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Home / Essential Skills Profile / Cleaners / Thinking Skills

Thinking Skills

Problem Solving

Level 1

Cleaners

  • deal with customer complaints

Level 2

Cleaners

  • deal with equipment breaking down
  • deal with mold growing in the shower room
  • deal with complaints about damages
  • respond to public pressure to use products that don’t have scent

Level 3

Cleaners

  • handle emergency situations while cleaning offices at nightExamples
    • leaking pipes
    • power blackouts
Decision Making

Level 1

Cleaners

  • make decisions about personal safety while using toxic cleaning products and supplies

Level 2

Cleaners

  • decide the best way to get the job done in the time allowed
  • have the authority to make decisions about buying materials up to a certain amount (e.g., $150)
  • decide when to offer free services to increase customer satisfaction
  • choose the best brand and type of floor wax for each type of floor
  • decide what repairs should be done by staff or hire outside services

Level 3

Cleaners

  • decide when to call the police if there are problems with a customer’s behaviour
Job Planning and Organizing

Own Job Planning and Organizing

Light duty cleaners working in offices, hotels or hospitals often have jobs they must do each shift. To be efficient, they can decide the order of the tasks.

Specialized cleaners, such as sandblasters and carpet cleaners, often have to work with clients’ schedules when doing a job. They must plan and organize on the spot once they have determined the size of the job.

Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents determine work priorities. This means dealing with breakdowns, weather, and flow of people and tenant demands. They have to work with demands on their time.

Use of Memory

Building superintendents

  • memorize laws that affect tenants and landlords
  • remember the names of tenants to promote a sense of community

Caretakers working in recreational facilities memorize seasonal event schedules for hockey, bingo, etc.

Cleaners memorize the layout of a building and the tasks for new contracts.

Finding Information

Level 1

Cleaners

  • read Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to learn what a product is made of and how to use it safely

Level 2

Cleaners

  • refer to policy and equipment manuals to find out what to do in an emergency or how to use equipment

Specialized cleaners may read code books to make sure the rules are being followed.

Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents learn about parts needed and costs of parts by

  • reading catalogues
  • speaking with those who sell parts