Calculating caretaker FTE percent: method, benchmarks and example
Is a caretaker at 80 percent enough for the new school building, or does it need 120? This question regularly lands on the table of municipal councils, school boards and care home committees. It is often answered from experience: that's what we had for the old building too. That is rarely right. A workload can be calculated in such a way that every hour is justifiable. This article shows the calculation method from the area to the FTE percent.
What does a caretaker's remit include?
Before calculating, it must be clear what the workload includes. A caretaker's remit usually consists of five blocks:
- Routine cleaning: the regular cleaning of all indoor areas. Usually the largest block, often partly delegated to cleaning staff.
- Ancillary work: waste disposal, restocking consumables, moving furniture, minor repairs.
- Outdoor areas: lawns, planted areas, paths and squares, leaves, winter service with snow clearing and salting.
- Technical maintenance: inspection rounds, heating and ventilation, lighting, overseeing service contracts, reporting defects.
- Administration and operations: locking service, letting of halls and rooms, events, ordering, coordination with school management or administration.
Each block is calculated separately in annual hours. Only the sum gives the workload. Anyone who only calculates the cleaning almost always underestimates the requirement.
Step 1: Determine the net annual working time
A 100 percent workload does not mean 52 weeks times 42 hours. Holidays, public holidays and absences reduce the time actually available for work. The net annual working time is the reference value for converting hours into FTE percent.
| Item | Hours |
|---|---|
| Gross annual working time (42 hours times 52 weeks) | 2'184 |
| less holidays (5 weeks) | -210 |
| less public holidays (9 days at 8.4 hours) | -76 |
| less absences such as illness, accident, training (around 3 percent) | -58 |
| Net annual working time at 100 percent | 1'840 |
Depending on the municipality, the age of the employees and holiday entitlement, the net annual working time is between 1,750 and 1,900 hours. The figure must be looked up in the staff regulations, not estimated.
Step 2: Calculate the annual effort per task block
For cleaning, the calculation method is standardised: area divided by Performance value, times interval, times Operating weeks. For outdoor areas, separate performance values apply per area type, for example for mowing lawns, trimming hedges or sweeping paths. Technical maintenance and administration are recorded as a time budget per week or per event.
Example: school building with 3,000 m2 and 4,000 m2 of outdoor area
The example is the same primary school building as in the article on cleaning costs: 3,000 m2 of cleaning area, 39 school weeks, plus 4,000 m2 of grounds with lawn, playground and access paths. There is also a gym that is let to clubs in the evening.
| Task block | Basis | Hours per year |
|---|---|---|
| Routine cleaning incl. deep and window cleaning | 3,000 m2, standard values per room type | 2'300 |
| Ancillary work | Waste, consumables, furniture | 150 |
| Outdoor areas incl. winter service | 4,000 m2, performance values per area type | 350 |
| Technical maintenance | Inspection rounds, heating, ventilation, lighting | 250 |
| Administration, locking service, lettings | around 4 hours per week, 50 weeks | 200 |
| Total annual effort | 3'250 |
From hours to workload
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Total annual hours | 3'250 |
| Net annual working time | 1,840 h |
| Full-time positions | 1.77 |
| FTE percent | 177 % |
In practice, this workload is split: one caretaker at 100 percent for outdoor areas, technical services, administration and part of the cleaning, plus cleaning staff totalling around 80 percent. If cleaning is outsourced, around 52 FTE percent remain for the caretaker.
The example shows the decisive point: the question of whether 80 or 120 percent is enough can only be answered once the remit has been defined and every block has been calculated.
Why building types differ so much
For an initial assessment, it is tempting to simply derive the workload from the size of the building. That rarely works, because building types differ greatly in use, operating time and hygiene requirements. Three examples show which way the differences go:
- School building with gym: 39 school weeks with cleaning on every school day, plus lettings in the evening and at weekends. Changing rooms and sanitary facilities in the sports area drive the effort. The school holidays provide time for deep cleaning.
- Administration building: Offices are often cleaned only two to three times a week; the outdoor areas are usually small. For the same size, the workload is considerably lower than in a school building.
- Retirement and care home: Operation 365 days a year, high hygiene requirements and residents' rooms that are cleaned while occupied. The workload is at the upper end and clearly above that of a school building.
Such differences cannot be captured with a flat-rate value. A reliable figure only comes from calculating your own property, with its actual room types, intervals and operating weeks.
Outdoor areas: the most frequently underestimated block
While cleaning is usually calculated somehow, the outdoor areas often remain a lump sum. Yet they can be derived in just the same way: one performance value per area type and activity, plus the number of passes per season.
| Area type | Activity | Passes per year |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn areas | Mowing incl. edge work | 20 to 28 |
| Paths and squares, hard surface | Sweeping, cleaning | 12 to 30 |
| Access routes, car park | Winter service, salt | 15 to 30 call-outs |
Three examples for orientation. The number of passes depends heavily on location, altitude and weather.
For the example school building with 4,000 m2 of grounds, this gives the 350 hours in the table above. Winter service is the most awkward item: it occurs irregularly and often early in the morning. In addition, it cannot be postponed. It must be included in the workload as an annual budget; the organisation needs an on-call arrangement.
Put the scope of duties in writing
A workload calculation is only as good as the list of tasks on which it is based. It is therefore worth having a short job description that records for each property what belongs to caretaking and what does not. Typical questions of demarcation:
- Who clears up after lettings and events? Is that charged?
- Does caretaking carry out small repairs itself or commission tradespeople?
- Who looks after the outdoor areas, caretaking or the municipal works department?
- Is winter service part of the workload or contracted out?
- Who inspects playgrounds, fire protection and emergency lighting?
- What response time applies to faults outside working hours?
Each of these questions shifts hours. If they are left open, exactly those discussions arise that an objective calculation is meant to avoid. In easyCAFM, the answers are mapped as tasks and series in the Tasks & notifications module, so that they are visible not only in the workload but also in everyday work.
What happens when things change
The great advantage of a calculated basis becomes apparent when something changes. Three examples from practice:
Extension building with 800 m2
A school building receives an extension with four classrooms, a group room and a WC facility. The areas are recorded and the calculation runs automatically alongside. Result: around 560 additional cleaning hours per year, which is about 30 FTE percent. This figure is established before occupancy and can be applied for together with the building loan, instead of coming to light a year later as overload.
It works the same way in reverse: if the cleaning of a building is contracted out, the internal workload falls by the corresponding hours, while the ancillary work remains. And if the gym is newly let on Sundays as well, the additional effort can be quantified before the contract is signed.
Looking at several properties together
Many municipalities calculate each property individually and then distribute the staff by feel. The reverse approach makes more sense: first calculate all objects, then distribute the total across people and routes. That brings two advantages. First, residual workloads become visible that can be bundled, for example 30 percent at the works yard and 40 percent at the church into one position. Second, comparing the objects with one another shows which property is out of line and why. More on this on the page easyCAFM for public institutions.
Typical mistakes in workload calculation
- Gross instead of net: Anyone who calculates with 2,184 instead of 1,840 hours underestimates the workload by around 16 percent.
- Only calculating the cleaning: Outdoor areas, winter service and lettings are missing, even though they can make up a third of the workload.
- Forgetting holiday weeks: During the school holidays, routine cleaning stops; instead, deep cleaning and maintenance work take place. Both belong in the calculation.
- Adopting a rule of thumb: The predecessor's workload says nothing about today's requirement, especially after renovations or extensions.
- Forgetting cover: Someone has to step in during holidays and illness. This is included in the absences but needs an organisational solution.
Transparent for the municipal council and school board
A calculated workload has one great advantage over an estimated one: it can be explained. When the school board asks why 177 and not 150 percent are needed, the table per task block shows where the hours come from. If a block is removed, such as the lettings, the workload decreases transparently. The same applies in the other direction: if an extension of 800 m2 is added, the additional requirement can be quantified in advance instead of being fought over afterwards.
In easyCAFM, this table is generated automatically from the recorded areas and tasks. The module Workloads & allocation translates the annual effort into FTE percent and distributes it across people and teams. The basis for this is the Workforce calculation, with which toolsuisse AG has been determining workloads for municipalities, schools and care homes for over 20 years.
FAQ
How many FTE percent does a caretaker need per school building?
For a primary school building with 3,000 m2 and a gym, 150 to 200 FTE percent for caretaking and cleaning combined is typical. Without cleaning, the caretaker's share is usually 50 to 70 percent.
Does winter service count towards the workload?
Yes. Winter service is planned as an annual budget, for example 20 call-outs of 3 hours each. It occurs irregularly but belongs in the annual hours.
What is the difference between workload and FTE percent?
The workload is the calculated effort in hours. FTE percent is the conversion to a full-time position: workload in hours divided by the net annual working time, times 100.
How often should a workload be reviewed?
Annually during budgeting as a plausibility check. A complete recalculation is due in the case of structural changes, changed use or a change in caretaking. Without changes, a recalculation every three to five years is sufficient.
What should be done if the calculated workload is well above the current one?
That happens and is information, not a reproach. Usually it means that work is quietly being dropped or done in overtime. The table per task block shows where the difference lies. It allows a conscious decision: increase the workload, reduce services or contract out parts.
Conclusion
A caretaker workload is a calculation with four ingredients: the defined remit, the annual effort per block, the net annual working time and the distribution across people. Anyone who calculates this way can justify every FTE percent and update it immediately when things change. The result convinces committees more than any figure based on experience.
Back to the blog