Partly due to the Covid-19, the turnover of the cleaning company Klien increased only slightly compared to the previous two years. And turnover and profit are above all the conditions for the manager-owner of the cleaning company to be socially involved.
Raymond Kouwenberg (51 years old) is certainly not the classic entrepreneur of a local cleaning company, although his beginnings can be defined as such. He was a working student who got "stuck" in the cleaning business. While studying civil engineering in 1987, he started working as a student at the cleaning company Klien in Breda, founded in 1974, where he became project manager after two years. After graduating in 1994, Kouwenberg worked for the municipality but remained in contact with Klien, where they worked exclusively with students. "Imagine: in an age without cell phones and laptops, managing, calling and scheduling eighty students," says the entrepreneur. He was good, because in 1997 he became co-shareholder of Klien BV and ten years later director-owner. In 2011, the cleaning company moved into its current almost 200 square meter premises in the De Mark business park in Breda.
On the entrance door there are the stickers 'Accredited training company' and 'We train professionals'. This is only a pale reflection of the projects Raymond Kouwenberg is busy with. To name just a few: the company is a member of nine networks, supports thirteen charities, has the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) quality seal, specifies its CO2 footprint on its website and helps people far from job market. Kouwenberg also serves seven functions on the board, including chairman of the VNO-NCW Breda, and is a city councilor for the VVD party. Kouwenberg and his cleaning company are socially involved, and he is an associate of at least twenty boards and interest groups. "Cleanliness has been the leitmotif of my life for 34 years. But there are three founding principles in my DNA: government, education and finally business. Being socially involved, helping people, is especially important to me. The trick is knowing how always find a balance between these goals and time for my family, my wife and my three children".
It seems that being socially involved as a cleaning company prevails over doing business as an entrepreneur in the sector… "No, this is the common thread and it provides the income that gives me the possibility to count something for others. Primarily I am an entrepreneur in the cleaning sector". In this role he manages a company with approximately 85 employees from a subsidiary. Seven of them work in the office, including three project coordinators for implementation. The working area covers a 20 kilometer circle around Breda. “We don't need a bigger area, because this also limits our employees' travel time.”
In 2019, the turnover was 1.7 million euros and for 2020 the forecast is 2 million euros, with a growth of 15%. Here too, the Covid pandemic has put a spanner in the works
"We lost almost €300,000, because the gyms and offices closed. We compensated for this to some extent by carrying out many sanitizations. This year, we expect to have a turnover of €2 million. We don't have a burning ambition to grow, we are not active in sales and always ask ourselves: Do we want to work there? Is this customer right for us? We prefer respected customers and also demand respect in return, towards the cleaning industry and our employees. If not, we withdraw. We have even canceled a €70,000 contract – a lot of money for a company like this – because the customer spoke disrespectfully about cleanliness and our employees."
Kouwenberg dice di voler gestire un'azienda caratterizzata da stabilità e calma. Questo sembra funzionare, perché il turnover tra i dipendenti è solo "un po' ai margini", con i nuovi arrivati che a volte si ritirano rapidamente. L'assenteismo è solo dell'1,7%.
L'imprenditore dice che lavora sempre su processi e procedure per ottimizzare la pulizia, supportato dall'informatica. "Nel 2014, tre anni dopo che abbiamo iniziato a lavorare in un vero locale commerciale, ho iniziato a esaminare i processi intorno alla pianificazione, alla timbratura in entrata e uscita, al consumo di materiale, al trattamento amministrativo e agli acquisti. I requisiti imposti dai clienti sono sempre più alti e un buon livello di soddisfazione del cliente sta diventando sempre più difficile da raggiungere. So per esperienza personale che questo è particolarmente vero per le PMI di questo settore con circa 40-60 dipendenti. Se non si digitalizza, si rimane bloccati come impresa di pulizie. Ma la digitalizzazione con l’ aiuto esterno è incredibilmente costosa per le piccole aziende, perché bisogna pagare un extra per ogni modulo. Negli ultimi anni, ho quindi costruito il mio software passo dopo passo. Per e dal settore della pulizia.
The result is that Klien-IT-Systems, led by Kouwenberg junior, has just been born under the umbrella of Klien. The software system includes all modules, including future ones, for small and medium-sized cleaning companies. The system can be rented for a fixed price: up to 100 employees for just under 300 euros per month.
C’è una relazione tra il software gestonale e il settore delle pulizie? "Sì, perché la nostra iniziativa è nata dalla mia convinzione che bisogna raggiungere le piccole e medie imprese del settore in un campo che è ancora loro estraneo, e la mancata digitalizzazione sta minacciando la loro esistenza e la loro crescita".
Da addetto alle pulizie a direttore-proprietario dell'impresa di pulizie in cui hai iniziato come studente lavoratore. Qual è l'aspetto più difficile dell'essere un imprenditore? Kouwenberg: "I problemi del lavoro. La sicurezza del lavoro per il dipendente è fondamentale, con pilastri come il pagamento continuato per due anni in caso di malattia, la transizione e un'alta indennità di licenziamento. Tuttavia, sono queste le cose che fanno paura a un datore di lavoro e che purtroppo disincentivano l'assunzione di persone su base permanente".
Kouwenberg's advice to politicians in The Hague is to make being an employer attractive again. "We have to move towards flexicurity, which is the new direction of the VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland. A dynamic labor market, with a guarantee of social and employment security for all rather than the job itself. In other words, security to go to work and stay in work. An active labor market policy, lifelong development and modern social security to bring jobseekers back into the labor market permanently. It is now too fixed and flexible is too flexible, for both sides. We need a kind of Scandinavian society where someone can always earn an income through work or receives temporary support".
Finally, what's the best thing about being an entrepreneur? "Being socially involved as a cleaning company, getting results and translating them into added value for society," says Kouwenberg. "Helping above all by offering internships, through sponsorship, giving opportunities to disadvantaged people, supporting charities and creating a company characterized by calm and stability."
Have you ever had a precise idea in mind of how something should be, but there's no management system that's really right for you? In the cleaning sector more and more companies are facing this challenge. We provide the digitization for the cleaning sector and help solve this challenge.
You hear the same stories all the time of small businesses getting bogged down in bureaucracy because of increasing customer numbers and manual scheduling. These businesses want to grow, but they simply don't have the right resources. Often times they are looking for a system that can simplify certain aspects of their work.
However, many of these systems are often too complex or too expensive. That is why companies often prefer not to use a software system at all. Many aspects that are relevant to cleaning companies are less important to the vast majority of other companies. As a result, what happens is that software developers often focus on products that primarily satisfy the needs of the largest customer base.
Fortunately there are also cleaning companies that have started working on this. It was already clear to Klien 8 years ago that we had to keep up with the times. The trick is to start early so you have an edge over the rest of the market. Companies that have not started this process in time are often already behind the times. We created Klien-IT-Systems in part to answer this call for help from the industry.
Klien-IT-Systems is a combination of solutions for the administrative difficulties of the sector. We know what the weaknesses are and we know perfectly what the challenges are for cleaning companies. With our management system you can archive your most important data in one central online space. In addition to the system, an application has also been developed where employees can find all the information they need. The application is connected directly to the system. This means that employees don't have to go to the office as often and it works even faster. Indeed, they immediately receive the information they need. We have fully optimized the system and application for the cleaning industry, and we test it continuously here at Klien.
Dato che non puoi mai essere ovunque nello stesso momento, hai bisogno di trovare un modo per capire che cosa stanno facendo i tuoi dipendenti e dove. Questo è facile in altre imprese perchè c’è un posto di lavoro fisico comune, come l’ ufficio. Ma in un’ impresa di pulizie è proprio l’opposto. Con il nostro tracciamento GPS di entrata e uscita, puoi sempre vedere se i tuoi dipendenti sono sul posto di lavoro e in che turno.
Il trasferimento delle chiavi è un altro dilemma amministrativo. Spesso quando una chiave viene persa è la parola di qualcuno contro quella di qualcun’altro. Ora c’è un modo per dare ai dipendenti la responsabilità del deposito chiave. Questo aiuterà il personale, perchè potrà provare che la chiave non è in suo possesso, così come è utile avere una visione di insieme esatta su chi lavora dove e con che chiave.
Klien-IT-Systems is a combination of solutions for the administrative difficulties of the sector. We know what the weaknesses are and we know perfectly what the challenges are for cleaning companies. With our management system you can archive your most important data in one central online space.
In addition to the system, an application has also been developed where employees can find all the information they need. The application is connected directly to the system, so employees don't have to go to the office as often and it works even faster. Indeed, they immediately receive the information they need. We have fully optimized the system and application for the cleaning industry, and we test it continuously here at Klien.
Additionally, the system also has a fully integrated accounting package. This means that you will no longer need an external package, because you will have everything centralized in one space. If you would like to keep the accounting package that you already have, we are of course willing to take a look at the various possibilities to keep it together with you.
The complete scheduling system allows you to fully automate the timetable. Employees can see the timetable and request time off or changes through the application. Thanks to this feature, you will always have a clear and complete perspective, which will allow you to adjust your schedule at any time. In addition, you will save a lot of paperwork and nothing will be lost, since everything is stored in the system.
The system includes all the features that small and medium-sized businesses need to thrive in the digitized world of the cleaning industry. The question is, of course, what future are we headed towards? At Klien-IT-Systems we are continuously working to improve and innovate our system and application. We listen to customers and staff who work with our system, so we are always open to suggestions, criticisms and new ideas. We use criticism and suggestions to fulfill the wishes of our customers in the best way.
There is also a well-trained team behind this digital world, so if something is still not entirely clear to you, our team will be happy to help. We will do our best to make sure your digitizing process is as easy as possible.
Si vous utilisez des processus d’automatisation dépassés, votre vision du futur de votre entreprise est destinée à ne pas se réaliser. C’est dommage, bien sûr, car la transformation numérique et l’automatisation de votre société peuvent vous amener à d’énormes profits.
That's why we're happy to help you make this process go smoothly, so you can take advantage of a system that's up to date.
Are you curious to know what we can do for your business or do you have other questions? Check out our website www.klien-it-systems.com, contattateci or call us on +31 765208043.
Do you want to discover our system? Request a free demonstration now with no commitment!
We can safely say that the success of a cleaning company is mainly due to easy, agile and well organized planning. However, in recent years, we noticed that in many cleaning companies there are complicated planning tables created for example with Excel or other software. The question that arises spontaneously is therefore the following: why do so many companies depend on Excel for personnel planning? Of course, it's easy to start with Excel, but clumsiness, typos, and general limitations of the program itself lead to problems in the long run. That is why our system is the best alternative for Excel for the cleaning industry.
Qui ti elenchiamo quattro ragioni per cui Excel ti causerà dei problemi:
Con Excel anche il cambio più piccolo ti fa eliminare e aggiungere righe e colonne, cambiare colori, unire celle e molti altri cambi. Chiaramente, questo rende impossibile rispondere velocemente al nuovo cambio di orario.
Dipartimenti e luoghi diversi hanno ognuno i propri fogli di lavoro, quindi per avere una panoramica generale della pianificazione dell’ impresa dovrete unire ed integrare tutti i fogli di lavoro. Il problema è che quando avrete finito, ormai la pianificazione oraria sarà diventata obsoleta!
Immaginiamo che il collega che di solito gestisce la pianificazione con Excel oggi non possa lavorare e quindi c’è bisogno di qualcuno che faccia il lavoro al posto suo. La cosa più ovvia da fare è quindi cercare un altro collega attraverso la funzione di ricerca di Excel. Il problema però è che non è scontato che chiunque degli altri colleghi sappia usare Excel o abbia le giuste competenze per riuscire a creare una pianificazione dettagliata con il programma.
È veramente inusuale che una pianificazione digitale chiara e ben strutturata venga comunicata ai dipendenti con Excel, soprattutto se deve essere fatta oggi per domani. Allo stesso modo, se si tenta di comunicare l’orario con una pianificazione manuale, questa di solito risulta confusionaria.
Conclusione - La pianificazione con Excel non ti aiuta a crescere come impresa!
It often happens that cleaning companies continue to use confusing software and processes. This can happen due to lack of time to sift through all options and adopt a new and better system. In reality, however, you save a lot more money and effort by stopping using Excel! The Klien-IT-Systems alternative for Excel is the best solution for the cleaning industry. At Klien-IT-Systems all planning is stored in the cloud. This allows you to view and adjust the timetable from anywhere and at any time.
In addition, our planning is very clear, simple and advanced. For example all employees can see their timetable on their app, both for general and specific timetable overviews. Find out how planning on our software works in our blog or request a free demonstration to see all the possibilities that Klien-IT-Systems software offers you.
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