WHAT DOES A JANITORIAL SUPERVISOR DO?
Published: Nov 12, 2025 - The Janitorial Supervisor oversees daily operations by monitoring employee attendance, managing breaks, responding to concerns, and ensuring shift-to-shift communication. This role involves supervising staff at key locations such as baggage claim, participating in client briefings, issuing supplies, and training team members in proper janitorial procedures and equipment use. The supervisor also ensures compliance with safety, quality, and regulatory standards, approves leave requests, addresses disciplinary matters, and collaborates with safety managers to maintain a secure and efficient operation.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Janitorial Supervisor
1. Janitorial Supervisor Overview
- Employee Oversight: Maintain all oversight of day and night employees.
- Task Assignment: Assign tasks to workers based on job requirements or special assignments.
- Quality Control: Perform quality control to conform to Harvard and customer standards.
- Staff Training: Train new and existing staff on proper cleaning techniques.
- Safety Compliance: Ensure proper safety equipment and techniques are utilized and adhered to.
- Inventory Management: Order and issue supplies and equipment.
- Work Verification: Responsible for checking work tickets.
- Equipment Maintenance: Responsible for general equipment maintenance.
- Cleaning Management: Responsible for managing general cleaning.
2. Janitorial Supervisor Job Description
- Employee Training: Train new union employees.
- Project Coordination: Direct special cleaning projects.
- Customer Relations: Communicate with tenants/customers in a professional manner.
- Quality Inspection: Responsible for continuous inspections of quality levels.
- Workplace Organization: Maintain a clean and organized stock room/office space.
- Refresher Training: Provide remedial (refresher) training to employees.
- Inventory Control: Responsible for inventory supplies/materials on hand as directed by the manager.
- Time Management: Review and ensure accurate time-keeping records and work routes of all employees.
- Cleaning Supervision: Direct all general cleaning to ensure proper usage of chemicals and cleaning procedures.
- Performance Management: Manage the performance of employees.
- Operational Leadership: Lead weekly operational meetings.
- Safety Oversight: Manage H&S performance of janitorial staff.
- Recruitment Support: Participate in the recruitment process of janitorial staff.
3. Janitorial Supervisor General Responsibilities
- Facility Maintenance: Responsible for cleaning and maintaining buildings/facilities.
- Deep Cleaning: Perform heavy cleaning duties, such as cleaning floors, shampooing rugs, washing walls and glass, and removing trash.
- Repair Reporting: Responsible for notifying management of the need for repairs.
- Effective Communication: Communicate effectively with employees, colleagues, and clients to ensure fulfillment of performance and quality requirements.
- Client Relations: Maintain a positive relationship with client representatives.
- Team Coordination: Coordinate and communicate with site cleaners.
- Operational Assistance: Assist in day-to-day operations (including cleaning).
- Work Supervision: Plan, assign, and direct work, appraising performance.
- Safety Compliance: Ensure and comply with all safety requirements.
- Task Delegation: Delegate work assignments and match responsibilities to the appropriate person.
- Autonomy Management: Give authority to work independently, set expectations, and monitor delegated activities.
- Employee Development: Provide regular performance feedback, develop subordinates' skills, and encourage growth.
- General Duties: Perform all duties expected of employees and other duties as required by the manager or according to site demands.
4. Janitorial Supervisor Roles and Responsibilities
- Custodial Supervision: Directly responsible for overseeing custodians and lead custodians to ensure facilities are clean and in working order.
- Staffing Management: Ensure adequate staffing by monitoring and addressing tardiness and attendance.
- Leadership Development: Provide leadership by nurturing a positive environment and promoting quality performance.
- Employee Training: Train and evaluate staff on proper cleaning procedures and cleaning details.
- Safety Oversight: Assure the safety of employees by monitoring the proper use of equipment and adherence to safety policies.
- Recruitment Support: Assist in interviewing potential employees and make recommendations for hiring.
- Vendor Relations: Work with vendors and tenants to ensure satisfaction.
- Facility Maintenance: Ensure that bathrooms, hallways, kitchens, and other areas of the facility are kept clean on an ongoing basis.
5. Janitorial Supervisor Duties
- Maintenance Operations: Perform routine maintenance activities, including heavy cleaning duties such as sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, and vacuuming floors.
- Repair Response: Respond to maintenance requests, including light repairs.
- Furniture Handling: Responsible for moving furniture.
- Supply Management: Unpack and stock supplies for the cafeterias and kitchenette.
- Proactive Initiative: Take action without being asked or required to, achieve goals beyond job requirements, be proactive, and take prompt action to accomplish objectives.
- Quality Monitoring: Monitor and check work to meet quality standards.
- Attention Detail: Demonstrate a high level of care and thoroughness; check work to ensure completeness and accuracy.
- Custodial Supervision: Supervise custodial staff in the basic level of cleaning and maintenance required to maintain three facilities.
- Work Completion: Ensure satisfactory completion of all custodial work.
6. Janitorial Supervisor Responsibilities
- Operations Supervision: Supervise daily operations by walking the floor and responding to questions or concerns.
- Break Oversight: Monitor rest breaks and lunch breaks.
- Attendance Tracking: Manage attendance reports and employee clock-in/out records.
- Lost Found Management: Manage lost and found boxes and ensure pickup occurs on the required schedule.
- WFM Oversight: Responsible for managing WFMs.
- Shift Communication: Ensure clear communication during shift changes.
- Client Relations: Participate in client briefings and communicate frequently with client representatives regarding operations.
- Leave Management: Approve leave requests and participate in disciplinary actions.
- Information Liaison: Act as a liaison at the information booth in baggage claim.
- Passenger Greeting: Greet passengers arriving from international flights.
- Janitorial Training: Train workers in janitorial methods, procedures, and proper operation of equipment.
- Supply Control: Issue janitorial supplies and equipment to workers to ensure quality and timely service delivery.
- Safety Coordination: Work with the safety quality manager to ensure operational safety and proper use of cleaning chemicals and power equipment to prevent damage.
- Compliance Monitoring: Ensure front-line employee compliance with all safety, security, compliance, and quality standards established by the company, clients, and regulatory authorities.
7. Janitorial Supervisor Job Description
- Team Leadership: Responsible for leading and supervising.
- Employee Training: Responsible for employee training.
- Instruction Compliance: Follow the instructions from the manager.
- Cleaning Audits: Responsible for performing audits of cleaning.
- Manager Communication: Communicate well with the manager and the shift.
- Site Oversight: Responsible for overseeing multiple job sites.
- Quality Follow-Up: Follow up on crew cleaning to ensure it meets Argus and customer standards.
- Policy Compliance: Comply with Argus policies and procedures.
- Janitor Training: Train or retrain new or existing janitors.
- Effective Communication: Communicate clearly and effectively with people of all ethnicities, disabilities, and communication barriers.