WHERE WE STOOD

Created in 2015, Batmaid quickly became the leading on-demand cleaning platform in Switzerland. Since then, we have been able to help more than 5,500 cleaning agents exit the black market and find declared and insured jobs across Switzerland.

Today, according to Statista, “the revenue in the household cleaner segment is projected to reach CHF 238 million in 2021” additionally, “the market is supposed to grow annually by 0.7%”. Despite the projected growth, 80% of cleaners are still working in the black market.

Based on the facts above, Batmaid saw the opportunity to evolve and is now part of Batgroup, a group providing a 360° cleaning solution to those who need it, while fighting the black market on as many fronts as possible (c.f. Batmaid will become a group). Aligned with Batmaid’s primary mission; fighting against the black market, the group will reinforce and strengthen this fight (c.f. Batgroup Manifesto).

As our core goal has always been to protect those who work in a difficult industry, such as the home cleaning industry, we wanted to change in order to provide cleaning agents with better protection, create more declared and insured job opportunities and even more importantly, improve the working conditions in this industry.

BATMAID’S SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

As the cleaning agents are one of the pillars of the company and are the very essence of our operations, we wanted to offer them the working conditions they deserved. While we fought hard to deliver a safe and secure work environment, we noticed that the legal framework in the home cleaning sector was not giving sufficient protection to cleaning agents (c.f. Strategic changes for Batmaid who bets on the employer status).

Having heard their concerns in terms of employment, we decided to evolve. As a consequence, Batmaid has been the employer of the cleaning agents since January 1st 2021. This change of status, from being an intermediary between cleaners and private individuals to employers, allows us to provide cleaning agents with more protection & flexibility.

With us now being the employer, we are able to offer increased security as well as the chance to improve cleaning agents' conditions through training among many others. Providing them with professional knowledge enables us to deliver a premium service to our clients.

The cleaning agents aren’t the only ones who will benefit from the recent changes. We have also worked towards enhancing our customer experience: We now give our clients the opportunity to book a service rather than hire a cleaning employee. Under those circumstances and remaining close to our engagement and purpose, we ensure that every agent grow in a legal framework that will protect them in the event of a new crisis.

WHAT’S NEXT

After five years, the company grew rapidly. More than 50,000 clients, almost 100 employees in five different cities and more than 2,000 agents active on the platform joined us in our mission to fight the black market.

Even though our fight, the one that fuelled our growth and our desire to advocate for more protection and security for the heroes in the shadows of the home cleaning sector, started 6 years ago, it remains, now more than ever, our priority.

By offering the possibility to be employed by a company to those who partake in the cleaning industry, we hope not only to meet their needs but also to offer them the protection and security they are looking for in a fixed contract.

We also hope to encourage more people to apply for insured and declared jobs in order for them to take advantage of the benefits such as accident and sickness insurances as well as the promise of a secured retirement.

We all have a duty and our share of responsibility: we need to improve the cleaning industry framework and standards. Our aim is to provide concrete answers to increase the cleaning agents’ working conditions as well as helping them exit the black market.

We strive to make things better, and every day, we work hard to improve our operations with this one goal in mind.