What Does a Laundry Supervisor Do?

The responsibilities of a laundry supervisor can vary quite a bit between positions at different locations, though in general he or she oversees the laundry operations at a place of business. Hotels, for example, often employ supervisors to ensure that other employees are properly handling the cleaning, storage, and distribution of towels and linens to guest rooms. The supervisor can also be responsible for ensuring operational aspects of a business run smoothly, through dealing with scheduling and arbitrating employee disputes when necessary. Although a supervisor is in a managerial position, he or she still typically answers to other managers or owners of a business.

A laundry supervisor is often an entry level position for someone with managerial experience. As a supervisor, one of the most important duties he or she handles is overseeing the actions and performance of other employees. The exact tasks that such employees handle can vary, though it usually involves receiving and washing dirty linens, folding cleaned items, and distributing linens and towels as needed. The supervisor typically ensures that employees are performing these tasks in a proper and timely way.

The duties of this type of position may also involve overseeing the performance of other “housekeeping” staff. Some businesses may have sufficient need for laundry services to be isolated from other duties, though many companies have laundry and housekeeping employees working together. A laundry supervisor may, therefore, need to ensure that all housekeeping staff members are performing necessary tasks, including cleaning bedrooms and facilities at a hotel or other location.

Proper scheduling is also an important task for which a laundry supervisor is responsible. A supervisor often has to ensure that work shifts are properly scheduled and that any issues employees may have are dealt with properly so that the business remains sufficiently staffed. When employee disputes arise, the supervisor may need to deal with problems and ensure a satisfactory resolution is met. Supervisors can also be responsible for handling customer complaints and ensuring that employees are properly trained.

Even though a laundry supervisor serves in a managerial position, he or she is typically in a lower level of management. Another department manager may be directly over him or her, depending on the size of a facility the supervisor works at. Otherwise, business managers and owners typically provide guidance and instruction for a supervisor. He or she is then responsible for ensuring that any directives provided by managers are properly implemented.