“Housekeeping, hygiene and sanitation standards are very imperative in the progressive world and need to improve our country and it will be a nice beginning to further recognize professional personnel in the industry,” she says with a keen perception.
Being her own brand with a strong moral has helped Simit Thakur and NeatSpace journey this far in the industry. For those who wish to make a mark in the field, here is a message: “You are your own master, you can plan your day, week, month and year. I think people who have the idea and passion to do something need to come out of their comfort Zone. Conceptualize your ideas, nurture them to become a catalyst in the ever changing business environment, create more and more job opportunities for the needy and enjoy the organic growth,” emphasizes Simit.
It was 1999 and Prathibha Blessing had returned to India from abroad after a stint in a world bank catered project. Facility management services interested her for a fresh start. She preferred starting from square one. So Prathibha joined as a management trainee in Green Park Hotel under the senior-most janitor. Under the fear and stress of being found out by her socially important family friends, she observed keenly, learnt industriously and even kept a journal with the hotel’s SOPs.
With the on-the-job training and learning under her belt, she approached one of the companies in the newly constructed Cyber Town. The man who met her at the door turned her down since she had no clients. Not long after, through a friend, another opportunity came her way — to cater to Kirloskar’s small sales office. With just one boy, she started out. The next day though, Prathibha’s only employee didn’t turn up so her team split the cleaning among themselves. But hiccups aside, finally she had a client, a big one to boast of.
[box type=”shadow” ]Just to have hands on experience before starting my own set up, I joined as management trainee in Green Park Hotel under the senior-most janitor. I was always under the fear and stress of being found out by my family friends. I learnt everything about cleaning and kept a journal for making notes.
Prathibha Blessing[/box]
Eventually, her company found a footing and organization — they started moving around in uniforms and customized vehicles. So people started walking in for work opportunities. It was a time when housekeeping also known as cleaning was not looked down at. “But the quality of the workforce we got was extremely good — they were willing to learn, stick with the brand and willing to be trained and the retention was also good,” Prathibha tells us.
With that recognition, Prathibha was the first to substitute the blue saree uniforms with dungarees. To get the women who formed 80-85 per cent of their workforce to wear those dungarees took her through another milestone. “But that gave us the image of a progressive company, especially among foreigners,” Prathibha points out the positive.
From day one mechanized cleaning has remained the norm for The Platina. With a wealth of experience, starting a training wing was the next step on her agenda. She modeled and installed a practice station simulating the structures, surfaces for the trainees to work on. It was a crowd puller for anyone who visited and a flashing jewel in The Platina’s crown.
At that point of time, more than gender discrimination, it was the lack of respect and recognition for the cleaning industry. Prathibha battled it by being on the site day and night and “I feel fortunate to have received the acceptance and respect. They saw the honesty in me,” she says reflective of those trying times. She also fought hard to strike a balance between work and family. Currently, Prathibha handles over 30 brands and manages work in more than 300 locations. Now she networks with entrepreneurs like her to form a mandate to govern the market and also in money, manpower, unionization, escalation and in establishing a standard body for evaluation or validation of work.
Having entered the industry in her twenties, Prathibha had enjoyed autonomy and grown as a person, an individual and a professional. Above all, she adds, “We have people who have worked with us for the last 12 years and helped us create a philosophy for the company.” In addition to the retention, liberty to work and the oneness of a family are part of the culture.
Today, her company is established and her children are young adults. “Now they spend more time with me than they have ever. But even when I was working round the clock putting the company together, I made sure I spent quality time with them — took them on three long holidays when I was phone free and away from work hassles. I sincerely attribute those moments to my team,” she reminiscences emotionally.
