As the environmental services (EVS) industry faces ever-increasing demands, especially during peak times or periods of high volume, managing your team effectively becomes critical. In these situations, leaders are often faced with an overwhelming number of tasks, deadlines, and challenges. That’s where the 80/20 rule—also known as the Pareto Principle—comes into play

The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. It can provide a guide on how to best allocate resources. By applying this principle to your team’s operations, you can prioritize tasks and make smarter decisions that improve efficiency, reduce stress, and maintain a high level of service during demanding times.

Here’s how you can leverage the 80/20 rule to help manage EVS teams during high-volume times like the holiday season.

Smart Staffing & Management Strategies

• Cross-train team members for flexibility during busy periods
• Consider temporary staffing partnerships for holiday coverage
• Create clear channels for urgent requests
• Maintain open communication with other departments about their needs
• Give experienced staff members leadership roles during busy periods
• Recognize and reward extra effort during high-volume times

Prioritize and Organize

• Review data from previous holiday seasons to anticipate needs
• Focus on high-risk and high-traffic areas first
• Create clear priority levels for different types of cleaning requests
• Schedule preventive maintenance before peak periods
• Create contingency plans for common scenarios
• Review current procedures with your staff to make sure they are correctly using the tools you already use to track cleanings

Support Team Wellness

• Ensure breaks are actually taken during busy periods
• Rotate staff through high-stress areas
• Keep healthy snacks and water available
• Check in regularly with team members about their needs

Whether it’s prioritizing high-risk areas, empowering key staff, or optimizing your resources, the 80/20 rule helps ensure that your team is working efficiently and effectively during high-demand times. However, making these strategic decisions requires reliable, real-time data about your operations. Without accurate information about room turnover times, cleaning completion status, and resource allocation, even the best management principles can fall short.

Modern EVS departments need more than just principles—they need data-driven insights and systems to make informed decisions, especially during high-volume periods. If your team is struggling to collect and analyze the data needed to optimize your operations, ReadyList can help. Contact us to learn how our digital platform can transform your EVS data into actionable insights.