Porters are among those that contribute to a building’s safety and security in various ways. They often arrive at the facility before regular business hours begin and will disarm the security system.
A porter will generally conduct an initial walk-through of the facility to detect any problems as they unlock doors, and often, will be assigned visitor control, such as checking in building entrants.
Various security-related issues might arise during a day porter’s shift such as identifying any attempts at forced entry after-hours. In some cases, a porter might identify and report concerns related to vandalism including broken windows or graffiti.
Although not specifically responsible for the enforcement of security at a facility, a day porter might be an effective deterrent. For example, when making a daily tour of the building’s exterior, a porter can prompt loitering kids to move elsewhere.
2. Facilities Services
Having a day porter on staff is a tremendous benefit based on the concerns associated with the COVID-19 disinfection practices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have implemented a series of updated guidelines that are widely adopted.
One of these leading concerns involves the disinfection of high-traffic or “high touch” surfaces in workplace environments. The CDC recommends cleaning objects located in lobby and reception areas such as counters, door handles, and elevator buttons more frequently.
Other objects that a day porter might disinfect one or more times each day include handrails, phones, and light switches. Disinfection should be completed using an EPA-approved product that has proven effective at killing viruses and bacteria.
Another major area of focus for day porters is restrooms, particularly those that have many visitors throughout the day. Aside from preventing the spread of illness, failing to maintain restrooms can hinder an organization’s image.
Some of the key cleaning tasks involve sinks, counters, toilets, mirrors, and other surfaces and objects. Restrooms also need to have their supplies restocked including paper products and soaps.
Cafeterias, kitchens, and break rooms are the sites where your staff frequently gathers. They brew coffee, cook food, share a meal, and even smoke in this space.
Rodents and insects are attracted to leftovers and crumbs. Overnight, rotten food will give off an unpleasant odor. A day porter will keep an eye on things in these areas and make sure they’re clean and tidy.
3. Information Services
Day porters are highly adaptable and facility managers appreciate having a competent staff member available to respond. For example, in cases where heavy rains, snow, or ice has developed that may pose safety concerns near entryways.
A day porter can be available to quickly respond to unforeseen problems that result in taking temporary protective measures.
An example includes a sudden roof leak that has developed that requires restricting traffic in the area while maintenance is performed.
Facility professionals might rely on day porters for delivering various types of vital communication. A porter may be helpful for immediately notifying different departments verbally when major issues arise.
4. Technical Services
A day porter can be a great benefit when performing a variety of technical tasks. How exactly?
Large commercial facilities often have costly equipment pieces that are deemed as capital assets that need types regular inspection and maintenance. Although many day porters will lack the training necessary to perform complex maintenance, they can identify potential repair needs.
They might be assigned with responsibility for checking the interior and exterior lighting and replacing bulbs when necessary. In addition to routine and preventative tasks, porters are valuable when special projects or events are held at the facility.
Other Reasons Day Porter Services Are Beneficial
So, what are the exact responsibilities of your day porter?
Whatever it is you require! They will take care of any minor tasks you require, and by doing so, they’ll help you build your brand image, attract clients and keep your activities and staff safe.
Some of the other common benefits that a day porter can deliver include:
- Facility image and appearance: An onsite professional for maintaining a clean, sanitary, and professional business environment.
- Improving employee morale and satisfaction: Working to create a workplace setting that your employees can be proud of.
- Boosting productivity by limiting downtime: The porters are engaged and responsive and understand the importance of preventative maintenance.
- Reducing potentially costly liability: Having a day porter regularly inspecting the area to prevent slip-and-falls and other potential accidents that can result in injury.
Leading Provider of Day Porter Services in Commercial Environments
The professionals with Servi-Tek Facility Solutions have provided high-quality commercial janitorial and facility maintenance services for more than 15 years now.
Our clients, who operate in large commercial environments, recognize our organizational commitment to offering truly comprehensive and customized solutions.
Day porter services are among our primary areas of expertise. We deliver results for busy professionals with responsibilities that include facility, property, and asset management.
Our day porters function in support roles as ambassadors, liaisons, and attendants that are focused on our client’s best interests. We seek to respond rapidly, save energy, and proactively ensure that the environment remains clean, safe, and comfortable.
For more information, feel free to contact us today!
