Building Janitorial Assignments

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thanks for helping to clean the Lord’s house. I know he and our Bishop greatly appreciate your service.

1. Review your assignment email and you’ll find the date you’re assigned in the first line of the message in the body of the email. We’re scheduled out through most of July, so please make sure of your cleaning date.

2. Please put your date for cleaning on your calendar or phone with reminders.

3. If you cannot fulfill your assigned date, contact me and I’ll send you some names of those you might be able to trade with. It’s your responsibility to make sure your assignment is taken care of.

4. Cleaning time is each Saturday morning at 8 AM unless other arrangements have been made.

5. Children can help dust and take out garbage cans, let them know they’re serving the Lord.

6. If cleaning before Saturday morning or if there’s a shortage of help, please focus on the main floor for deep cleaning and do light cleaning upstairs, such as: empty garbage, clean bathrooms, and spot vacuum.

7. WARD LEADERS – Please clean up after your activities and if any food is involved in the event make sure the garbage is put in the trash bin outside. Also, when food is brought to the chapel in containers, please make sure the containers are taken home with you. Either wash them at the church or at your home, but please take them with you. We continue to have left over utensils, bowls, plates, dishes, etc. stacked in the drying racks and sitting on the counter tops. Please stop by and pick up your items before they are donated or thrown away.

Also, I will make sure you’re reminded of your cleaning assignment on Wednesday or Thursday of the week you have the assignment for cleaning. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please let me know.

Again, thanks for serving our Lord in this manner.

Some slight changes in this most recent email. First and foremost is an emphasis on the janitorial assignment being in the service of the Lord. The email opens and closes with this idea and we are instructed to tell the little children that this is service to the Lord.

Another change is that the original email said that if you couldn’t make it then switch with someone else and only as a last resort should you contact the Building Representative and he would give you suggestions of people that may be willing to switch with you. This latest email dispenses with that “Last resort” language and just says that if you cannot make it then contact the Building Representative and he will then give you suggestions of people to trade with.

There is also an addition of “Please put your date for cleaning on your calendar or phone with reminders” and “Also, I will make sure you’re reminded of your cleaning assignment on Wednesday or Thursday of the week you have the assignment for cleaning.”

I wonder what form the Wednesday or Thursday reminders might take. I hope it is just an email and I can play dumb and act like I wasn’t getting them.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the patience and zeal of the called coordinator is waning into frustration and burnout.

If I was that coordinator, I would strategically space the 20% who do everything so that their assignments were a little spaced out so that the building stays a little cleaner on average.

But there aren’t a lot of “carrots” to use to get people to show up to do the work. There is no prize to vie for in a contest, nothing listed as “fun”, and it would give of a weird vibe to laud people in public for cleaning up after everyone from the pulpit (plus, moms might get the wrong idea and rebel for all the cleanup they already do).

Could one have a “5 minute care task – 5 minute dance party” ward-wide to get the job done one Saturday?

I’d probably also put up a discrete “money jar” that people could donate into for hiring a professional cleaner quarterly. This would a) make accessible some funds to do what needs done, b) get me a quick out from the calling:)

NOTE: I am getting better at assigning and motivating my family in care tasks – but I am no fun and I’m pretty horrible at it overall:)

[Anonymous]

AmyJ wrote:

But there aren’t a lot of “carrots” to use to get people to show up to do the work. There is no prize to vie for in a contest, nothing listed as “fun”, and it would give of a weird vibe to laud people in public for cleaning up after everyone from the pulpit (plus, moms might get the wrong idea and rebel for all the cleanup they already do).

Could one have a “5 minute care task – 5 minute dance party” ward-wide to get the job done one Saturday?

When my kids were little, they participated in a weekday children’s ministry program at a local church. Since I was there anyway, I helped out as an assistant. Later in the year, I was invited to a volunteer dinner and award night. I was recognized and I think we got a small gift card for coffee. 😆

My Mormon experience makes me a better volunteer. We see ourselves as part of the crew on the cruise ship and not just passengers. This can be a good thing. On the other hand, it sure felt nice to be appreciated with something a little more than just a vote of “thanks” in SM when being released.

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