What does a building service worker do?
Building service worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real building service worker resumes:
- Operate and provide maintenance for automatic scrubbers, power sweepers, vacuums and buffers used in connection with building cleaning.
- Perform emergencies work requests, schedule and unschedule maintenance program, emergencies and coordinate special projects as directed.
- Clean and disinfect lavatory areas including sinks, urinals and toilets using appropriate cleaning solutions.
Building service worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Building Service Workers are proficient in WAX Floors, Snow Blowers, and Scrubbers. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Physical strength, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Building Service Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- WAX Floors, 14%
Strip and wax floors nightly as well as vacuum carpeted areas of the store.
- Snow Blowers, 11%
Operate & maintain floor buffers, rug cleaners and snow blowers.
- Scrubbers, 10%
Operated and provided maintenance for automatic scrubbers, power sweepers, vacuums and buffers used in connection with building cleaning.
- Blowers, 8%
Provided proper upkeep of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and other grounds areas using power blowers and pressure washers.
- Building Services, 6%
Pass cleanliness inspections conducted by Plant Engineer and Building Services Specialist
- Burnishers, 6%
Have proficiency in the burnisher and Pack vacuum.
Common skills that a building service worker uses to do their job include "wax floors," "snow blowers," and "scrubbers." You can find details on the most important building service worker responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a building service worker to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners must interact well other cleaners and the people who live or work in the buildings they service." Building service workers often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted underground welding safety procedures.technical skills:interpersonal skills, organizational skills, time management skills, and basic industrial laborerskills. "
Physical strength. Many building service worker duties rely on physical strength. "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment.," so a building service worker will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways building service worker responsibilities rely on physical strength: "fixed bathrooms and maintained plumbing * responsible for maintaining the physical facilities of school. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of building service workers is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday building service worker duties, as "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "created a clean environment for customers using time-management and attention-to-detail skills"
Mechanical skills. A big part of what building service workers do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to building service worker responsibilities because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical building service worker tasks: "utilized various cleaning and maintenance equipment, to include mechanical floor cleaners and buffers"
The three companies that hire the most building service workers are:
- Montgomery County Public Schools14 building service workers jobs
- Colorado Convention Center
11 building service workers jobs
- The Brooklyn Hospital Center6 building service workers jobs
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Compare different building service workers
Building service worker vs. Porter
A porter is responsible for managing the building's cleanliness and orderliness, together with the cleaning maintenance team. Duties of a porter include ensuring the premises' safety, operating cleaning tools and equipment, and performing basic troubleshooting for defective machines. Other tasks include assisting visitors with their inquiries, leading clients to the appropriate departments, adhering to the highest safety standards and procedures, and answering maintenance calls. A porter must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to ensure daily smooth operations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a building service worker are more likely to require skills like "building services," "burnishers," "plumbing," and "dust mop." On the other hand, a job as a porter requires skills like "excellent guest," "dexterity," "manual dexterity," and "customer service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Porters tend to make the most money working in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $30,781. In contrast, building service workers make the biggest average salary, $39,250, in the non profits industry.The education levels that porters earn slightly differ from building service workers. In particular, porters are 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a building service worker. Additionally, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Building service worker vs. Floor staff
The duties of floor staff depend on their line of work or industry of employment. In restaurants and similar establishments, floor staff is in charge of performing support tasks for the wait staff. They typically serve food to patrons, clean and set tables, help in processing payments, monitor the supplies, and maintain the cleanliness of different areas. They may also assist customers by escorting them to their tables, answering inquiries, and delivering their bills. Furthermore, should there be any problems, the floor staff must report to the manager right away.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that building service worker responsibilities requires skills like "wax floors," "snow blowers," "scrubbers," and "blowers." But a floor staff might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "pos," "phone calls," "cleanliness," and "math."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Floor staff tend to reach similar levels of education than building service workers. In fact, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Building service worker vs. Day porter
Day porters are skilled employees who are responsible for conducting daily building maintenance at a facility to ensure it looks neat and presentable to the public. These porters are required to clean all common room areas such as the kitchen, cafeteria, and lobby as well as prepare conference rooms before and after meetings. They must complete minor repairs and place safety hazard signs in the building to warn customers and employees. Day porters must also provide service washrooms while responding to major spills or other cleaning crises.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from building service worker resumes include skills like "building services," "burnishers," "dust mop," and "bsw," whereas a day porter is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "abm. "
Day porters make a very good living in the utilities industry with an average annual salary of $28,643. On the other hand, building service workers are paid the highest salary in the non profits industry, with average annual pay of $39,250.When it comes to education, day porters tend to earn similar degree levels compared to building service workers. In fact, they're 1.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Building service worker vs. Janitor
Janitors are primarily responsible for maintaining the sanitation and cleanliness of the workspace. They are in charge of sweeping and mopping floors, wiping surfaces, and ensuring that the area they are assigned to is properly sanitized. They manage the inventory of supplies and ensure that they would never run out of cleaning supplies by properly tracking the usage of each material. Some skilled janitors are also responsible for doing minor repairs to different office equipment and fixtures. They also help in company event setups and cleanups, as well as in liaising tasks that the office might need.
Types of building service worker
Updated January 8, 2025
