Career profile for Custodian Supervisor

What does a Custodian Supervisor do?

Custodian Supervisors directly supervise and coordinate work activities of cleaning personnel in hotels, hospitals, offices, and other establishments.

What kind of tasks does a Custodian Supervisor perform regularly?

Custodian Supervisors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Supervise in-house services, such as laundries, maintenance and repair, dry cleaning, or valet services.
Select the most suitable cleaning materials for different types of linens, furniture, flooring, and surfaces.
Advise managers, desk clerks, or admitting personnel of rooms ready for occupancy.
Inspect work performed to ensure that it meets specifications and established standards.
Perform or assist with cleaning duties as necessary.
Plan and prepare employee work schedules.
Establish and implement operational standards and procedures for the departments supervised.
Inspect and evaluate the physical condition of facilities to determine the type of work required.
Inventory stock to ensure that supplies and equipment are available in adequate amounts.
Issue supplies and equipment to workers.
Forecast necessary levels of staffing and stock at different times to facilitate effective scheduling and ordering.
Check and maintain equipment to ensure that it is in working order.
Direct activities for stopping the spread of infections in facilities, such as hospitals.
Maintain required records of work hours, budgets, payrolls, and other information.
Recommend or arrange for additional services, such as painting, repair work, renovations, and the replacement of furnishings and equipment.
Coordinate activities with other departments to ensure that services are provided in an efficient and timely manner.
Investigate complaints about service and equipment, and take corrective action.
Instruct staff in work policies and procedures, and the use and maintenance of equipment.
Select and order or purchase new equipment, supplies, or furnishings.
Prepare reports on activity, personnel, and information, such as occupancy, hours worked, facility usage, work performed, and departmental expenses.
Confer with staff to resolve performance and personnel problems, and to discuss company policies.
Evaluate employee performance and recommend personnel actions, such as promotions, transfers, and dismissals.
Recommend changes that could improve service and increase operational efficiency.

The above responsibilities are specific to Custodian Supervisors. More generally, Custodian Supervisors are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others		Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates		Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Training and Teaching Others		Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others

Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates

Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Training and Teaching Others

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

What is a Custodian Supervisor salary?

The median salary for a Custodian Supervisor is $42,040, and the average salary is $45,500. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Custodian Supervisor salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Custodian Supervisors earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Custodian Supervisors earn less than $27,110 per year, 25% earn less than $32,950, 75% earn less than $55,380, and 90% earn less than $69,130.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Custodian Supervisors is expected to change by 5.9%, and there should be roughly 27,300 open positions for Custodian Supervisors every year.

Median annual salary: $42,040
Typical salary range: $27,110 - $69,130
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 5.9%

What personality traits are common among Custodian Supervisors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Custodian Supervisor are usually higher in their Enterprising, Conventional, and Realistic interests.

Custodian Supervisors typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Custodian Supervisors typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Custodian Supervisors typically have strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Custodian Supervisor tend to value Independence, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Custodian Supervisors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Second, Custodian Supervisors strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Custodian Supervisors moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Custodian Supervisors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as leadership, self-control, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Custodian Supervisors, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Custodian Supervisors need?

Working as a Custodian Supervisor usually requires a high school diploma.

Custodian Supervisors need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Custodian Supervisors

13.2% did not complete high school or secondary school
39.7% completed high school or secondary school
24.0% completed some college coursework
8.3% earned a Associate's degree
12.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
2.0% earned a Master's degree
0.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Custodian Supervisors

Custodian Supervisors may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, administration and management, or education and training knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Custodian Supervisors might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Personnel and Human Resources		Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Important Abilities needed by Custodian Supervisors

Custodian Supervisors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Custodian Supervisors need abilities such as oral expression, oral comprehension, and problem sensitivity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Custodian Supervisors, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Information Ordering		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Critical Skills needed by Custodian Supervisors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Custodian Supervisors frequently use skills like management of personnel resources, speaking, and monitoring to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Custodian Supervisors, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Management of Personnel Resources		Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Time Management		Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Management of Personnel Resources

Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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