The Team The EVS department at Turning Stone em-ploys approximately 160 staff and is re-sponsible for cleaning and maintaining all the resort’s buildings and properties. Certain specialty tasks like the mainte-nance of marble flooring are outsourced, but the bulk of the work is done by dedi-cated EVS staff. Most of the staff hiring is done at the entry level, which creates advancement opportu-nities for good employees. The EVS department at Turning Stone Resort and Casino boasts an impressive 93 percent retention rate for staff; a testa-ment to their positive and uplifting corporate culture. In discussing hiring practices for the de-partment, Strickland said, “Members of our staff are usually the first people that you will see if you’re lost or looking for something, so it’s critical that they are friendly and help-ful. I can teach you how to clean, but I can’t teach you to have a smile on your face all the time. That’s one of the critical factors we look for when hiring.” Strickland mentioned three key points during the interview process: ■ First — “Are they smiling?” ■ Second — “Interaction/body language” ■ Third — “Get on their level.” “We have to make sure they have a good attitude through their body language and to do that, we must get on their level,” Strick-land continued. Strickland’s process of hiring, orientation and training plays a big part in their 93 per-cent retention rate. The few people that EVS does lose typi-cally move on to another department within the resort. Because the resort is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, project cleaning can be challenging. The staff focuses on maintaining the spaces during the daytime when the resort is at its busiest. They reserve the night time hours, when much of the traffic is confined to the casino, nightclub and restaurants, for doing project work like carpet extraction, cleaning lighting fixtures, etc. The staff is also extremely disciplined about critical tasks like carpet spotting. Rather than wait for night when the crowds are smaller, the cleaning staff per-forms carpet spot removal as soon as the spot is noticed or reported in order to mini-mize staining and carpet replacement. This frequently means removing spots from carpeting on a crowded casino floor. However, when carpet does have to be repaired, the EVS staff at Turning Stone is prepared for the job. Several key members have taken the Insti-tute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) carpet cleaning, carpet dyeing, upholstery cleaning, water damage and odor control technician courses, and they have the skills to repair or replace car-pet as necessary. Lewis and his team have adopted a hy-brid form of team cleaning in which most employees are grouped into teams and as-signed specialist duties. However, certain areas of the resort are more conducive to a zone cleaning ap-proach where one or two people play dif-ferent roles. The system reads the ID code punched in by the employee and moves the appropriate uniform(s) to a position directly in front of the door and unlocks only the hangers on which that employee’s uniform is hung. Turning Stone has chosen a maroon colored uniform for their staff to help them blend in on the gaming floor and not stand out to the visitor. This also helps keep their appearance clean and presentable. Finally, e-mail is used extensively by EVS management to share particular property issues or challenging cleaning problems with upper management so that meetings can be brief and efficient. Creating The Right Culture As a way to keep such a large and diverse staff focused on the end goal of a clean, friendly and healthy indoor environment, the EVS department holds weekly Team Talk meetings. These meetings provide a great platform for discussing customer service tips, ad-dressing issues on the properties as well as giving out staff awards for length of service or attendance. But the team building and sense of pur-pose doesn’t stop there. The resort also offers talent contests, other award programs and even golf leagues for employees so they can take ad-vantage of the PGA quality courses on the property. This nurturing culture at Turning Stone Resort and Casino is the result of manage-ment and employees dedicating themselves to the Mission Statement that hangs in the EVS offices: “The EVS department is dedicated to providing exceptional service to guests and team members and to ensure the resort looks its best.” “Our staff believes in Team Spirit and practices and believes in the Oneida Way.” “Our goal is to achieve the highest stan-dards and recognize that every team member holds value as a part of this es-tablishment. The contributions of these pro-fessionals as a ‘team’ translate into success for the nation.” “We are ladies and gentlemen serving la-dies and gentlemen.” “Proud to be of service.” CM www.cmmonline.com Use Of Technology The EVS staff at Turning Stone uses tech-nology in a variety of ways to improve effi-ciency and create healthier indoor spaces for their guests. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meters are used to measure the amount of soil reduc-tion on certain surfaces that are most likely to spread bacteria or viruses. In one instance, case management dis-covered higher than usual organic material after cleaning tasks were completed. After taking a closer look, they identified that some staff members were not folding their microfiber cloths properly to prevent cross-contamination. Based on this information, the depart-ment was able to quickly remedy the prob-lem. Also, a state-of-the-art uniform storage and retrieval system makes it easier to care for and organize the hundreds of uniforms worn by the staff. An EVS cleaner arrives before a shift and punches his or her unique ID code into a panel set in the center of a wood and glass door. Inside the storage area, the uniforms are hung on huge conveyor systems similar to a dry cleaning operation. 43
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