Sometimes what you hoped to get from office cleaning services doesn’t quite materialize and other times, cleaning services can be a total wreck. There are often red flags in the form of problems with staff, issues with training, questions about security, failures of reliability, no sign of consistency, difficult to understand price points and frustration trying to figure out how to get what you need without constant micromanaging. All of these red flags can be an indication that you need to explore your options and find an office cleaning service that can meet your needs.
You don’t need to put up with high staff turnover, sloppy service and a lack of responsiveness. While the office cleaning market is a crowded and difficult one to navigate, it isn’t impossible. Facility maintenance can be a significant part of your budget, you deserve to see real value in it. So what are some clear signs that your cleaning service is headed for a breakdown, you are on a collision course to pile up and that it might be time to start considering some different options?
Good Service Is No Accident
A common complaint we get from Facility Managers with a long term office cleaning service is that their office cleaners started solid and then a few months later began a slow descent downhill. Regardless of what type of cleaning you need, a consistent, competent cleaning service is critical to smooth building operation. So, why exactly is this such a common occurrence with office cleaning companies?
Usually it can be attributed to a lack of effective frameworks to assure quality. Most companies want to provide a professional service, but very few understand how to guarantee that their work is consistent across time. A solid quality assurance framework includes regular inspections and a real-time system for communication to help reduce problems and to address those that come up quickly and seamlessly.
Mistakes are going to happen even within the best office cleaning companies, what sets industry professionals apart from everyone else is how quickly they are dealt with so that they aren’t allowed to spiral out of control. This mentality can take many forms, many office cleaning services are turning to technology with apps that offer real time reporting tools to guarantee that problems are quickly identified and fixed. Or they may have a clearly identified tier of responsibility and guaranteed response times in place.
Imprecise Pricing Puts You On a Collision Course to Disaster
Transparent pricing is critical. One of the biggest red flags that a cleaning company isn’t set up for success is a fuzzy quote or imprecise janitorial bid. The overcrowded office cleaning marketplace is hard enough to navigate without price points that are impossible to compare to other bids. If you can’t compare the relative values of services as they pertain to your facility specifically, you’ll have no way to know which company is the right fit for you and your budget.
In the same way, if you don’t know exactly what you are paying for, they you’ll have no way to hold your commercial office cleaning service accountable for the work that they agreed to do. Poorly constructed bids are most commonly a result of inexperience. Companies that haven’t been in the business long enough often struggle to accurately price their services. That being said, some companies use a hard to understand quote to hide upcharges and fees. There is no reason to risk dealing with a Detroit office cleaning company that can’t or won’t provide an easy to understand bid that you can compare to other offers to find the services and value that bets fit YOUR facility.
Without Solid Frontline Staff Quality Is Sure to Crash
In any service based industry, the frontline staff are the most important aspect of delivering quality service. It doesn’t matter how expensive your cleaning equipment is and how well certified you are, without a well trained and motivated frontline cleaning team, you simply can’t provide the highest levels of service. So, what should go in to getting the best cleaners for your building? Your cleaning company should feature a detailed and stringent screening process. This includes but isn’t limited to: criminal background checks, both state and federal, multi-panel drug tests and an in-person interview. Thorough screening is a critical first step in providing a quality service. Not only is it an important aspect of proper cleaning but it also ties into building health and safety. A well screened cleaning staff helps insure that trustworthy people are in your facility and that their focus isn’t just on making things look clean, but actually protecting employee health.
Green Cleaning Can Really Impact Overall Service
By a rough estimate, cleaning companies use around 6 billion pounds of chemical solution and according to another estimate can use nearly 4.5 billion pounds of consumables such as toilet paper and towels. This says nothing of the 30 billion plastic trash bags used annually. So, while it might seem like green cleaning practices don’t have a significant impact, simple changes can have an enormous impact on the total environmental footprint. As green cleaning becomes more efficient and affordable, more and more office cleaning companies are adopting green cleaning programs. But look closely as for some companies ‘green cleaning’ is little more than lip service. When looking at a prospective green cleaning service, make sure to ask just how they implement their green cleaning program and how it translates into tangible results for your facilities environmental impact and overall health.
How Do Local & National Cleaning Companies Stack Up
In the often crowded office cleaning marketplace, you are going to find winners and losers. Whether you are in search of an Auburn Hills janitorial service or even commercial handyman services, local is a better choice for number reasons. First, it helps promote local businesses that support our local economy. Local companies can provide responsive service and keeps important tax revenues in state going back into the community. Local companies are more inclined to value long lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. Larger companies, on the other hand, place a heavier focus on turning a profit and rarely care about a personal relationship given the number of accounts that they manage. This isn’t to say that they can’t provide a quality, accountable service but it does mean that unless you are a very large account, your needs aren’t going to be put first.
Go With CIMS Certified Cleaning Companies & Avoid Common Mishaps
A professional certification for your office cleaning like the ISSA’s CIMS and CIMS-GB certification says a great deal about their commitment to quality service and industry best practices. CIMS is a challenging and stringent set of requirements that help ensure solid, dependable services. CIMS is comprised of five core values:
- Human Resources: Best practices for managing any service industry’s greatest asset—their people
- Service Delivery: Processes & systems in place to deliver consistent, quality service
- Management Commitment: Establishing our Mission, Vision, and Values and ensuring that the organization's continuity is secured.
- Health, Safety, & Environmental Stewardship: Ensuring regulatory compliance, workplace safety, and health and environmental management
- Quality Systems: A framework to ensure effective operations & continuous improvement
If you feel that your current office cleaning service is a wreck, it’s time to look for a better fit. Office cleaning services are supposed to make your building cleaner and your life easier, if they are not, you are getting the short end of the stick. You and your facility deserve office cleaning services that meet the individual needs of your facility and make your building shine.
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