If outsourcing is the name of the game in 21st century business, then the professional housekeeping services industry is sure to be among its many beneficiaries. As organisations realise the benefits of hiring a one-stop professional agency for office maintenance, a number of firms catering to these needs continue springing up at a fast clip. However, as indiamarkets finds out in a conversation with KV Girish, Proprietor, Integriti (India) Corp, the industry is not without its own share of concerns.

indiamarkets: Could you tell us about your experience in the housekeeping services industry, and the changes you have witnessed over the last few years?
KV Girish: I have been in this industry for ten years now. My firm, Integriti India has offices in Bangalore and Hyderabad, with over thirty corporate clients. The nineties definitely saw a big boom in the demand for housekeeping services, at least in this part of the country, with several multinationals and software companies setting up shop here. My own estimate is that seventy five per cent of the demand is from companies in the IT sector. Earlier, smaller companies used to be hesitant to employ professional agencies for housekeeping, but this has also been changing, since our services work out to be quite cost effective.

On the supply side, housekeeping outfits have mushroomed, in a bid to cater to the rising demand. There are 500-600 contractors for housekeeping services in Karnataka today, up from barely 150-200 five years ago. In fact, we find that the competition is particularly high, since several people have a misconception that the business is quite lucrative.

indiamarkets: How do you assess the honesty, sincerity and hygiene of your workers, given that these must play an important role in the success of your business?
KV Girish: At the time of recruitment, our workers undergo a thorough medical check up to ensure that they are  free from any communicable diseases. We also run a reference check on the worker's credentials through one of our Field Supervisors. Most of our boys join through a reference from our existing employees. As far as ensuring quality level of employees is concerned, they undergo training programmes at regular intervals. For example, we have produced a video cassette which demonstrates various practical skills, including the correct manner in which to serve tea, to be viewed by our workers. Our Field Supervisors, who are equipped with wireless communication equipment, make surprise visits to our clients' offices, to ensure that the work is being done properly.

indiamarkets: Could you tell us something about the operational aspects of the business? It must be a logistical nightmare to ensure that things proceed smoothly at your various client locations, on a daily basis.
KV Girish: Certainly - our office is open round the clock, doing all the back-end work to ensure that our clients get the right service. Although the housekeeping boys are at the client premises only for eight hours everyday, the co-ordination activity between our own manpower and our clients' offices is a 24-hour job. In fact, we do have clients with offices operating round the clock (especially software companies). In these cases, we also need to provide housekeeping services through the day and night. We always have five to seven boys available as a back-up. They can fill in for boys who do not report for duty on a particular day, for whatever reason.

indiamarkets: What is the main constraint faced by the industry today?
KV Girish: It is definitely the lack of availability of good people. Initially, it was very difficult to find the manpower for these services, as the work was not perceived as respectable. However, this perception has been changing, and more and more educated young people are willing to get into this line of work. But, yes, the lack of the right kind of manpower remains a problem. Workers tend not to stick on to a job for long in this line of business.

indiamarkets: Given that the availability of manpower is a major issue in this line of business, what steps are you taking at Integriti (India) to retain your people?
KV Girish: We ensure that the working conditions for our boys are good. We provide employee benefits such as Employee State Insurance, Personal Insurance and Provident Fund coverage. We also support those of our workers who are interested in gaining further education - a number of our boys are evening college goers. In addition, we provide training of the kind that I have mentioned earlier, which helps the workers feel that they are also learning something in the process. At an industry level, we have associations such as the Contract Employers Association, Bangalore, which looks into the workers' concerns such as the provision of minimum wages, etc.

indiamarkets: What are the other problems faced by the industry?
KV Girish: One is the obvious tendency among office administrations to suspect the housekeeping boys whenever there is any case of pilferage in an office. In fact, this is one reason why boys are reluctant to take up this line of work. At Integriti, we are clear that we do not want to enter the security services business, as it may affect our credibility. There is a commonly held perception that housekeeping and security work hand-in-glove to pilfer articles from offices. We want to avoid any such perceptions. Yet another problem is that in times of cost control, housekeeping services is one of the first areas to be cut. People seem to think that this is an avoidable expense, when, in reality, we are helping offices maintain a clean, work-friendly environment in a cost effective manner.

indiamarkets: Does Integriti India offer any other kind of service other than housekeeping services?
KV Girish: Yes, we also offer Property Management services, which caters to companies that are just setting up physical offices. We act as a one-stop agency for all the services required to get these offices started up. This is a comprehensive package which includes obtaining power connections, air-conditioning and electrical maintenance, interior decoration, sanitary fittings, etc.