Thanks to the strong reputation MBC has built as a compliant and engaged supplier to the NSW State Government through the Contingent Labour Procurement Scheme (SCM0007), we were
approached directly by Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) in April 2022 and asked to submit a proposal to supply cleaning contractors to work at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the flagship hospital for the district.
SLHD had become extremely frustrated at the poor performance of the company that had been managing their contract cleaning staff who were struggling to find workers and had very poor engagement with the workers they were able to keep. Staff turnover was very high, and the cleaning effort had become compromised.
Enter MBC Recruitment!
MBC Recruitment was initially asked to supply a core number of 45 contractors to fill three shifts (morning, afternoon and overnight) seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Our cleaning contractors are supplementary to permanent cleaning staff employed by NSW Health at the Hospital and play a critical role in the continuity of service, especially in an environment that was significantly impacted by COVID-19. Reliability of contract labour is extremely important for this client and they count on MBC to ensure the hospital is clean and safe.
Based on the excellent quality of our team members, the core number was quickly lifted to 55 and after just six weeks, SLHD asked MBC Recruitment to also supply 25 cleaning contractors to work at Concord Hospital, the second largest hospital in the district.
We now have over 80 active contractors working across four hospitals managed by SLHD – Royal Prince Alfred, Concord, Canterbury and Balmain. Our fill rates (contractor attendance) are continually above 96% (the two prior suppliers before MBC managed just 66%) and the client is extremely happy.
Requirements for shift numbers change often and at short notice, and we are able to react quickly to ensure core numbers are always met. Compliance requirements (for example, around worker vaccinations and working rights) are also very complex for this client and MBC Recruitment has proven we have the experience and the personnel to source excellent candidates and meet all client expectations.
This account was established by Steve Craig and Deb Burley who worked closely with the Recruitment team in 2022 to source and onboard these contractors. The account is now managed by Melissa Webster based at our Cardiff office who receives excellent administrative support from several people in the Recruitment Team including Dayna and Katrine. Melissa also receives support from Suman Ghimire in managing any short-term gaps in the roster. Many of our contractors are Nepalese and it’s extremely helpful to have someone who is (obviously!) fluent in Nepalese to help manage contractors who call in sick or otherwise have trouble filling their shifts.
Melissa is doing a great job at driving this account and has developed an excellent working relationship with our contractors as well as all the different stakeholders at each hospital in Sydney.
Based on the success of our work at SLHD, MBC is actively looking to find more commercial cleaning contracts such as this.
Article written by Steven Craig – Manager, Business Development at MBC Recruitment.
