The Red Flags of a Company that Doesn't Take Training Seriously

When looking for the best commercial office cleaning companies, it comes down to finding those that offer the highest quality, most comprehensive staff training. Obviously there are other factors that impact the quality of your service, but without properly trained staff, your cleaning is always going to fall short of the mark. Almost all common onsite problems like administrative and communication issues, improperly done work and on the job accidents come down to a lack of sufficient training. While it is not your job as Facility Manager to make sure your office cleaning company’s staff are trained, when they aren’t it is YOU and your facility that pay the price. So how can you get the most out of your Michigan office cleaning company and what are some warning signs that you aren’t?

What the State of the Janitorial Closet Says About the Quality of Service

The first place you need to look to gauge the quality of service you are receiving is the janitorial closet. When you enter and there are rags tossed about, and dirty mops everywhere, you know that your facility is being treated with the same lack of care. A janitorial closet of a company that takes the cleaning and maintenance of your facility seriously will always have all chemical solutions labeled, equipment put away properly and in is generally clean and well-organized. Additionally, a closet with dirty mops and rags is not only gross, it is a biohazard housing germs and bacteria that could easily be spread throughout your facility. Both of these common problems can be addressed with proper training and understanding on the inherent threats of not addressing them.

Is Cross Contamination An Issue

Evidence demonstrates that responsible cleaning practices go a long way in reducing the risk of cross contamination, thereby minimizing the prevalence of illness and disease.  Effective cleaning reduces bacteria on equipment and surfaces that people come into contact with day in and day out like keyboards, phones and restroom touch-points. Here are a few best practices your office cleaning staff should be adequately trained on to assure your office is a healthy work environment.

• Capture pollutants and remove them; don’t just move them around.
• Minimize harmful chemicals in the environment while maximizing cleaning power.
• Use the right product, the right way for the right job.
• Segregate tools, chemicals and equipment.
• Utilize color coded rags and towels so germs from the toilet don’t end up on your phone.
• Implement training and communication programs to insure front-line employees are armed with the knowledge to clean for a healthy work environment.

Communication is, as Always, Key

When you communicate your needs with your cleaning service and these requests are consistently ignored by your onsite cleaning staff, then there is a clear lack of training in communication. This can be especially problematic when the same requests are consistently ignored. This is often the single worst stressor in any partnership between you and your commercial cleaning company. The best commercial cleaning companies will have a communication system in place that makes sure that your needs get communicated to frontline staff to ensure the highest quality customer service. Communication is another area in cleaning that gets exponentially better when staff is trained to do it and systems of accountability are put in place.

Can Your Prospective Cleaning Companies Backup Their Claims? 

Clearly, the single best way to avoid these problems is to partner with a commercial cleaning service provider that takes the training of their employees very seriously. Every prospective cleaning company will tell you that they train their employees thoroughly, but are they willing to back that claim up with evidence? Any reputable Michigan cleaning provider will be able to walk you through their training process and show how it markedly improves cleaning and communication.

Take Advantage of CIMS Accreditation to Shorten Your Prospective Commercial Cleaner List

As Facility Manager, odds are you don’t have the hours in the day to inspect and deep dive into the running of every prospective cleaning service you come across. Fortunately, there is an easier way to determine who does, and who does not, take the training of their staff seriously. The ISSA’s CIMS and CIMS-GB certification is a powerful tool that you can use to determine which janitorial and commercial cleaning companies have matched and exceeded the industry standard. Being a member of the ISSA in itself shows a top down organizational commitment to delivering service at the highest possible level. The accreditation simply indicates that said company has succeeded in doing so. One of the core principles of the CIMS certification is through and stringent employee training as to meet the high ISSA standards of cleaning. Any industry based on service will only be as good as the people that work on the frontline. These staff will only perform as well as what they were trained to do, so any Michigan cleaning company that has taken the time to put working systems into place to provide such training will invariably provide a higher level of service to you. If you’re on the last straw with your office cleaning company, remember that there is a better option. Contact us for more information about Stathakis and how we can help you and your facility.