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Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) has published its ‘Changing Workplaces’ report into the complex changes the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred in workplaces and facilities across Europe.
Among the powerful insights unlocked by the multi-sector research is evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled cleaning and hygiene into the spotlight, with 93% of business leaders saying they believe visibility of measures has an influence on users’ perceptions of their brand and/or facility.
As a leading international manufacturer of hand hygiene, cleaning, waste and recycling solutions, RCP developed the research program to help organisations take control and succeed in an environment where standards and expectations are higher than ever before by helping them understand the trends and challenges the market is facing.
Collecting data during Spring 2021, the Changing Workplaces survey asked people how their facility had evolved its approach to hand hygiene, cleaning, waste and recycling since the end of 2019, before the pandemic hit. Questions posed included: what changes are here to stay, how have facility users’ demands changed and where do organisations need to raise the bar around cleaning and hygiene in a post COVID-19 world?
There was a strong international response, with valuable input from over 300 businesses. Respondents from throughout Europe and beyond came from a range of sectors and business sizes from cleaning contractors and facility management firms to educational establishments, logistics and manufacturing to name a few. Representing a strong cross-section of experience, two thirds of businesses that responded employ between 50 and 250 or more people and many were from multi-national organisations.
Unsurprisingly, the majority (95%) of respondents agreed that COVID has had an impact on their business activities, with 51% citing the impact as major. Delving beneath the surface of those impacts, the survey revealed strong, specific changes and challenges faced by facilities now and in the future. Highlights include:
- 93% agreed that visibility of hygiene and cleaning measures influences facility users’ perceptions of their brand or facility, with 87% regarding quality of such measures with the same importance
- 78% of respondents increased provision of hand sanitising facilities during the pandemic. Almost 50% of those people believe this will be a permanent change.
- For half of respondents, the pandemic caused challenges in managing waste streams due to more disposable products being used.
The Changing Workplaces report outlines key learnings from the survey, shining a light on key issues of the future, which span increased expectations from facility users, and the need for durable, quality solutions, thanks to the impact on brand of visibility and approach to hygiene, cleaning and waste management. The report can be downloaded here.
Paul Jakeway, Head of Marketing – EMEA, RCP, said:
‘’We’re delighted to have had such as strong response to the Changing Workplaces survey from businesses across Europe and would like to thank everyone who took time to take the survey for making a valuable contribution to their industry.
“Business owners accounted for 31% of respondents, with 52% classing themselves as management or senior management, and 13% as board level executives, which shows a strong appetite for business leaders to arm themselves with knowledge that will help their organisations to take control in this changing world.
‘’The insights we have gleaned will also feed RCP’s innovation and enable us to continue developing hand hygiene, cleaning, waste and recycling solutions that are both relevant and dependable in the future.”
RCP specialises in helping its customer partners control the growing complexity they face every day in managing their hand hygiene, cleaning, waste and recycling needs. RCP is committed to creating the most durable and innovative solutions for its customer partners, whatever their sector.
RCP’s products are designed to outperform and outlast the competition, allowing companies to save money, protect their staff from injury and reduce the unnecessary waste created by cheaper, less durable alternatives.
And because RCP’s products are distributed globally, it can bring businesses these benefits wherever they may be, supporting their brand’s own quality image and giving their staff, customers or guests the very best waste management, cleaning and hygiene experience available today.
