[Power K-Women] "Female Cleaning Managers Will Create an Environment Recognizing Them as Professionals"

Essential Housekeeping Helper Brokerage for Working Moms
Moved to IT Platform 'Cheongso Yeonguso'
Supporting Women's Continued Social Activities
Valuable as Flexible Jobs for Middle-Aged Women

Editor's NoteAsia Economy selected 40 women from various fields at home and abroad as 'Power K-Women' at the '2022 Women Leaders Forum' held on October 19. These are women leaders who, despite facing all kinds of barriers and boundaries such as gender, race, disability, and poverty, did not yield to them but broke or transcended these boundaries to create new and universal values. Their stories will provide comfort to a weary world and serve as role models for others, giving communities the strength to move forward again.

"One of the reasons we started this project was to enable cleaning managers to receive training and work as professionals."

Yeon Hyun-joo, CEO of Life Research Institute, emphasized the ‘professionalism’ of cleaning managers. If cleaning was considered a task anyone could help with, the home cleaning service platform ‘Cleaning Research Institute’ would not have emerged. However, Yeon, a working mom raising three children, had a different perspective. For working moms, domestic helpers are essential, and upon examining the related market, she saw a path for cleaning managers as efficient professionals. There are two perspectives on this path from the viewpoint of women’s employment: one is cleaning managers as supporters for women to continue their social lives, and the other is cleaning managers as flexible jobs available to middle-aged women. Yeon, leading the Cleaning Research Institute as a working mom, stands in the middle of these.

In an interview with Asia Economy, Yeon said, "Although jobs like domestic helpers and cleaning managers existed before, they were not respected as professions and their professionalism was hard to recognize. The Cleaning Research Institute’s service differentiates itself by the professionalism of its managers, which is built on 100% training manuals." The Cleaning Research Institute has transformed the existing domestic helper brokerage service into an IT platform, allowing customers and cleaning managers to conveniently search, book, and manage services via a mobile application (app). It operates in most areas of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, as well as six major metropolitan cities and other key regions.

The number of cleaning managers who have completed professional training has exceeded 80,000 this year. Yeon explained, "After the mandatory introductory training, continuous video training is provided through the app, along with phone education. Training is systematically conducted according to each individual’s level of professionalism." The effectiveness of the training is reflected in the high customer satisfaction, with almost no complaints. She said, "We keep statistics on complaints, which account for about 1% overall, and we are working to reduce this further; about 80% of complaints are minor."

Strengthening professionalism also elevates the status of cleaning managers as jobs women can choose. Yeon introduced, "It has been almost six years since we started the service, and managers who joined from the beginning tend not to leave. Managers work around 100 hours per month on average, and more than 10% work between 150 and 200 hours."

Looking at working hours, it is possible to work a second job or full-time. Yeon explained that this form is meaningful as a flexible job suited to the life cycle of middle-aged women. While young people seek stable jobs as a working condition, middle-aged women need jobs they can quit anytime and return to. She emphasized, "Housewives who spend time raising children and doing housework need flexible jobs. The role of the Cleaning Research Institute is to create jobs where they can take a break for one or two years and then continue their careers."

Yeon Hyun-joo, head of the Life Research Institute, is being interviewed at the Pangyo Digital Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Since professionalism is emphasized, Yeon has also put much thought into welfare and compensation. Currently, they provide holiday gifts, monthly bonuses, condolence and celebration expenses, treatment for work-related injuries, and flu vaccinations. Considering that it is difficult to get loans without being a full-time employee, they also support loans. Above all, Yeon values the health of cleaning managers. Guidelines have been created to ensure they can work as professionals without harming their health, aiming to build a sustainable working environment. Yeon explained, "I emphasize to cleaning managers that they are not just working for today. We created manuals to prevent excessive work during shifts and strictly prohibit tasks that could pose health or safety risks."

This also reflects Yeon’s own experience. While working at Kakao, she participated in planning a home cleaning service as a new business item, but when Kakao decided not to pursue the business directly, she started her own company in 2017. As a working mom raising three children, her conviction that this service was necessary pushed her to leave a stable job. Although Kakao became a bigger company while she struggled in a barren field after founding her startup, she has never regretted that decision. Her sense of mission to change an uncertain market and create services needed by working moms helped her endure crises.

Yeon Hyun-joo, head of the Life Research Institute, is delivering a presentation titled "Challenge (START UP) The Present and Calling of Women Entrepreneurs" at the 2022 Women Leaders Forum hosted by Asia Economy. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In fact, Yeon worked as a domestic helper herself while preparing the service. She needed to plan cleaning managers’ routes and training but was concerned whether the training content was realistic. The Cleaning Research Institute’s service is structured differently depending on the size of the residence, which came from her experience. When she tried it herself, even disposing of trash was often confusing. She created and immediately applied a system for customers to note the location and disposal method of volume-based waste bags. Yeon said, "After trying it myself, I encountered limits and realized that manuals must be well organized so cleaning managers do not face difficulties on site."

The average age of cleaning managers at the Cleaning Research Institute is about 55. With changing perceptions compared to the past, many people in their 30s and 40s have recently joined. The Life Research Institute’s goal for next year is to secure 200,000 cleaning managers. This is to provide nationwide service while allowing cleaning managers to work flexibly at their desired times. Recently, as the Life Research Institute started office cleaning services, opportunities for cleaning managers to work have increased. The office cleaning service, launched at the end of May based in Seoul, has recently expanded to Suwon, Incheon, and Bucheon areas. It will also expand to metropolitan cities nationwide. They are also developing cleaning supplies and planning senior-centered services.

Yeon’s recent concern is that working moms should be able to use cleaning managers’ services at reasonable costs. Costs inevitably rise if only Korean cleaning managers are employed. However, it is not easy for individuals to hire foreign workers while verifying visas and passports one by one. Yeon said this is why a company focusing on training, management, and accountability is necessary. Currently, about 20% of workers at the Cleaning Research Institute are ethnic Koreans from China. Yeon emphasized, "Low birth rates are a social issue, but to create an environment where domestic help is available, there must be many workers. For this, women need to participate more in organizational decision-making. By reflecting diverse perspectives, we can create services that span generations."