Finding office cleaning services that dazzle may seem as likely as finding a unicorn in your backyard but it is way more possible than you might think. There are some effective, efficient, professional office cleaning companies that won’t rob you of a solid value or a clean, healthy office environment. The hard part, of course, is FINDING those office cleaning services that are set up for success instead of bound to fail. Ahead we detail ten keys to finding standout service from your next office cleaning company.
No matter what else RIGHT a cleaning company is doing, if they do not have very good people, it doesn’t really matter. People are the foundation of service businesses of all kinds. The best office cleaning companies know this and put a great deal of effort into finding, recruiting, screening, hiring, training, motivating and managing very, very good people. The office cleaning companies that are not managing their people processes are bound to get more stinkers, more absenteeism, more janitorial turnover or worse. Don’t settle for an office cleaning company that skimps on their people processes because if they skimp there, they’ll skimp everywhere.
If you fail to plan you plan to fail isn’t just a catchy phrase, it’s true. Certainly most office cleaning companies want to deliver services that dazzle but what separates wanting from doing is the presence of a solid plan. What does that plan look like? It means your commercial cleaning company should have systems and processes for EVERY facet of their operations. Whether it is employee hiring, screening and training, pricing and janitorial quotes, or even how they respond to issues and problems, they should have a predetermined plan so that practices and responses are consistent and follow a top down path for how the business operates. Furthermore, they should be able to explain their processes and even show you how they deliver reliability through accountability. Want to know if your office cleaning is properly insured? Ask to examine their coverage. Want to know if your office cleaning company is adequately training their office cleaners, ask to view their training materials. Sure, this research takes time but it is so worth it in the long run.
So it can be quite the process to find the right office cleaning company. There are questions to ask, references to check, specs and quotes to examine. It can start to feel like looking for the right cleaning contractor can become its own full time job. But if you don’t get answers to these important questions, you can get stuck with a company that just doesn’t meet your needs. There is an easy solution, use industry certifications like CIMS to develop a short list. Certifications like CIMS, while not a guarantee, assure that there has been an independent verification that a prospective office cleaning company is set up to deliver effective, consistent service in your facility. CIMS is a rigorous certification but free to you as a Facility Manager meaning you have a free, simple tool to thin the herd down to the best possible options. Then you simply use price and fit to determine who the best office cleaning partner is for you and your facility.
Do not settle for office cleaning companies that play pricing games. Clear pricing is a sign of professionalism and honesty. Why shouldn’t you know exactly what you are buying and how much it will cost? Sometimes office cleaning companies have cloudy pricing because they simply do not know how to accurately price their services, other times they want to secure your business by being competitive yet leave room for upcharges and extra costs down the line. Neither are good for you the customer. Any prospective commercial office cleaning company must have transparent pricing. Clear pricing allows you the ability to compare multiple office cleaning quotes side by side in order to choose the best value for your facility. Clear cleaning quotes also keep you and your office cleaning company on the same page regarding what work is expected.
Effective communication with your office cleaning company is a must. Mistakes and mess ups are bound to happen even with the very best office cleaning companies. What separates office cleaning services is how they respond when things go south. Do they reach out to you immediately to get a sense of the problem and make sure they understand what went wrong? Or do they dodge calls and avoid speaking to you directly because they either don’t know how to make it better or don’t care? Do they come up with a plan or solution to the problem and bring you into the loop so that you have a sense of how it is being resolved? Do they touch base with you afterward to make sure the issue is completely resolved? Even beyond issues that may come up regarding service, is your office cleaning company communicating important issues with you like changes in staff? Communication is an essential component of effective service and if your Detroit office cleaning services company isn’t communicating, your service will suffer.
Most office cleaning companies can deliver dazzling service once in awhile but can they do it over and over again for days, weeks, months and years at a time? Consistency is what takes an office cleaning company from okay to dazzling. Consistency is a function of many things, but again, it boils down to a top down management style where good work is expected and rewarded and systems and process are used to get reliability and consistency through accountability.
If you have an issue, specific need or even a special request, do you hear back from your office cleaning company quickly? Is there a response guarantee in place to make sure customers are responded to in a timely fashion? Again, the best cleaning companies either have a plan or they plan to fail because running a business with many moving parts is especially challenging. If you want to deliver dazzling service a cleaning company has to consider every significant piece of a customer’s experience and leave nothing to chance.
We hear about it a great deal but what exactly is accountability? It is defined as an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions. When you partner with a Detroit office cleaning company that comes in and out of your building each day, it is important that you have a partner in your facility who accepts responsibility for their actions and meets their agreements. Your office cleaning company must assure that they deliver the service they promise and take responsibility and action when they do not.
Gone are the days of little more than a bucket, mop and a bottle of all purpose cleaner. Technology is a driving force in improving every industry and the cleaning industry is no different. Sure some technology is gimmicky and over the top, however, technological improvements is cleaning products, equipment and even the way companies clean are making cleaning services better, faster and cheaper, just at a time when nearly every business is looking to hold costs steady and even reduce them. Technology drives continual improvements and the best office cleaning companies are committed to continual improvement in order to offer their customers just a little bit more (and sometime a LOT more) than the competition.
Is your office cleaning companies following industry best practices? Best practices are those methods and techniques that consistently demonstrate the best results. Because it is the better way to do something, it becomes a benchmark, or the thing that becomes the standard by which other things are measured and judged. Similarly, best practices are continuingly evolving improvements are made or even better ways of dong something are uncovered. Lastly, best practices are used to attain high levels of quality in the absence of mandatory legislated standards. Office cleaning companies that adhere to industry best practices demonstrate that they are continually working in the best interests of their customers in order to deliver effective, results driven office cleaning at the best possible value.
Here at Stathakis, we have worked more than thirty years developing a standard of service delivery. We create lasting partnerships with the businesses of southeastern Michigan delivering the service they and their facilities deserve. If you are a Facility Manager in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, Farmington, Dearborn, Livonia, Troy, Auburn Hills, Novi, Plymouth, Downriver or surrounding areas and you are looking for commercial cleaning services, office cleaning, school cleaning, industrial cleaning, medical cleaning or other building services, please contact us to learn more about how we can help make your job at least a little easier and make your facility dazzle.