Key takeaways
What property managers can take from Neil’s approach
- Let the data decide. DCS Global stays independent from both property managers and cleaning companies, so its audit results can’t be manipulated by either side.
- Audits should help, not punish. When DCS finds gaps, it works with the janitorial team to fix them, because the goal is a contractor that succeeds and earns a renewal.
- Renegotiate before you retender. After the pandemic, DCS has used contract compliance reviews to cut costs for owners while giving cleaning companies a new contract term.
- Match cleaning to how space is used. Occupancy studies can rebalance workloads and restocking based on actual traffic, without lowering service.
- Be adaptable and listen. Neil’s advice for any leader is to understand what people need before telling them what you can do.
About the guest
NL
Neil Lathangue
President, DCS Global
Neil leads DCS Global, an independent firm that audits and advises on janitorial and building services across North America. He spent his first 20 years in property management, including managing First Canadian Place in Toronto, then grew a national janitorial company from $60 million to $100 million in revenue and co-founded GDI. He is also a certified coach practitioner.
Episode summary
In this episode
Jared Sarbit talks with Neil Lathangue, President of DCS Global. Neil spent 20 years in property management, including managing First Canadian Place, which won Canadian office building of the year and a BOMA International TOBY award. He then crossed into janitorial, turning around a national cleaning company and co-founding GDI.
Neil explains how DCS Global works as an independent, data-driven advisor between property managers and janitorial companies, how its Clean and Safe program focuses on hygiene, and how ESG is shaping what owners ask for. He shares how independent validation can support BOMA awards and certifications, and how the pandemic changed cleaning budgets and contracts.
He also talks about AI and IoT in building operations, why history draws him to older buildings, and why he recommends Ikigai.
Chapters
- 0:00Episode preview
- 1:02Introducing Neil Lathangue
- 2:17Twenty years in property management
- 3:28Starting a facility services business
- 5:02Turning around a janitorial company
- 7:54Joining DCS Global
- 9:18Adaptability and listening
- 12:01Choosing volume or a niche
- 15:52Independent, data-driven audits
- 18:11Who DCS Global works with
- 20:19The Clean and Safe program
- 22:09Helping property managers with limited time
- 23:29Market intelligence and ESG
- 27:36Winning BOMA awards and certifications
- 32:51Cleaning after the pandemic
- 38:14AI and IoT in building operations
- 42:19The property he would love to manage
- 43:08Book recommendation: Ikigai
Jump to a chapter (18)
- 0:00Episode preview
- 1:02Introducing Neil Lathangue
- 2:17Twenty years in property management
- 3:28Starting a facility services business
- 5:02Turning around a janitorial company
- 7:54Joining DCS Global
- 9:18Adaptability and listening
- 12:01Choosing volume or a niche
- 15:52Independent, data-driven audits
- 18:11Who DCS Global works with
- 20:19The Clean and Safe program
- 22:09Helping property managers with limited time
- 23:29Market intelligence and ESG
- 27:36Winning BOMA awards and certifications
- 32:51Cleaning after the pandemic
- 38:14AI and IoT in building operations
- 42:19The property he would love to manage
- 43:08Book recommendation: Ikigai
From the conversation
Transcript excerpts
We’ll do a study, we’ll do an assessment and it can’t be manipulated… the data is the data.
Neil LathanguePlay from 0:32
Be adaptable and please listen, please listen carefully.
Neil LathanguePlay from 10:07
We want you to succeed… it’s not a gotcha.
Neil LathanguePlay from 17:46
Want cleaning results you can measure?
We’ll walk your building with you and send a written cleaning scope and price. Free, no obligation.
Read the conversation
Full episode transcript
Show transcript
Paste the edited transcript here.
FAQ
Janitorial audit questions
What does DCS Global do?
DCS Global is an independent advisor between property managers and janitorial companies. Neil Lathangue says it runs janitorial, KPI, green, and hygiene audits, manages RFPs, and assesses other parts of the built environment, and it completed more than 4,000 audits in North America in 2023.
Should property managers retender janitorial contracts after the pandemic?
Not always. Neil says DCS often recommends a contract compliance analysis and renegotiation instead. In the cases he described, owners saved money and the cleaning company received a new contract term.
How can independent validation help with BOMA awards?
Neil says BOMA increasingly encourages properties to use an independent group to support award and certification applications. Third-party data on cleaning, waste diversion, and energy gives the application more credibility.
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