CHICAGO — Commercial and on-premises laundry (OPL) managers, in general, have a positive attitude toward upper management regarding relationship and direction. That’s the result of this month’s Your Views survey by American Laundry News.
Asked to name one thing to change about their relationship with upper management, one respondent writes, “I cannot think of anything. We have a good relationship. I have seen many changes over the past 27 years working here. Each day is a learning experience, and that's how we grow and understand.”
When asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “Upper management treats me with respect,” 40% of respondents strongly agreed. One quarter of those who took the survey somewhat agreed with the statement, while 15% selected “neither agree nor disagree.”
Only 15% of respondents were more negative about respect from upper management, with 5% answering “somewhat disagree,” while 10% strongly disagreed.
What would respondents like to see improved?
“I would like a more regular/frequent dialogue,” writes one.
Another echoes the sentiment: “To keep me in the loop about some things.”
For the majority of respondents, that respect is reflected when it comes to purchases for their laundries. Asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “Upper management considers my input when it comes to purchases,” 45% strongly agreed. Almost 33% somewhat agreed.
Only 12.5% selected “neither agree nor disagree” when it comes to purchasing input, and 7.5% and 2.5% answered “somewhat disagree” and “strongly disagree,” respectively.
Attitudes when reacting to the statement, “Upper management understands the problems I face and provides me with the resources and training I need to solve them,” were less positive than other responses. Only 20% strongly agreed with the statement, and 40% answered “somewhat agree.”
The statement garnered the largest negative sentiment, with 20% answering “somewhat disagree,” and 7.5% saying they “strongly disagree.” Almost 13% answered “neither agree nor disagree.”
“Upper management needs to take a more active role to support the laundry operations,” writes a respondent.
“They need to be out on the floor once in a while and see some of the daily operations,” writes another. “A quick pass-through while heading to their office is not going to give you much insight to daily operations.”
One respondent puts it more bluntly: “They should spend more time on the floor getting a dose of reality.”
When asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “I’m satisfied with our company’s strategic direction,” once again, respondents were positive about upper management.
The answers “strongly agree” and "somewhat agree” were selected by 40% and 32.5% of respondents, respectively. About 13% neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement, while 10% somewhat disagreed and 5% strongly disagreed.
To the statement, “Upper management provides clear direction for our laundry operation,” respondents answered almost the same as to the direction statement. There was just a slight shift to the negative, with 10% strongly disagreeing with the statement and almost 8% somewhat disagreeing. Another 10% didn’t agree or disagree.
“They need to have more knowledge of the laundry industry,” writes a respondent. “Sometimes management is assigned without having any experience in the field.”
Another 40% of respondents strongly agreed that “Upper management has a long-term view and seems willing to invest in our laundry operation.” Almost 28% somewhat agreed, while 15% neither agreed nor disagreed.
Close to 13% somewhat disagreed with the statement and 5% strongly disagreed.
While the Your Views survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific. Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.
Subscribers to American Laundry News e-mails are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and identify industry trends.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].