Similar to most other departments, the janitorial department has experienced an unusual amount of staff turnover. However, the department has been able to recover and resume normal operations swiftly. This is, in part, due to a friendly work environment and other benefits of working for the school.

The department’s day shift has usually been staffed with four staff members. However, last year, several janitors left the department, including the building manager. This posed a potential issue for keeping sanitization standards up. With an ongoing pandemic and several staff leaving, it looked bleak for the department. But this year the department has already rebounded and now has four staff members working the day shift, including a new manager of the department. “Right now, we are actually at about the same staffing level we were before COVID,” Senior janitorial staff Kris Vance said.

Despite losing several staff members last year, BSM seems to have no problem finding new qualified candidates. Joe Kuehmichel previously worked in HVAC for several years before deciding to apply for a job at Benilde. Kuehmichel has expressed how much he has enjoyed working at the school. “I wish I would have made the jump [to BSM] about five years ago. I had the opportunity to come here and didn’t do it,” Building Services Manager Joe Kuehmichel said.

Although the day shift for the department has retained adequate staffing numbers the night shift has had to adapt in other ways over the years. The shift is maintained by one full-time employee and a part-time employee, which is clearly not enough to maintain the entire school. To solve the issue, BSM has hired a cleaning service that helps clean up the school each night. “It’s fluctuated a little bit, but we’ve been able to maintain our night shift,” Vance said.

Even though some have chosen to leave the position, two out of the four janitorial staff are long-term employees. Vance has worked over eight years at BSM and has expressed how the job has been an excellent fit for him. “There’s always something new, a different challenge that you weren’t expecting and that’s kind of why I’ve stayed,” Vance said.