National Janitorial & Floorcare Services
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Commercial property owners and building managers face a unique dilemma. It’s critical that they keep their facilities clean, but they also need to be budget conscious.
Searching for a new commercial cleaning company is actually a lot of work. Between researching potential service providers, completing walk-throughs, obtaining proposals, choosing a new provider and severing ties with the old company, you may not have enough time to deal with other vital business matters. In the end, many managers end up caught between the need for change and the comfy stability of their current cleaning service.
In reality, however, your complacency about your familiar old arrangement may be costing you money. Here are three of the simplest ways to tell whether your current cleaning service might be behind the times and in need of an upgrade.
As your company expands, so will your cleaning requirements. Of course, it only makes sense that as you acquire new facilities, you’ll need more custodial assistance to keep up with the added square footage.
On a more subtle level, your expansion may be inextricably tied to increased time spent in the public eye. As such, your standards of cleanliness could ultimately affect your growth rate by reflecting on your brand reputation, business partnerships or even customer satisfaction.
If your current cleaning provider is a small outfit that lacks the ability to staff your new corporate headquarters or remote branch office, it could be time to move on. Many small companies don’t have the employees needed to tackle projects like post construction cleaning due to remodeling or expansion. In some cases, they may also be without sufficient equipment to handle the job. If they haven’t established themselves through experience, they may also lack appropriate understanding of what goes into these jobs.
It doesn’t matter what kind of tools and equipment your service provider uses as long as the job gets done, right? Guess again, because cleaning equipment like backpack vacuums, auto-scrubbers, and even the type of dusters being used can result in significantly lower service overhead. This usually means lower costs for you, the client.
Cleaning productivity and efficiency play huge roles in what you ultimately pay for the service. For instance, one assessment found that when cleaning a 2,500 square foot facility, janitors using backpack vacuums were shown to complete the job in around 15 minutes. This was a far cry from the 53 minutes those equipped with single-motor upright models devoted to the same job.
In total, backpacks were found to be around 30 percent more efficient than other vacs, which translated to massive savings in labor costs for the companies that switched to using them. The vast majority of commercial cleaners figure their employee expenses into what they charge, so it’s easy to see how their technical improvements end up benefiting your bottom line.
For many companies, cleanliness is directly related to revenue. Data suggests retailers that sell clothing, furniture, electronics, food and other consumer goods directly benefit from keeping their premises tidier. One study performed by M/A/R/C® Research and National In-Store found that 14 percent of consumers would quit visiting stores that failed to meet their own personal standards of cleanliness. This also translates to public areas of office buildings and other types of commercial buildings.
How does this relate to your cleaning company’s chosen equipment? In short, even the most diligent custodial staff may not be able to overcome substandard equipment. Cleaning tools break down over time, and this is typically associated with a loss in performance efficiency. Why should you be paying for your cleaning team’s loss of productivity when it could cost you business and profit?
Custodial work is a professional stepping stone for some individuals. It’s only natural that people move on as their lives change and they gain career skills, and sometimes circumstances simply dictate that it’s time for something new.
These factors don’t mean, however, that your cleaning staff should be a continuous revolving door of new faces. In fact, your cleaning service provider’s mismanaged employment practices typically wind up costing you money.
Never make the mistake of thinking that service industries rely on unskilled labor. While your favorite janitor may not apply a university-level education to her daily work, she still relies on a host of well-honed skills. Some of these come from her own experience, and others are the result of employer training, but they all impact the quality of the cleaning you enjoy.
Commercial cleaning companies that can maintain workforces of loyal individuals for longer periods are more likely to retain skilled staff. These workers produce consistent results because they possess increased experience, but it also helps that they’re more deeply invested in their careers. Since they take pride in their work, they actually meet higher standards of excellence, which means you are paying for more skilled, productive cleaning staff.
Cleaning company owners and managers that don’t care about their workforce, will not be able to generate quality results consistently. Not providing the right equipment, skimping on wages and benefits, and skipping vital training hinders their ability to keep your facilities impeccable. The costs of ongoing hiring, onboarding and increased HR workload drives up their costs, which is reflected in the prices they charge you.
Could your current commercial cleaning service be lacking when it comes to keeping your facilities consistently clean? It may be hard to determine whether they’re costing you money you shouldn’t be spending at first, but examining these three factors is a great way to make a more accurate assessment. Make a change that benefits your business by consulting with our experts today.
