Reliable, Effective Consistent Office Cleaning Services Could Be Yours

Reliable, effective, consistent office cleaning services shouldn’t be the magical unicorn of building services, the thing you’ve heard about but don’t believe exists. As a Facility Manager, you deserve to have a professional, capable office cleaning service in your facility. If you are suffering with a less than optimal office cleaning company, you probably dream about how better commercial office cleaning services could keep your building looking its best and make your life easier. No more fires to put out, no more missed items, no more steady stream of complaints. But exceptional office cleaners don’t have to be a dream, they can be a reality. There are professional office cleaning companies ready, willing and able to offer you the professional level of service you and your facility deserve and they aren’t even THAT hard to find.

Why Finding the Right Commercial Office Cleaning Can Seem So Elusive

Finding the right office cleaning company can sometimes seem like an impossibility right? The office cleaning marketplace is a crowded one and there are so many sizes and types of office cleaning companies, not all ready and willing to deliver their best in your facility. Often office cleaning companies want your business whether they are skilled enough to handle it is entirely different. Do they have good people? Do they price their services transparently, are they fully insured? Do they ascribe to industry best practices? Do they train their teams well? Do they have quality assurance measures in place? There are hundreds of questions you could ask to try to find those few office cleaning services truly up to the job. But trying to validate the claims of multiple office cleaning companies is both time consuming and not always precise.  Yes you go through the paces talking to five, ten, twenty or more prospective commercial cleaning companies—you could have them all do site visits, submit office cleaning bids, try to get your head around their systems and if they will be able to do the work as promised, at or under your budget. That’s really what it takes find the masters and avoid the disasters, but that kind of commitment could easily become a full time job within your existing duties. There has to be a better, more efficient way to find the right office cleaning services.

There Is A Simple Path to Finding the Best Office Cleaning Services

Thankfully, great office cleaning services don’t have to be the elusive unicorn we sometimes think it is. Not only is it possible to find the right office cleaning company (without giving up your firstborn or casting a magic spell), it’s actually pretty easy and straightforward if you know about the valuable short cut. The shortcut and time saving technique to secure the most responsive and effective office cleaning services is the ISSA’s CIMS-GB. If you haven’t heard of this before, let’s look at what CIMS is and how it can work for you. 

• The ISSA is the International Sanitary Supply Association, an international industry association for building services contractors.
• CIMS, or the Certified Industry Management Standard, is the ISSA’s demanding industry certification offered to office cleaning companies and commercial cleaning companies that want to distinguish themselves by adopting industry best practices throughout all levels of their business.
• GB is the Green Building element of this certification and offers janitorial companies a certification that helps them help their customers earn points under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED EB: O&M) Green Building Rating System.

So the ISSA’s CIMS-GB gives office cleaning companies a framework with which to design and adjust their operations to deliver the most efficient, consistent and effective services and then the ISSA uses benchmarks and systematic evaluation to see if a company hits the mark, earning CIMS certification.

CIMS Clears A Path to Exceptional, Professional Office Cleaning Services

Some industry certifications amount to little more than paid awards or participation trophies that don’t really give you as a Facility Manager any real, solid, good information to make decisions about the cleaning and maintenance of your facility. CIMS certification is no participation trophy, rather it is a rigorous, challenging, comprehensive, independent assessment that critically assesses a building services companies compliance and track record with all CIMS elements and standards. Similarly, CIMS isn’t a self performed ‘test,’ it is a challenging, multifaceted assessment carried out by an ISSA-accredited third party assessor. This makes CIMS is a credible shortcut for creating your short list of prospective janitorial companies. In order to attain and retain certification, an office cleaning company must meet all of the mandatory elements and at least sixty percent of the suggested benchmarks in order to become certified. CIMS certification offers you a valuable tool in part because it IS so difficult. Those companies that seek CIMS certification are actively committed to continual improvement and making their businesses better and more responsive. And the office cleaning companies that DO achieve certification while not guaranteed to deliver, have every possible element in place to highly predict stand out service. CIMS makes it significantly more likely you that will get the level of quality and consistency you need from your office cleaning company by weeding out those companies operating at a lower level. It can be especially useful to use CIMS certification to build your short list of possible contractors and then examine prospective office cleaning companies with regard to fit, services, prices and use all the information to make a decision about which company is best for you and your facility.

ISSA CIMS–GB Is an Excellent Predictor of High Level Office Cleaning Services

ISSA’s CIMS and CIMS-GB is a demanding process for commercial cleaning companies and other building services companies, but what does CIMS really mean for  you and your facility? The documentation, processes, systems and checks are all centered around five core areas that can make or break your office cleaning services.

• Quality Systems: A framework for effective operations & continuous improvement
• Service Delivery: Processes & systems in position to deliver consistent, quality service
• Human Resources: Best practices followed for managing people-a service businesses single greatest asset
• Health, Safety, & Environmental Stewardship: Assuring regulatory compliance, workplace safety, and health and environmental management
• Management Commitment: Establishing a Mission, Vision, and Values that assure an organization and their customers will continue to thrive.

These five, important yardsticks are excellent predictors of positive outcomes and the level of professional, responsive, effective service you and your facility deserve. The ISSA, in creating and executing the CIMS, has done essentially the most time consuming part of the search for you. And the best part of it is it is free to you.

Let CIMS Make Your Search For the Right Office Cleaning Company Clear & Straightforward

Finding the right office cleaning company to partner with in your facility can be a big ask. CIMS can help clear a path that while not making the process easy, at least makes it easier. Here at Stathakis, we have spent over thirty years developing a standard of service delivery. We have worked hard to create lasting relationships with our customers and offer the businesses of southeastern Michigan the service they deserve. We are proudly CIMS certified and committed to the continual improvement that has made us a valued partner to the businesses of southeastern Michigan.

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 shine.To find an office company in your area ISSA CIMS-GB certified, visit the ISSA here.

Pricing

The Disasters

The disasters prices are cloudy, often applying fuzzy math that makes it both hard to compare cleaning quotes AND understand exactly what you are getting and what it is going to cost you. Commercial cleaning companies that operate with less than transparent pricing typically either do not have the experience to accurately price their services or they are trying to purposefully obscure what their services are going to cost.

The Masters
When it comes to the masters, these cleaning companies want you to know precisely what you are purchasing and how much it will cost you. They understand you need transparent pricing to compare janitorial quotes and make a wise decision about the best value for your facility.  They also understand that having a clear janitorial quote with clear pricing provides a clear picture for assessing their performance maintaining your facility. The “masters” have the experience to accurately price their services helping you make good decisions for your facility with good information.

The Cleaning Quote

The Disasters
The disasters when it comes to commercial office cleaning will often issue a quote without really getting to know or visit your site. The problem with these quotes is they aren’t based in reality. Janitorial bids based on square footage alone don’t really give a complete picture of how many labor hours will be needed to meet your requirements. A cleaning company that isn’t willing to the put the work in at the beginning of the relationship to give you solid information is likely to fail to attend to other details down the road.

The Masters
The master understand that providing you with an accurate cleaning quote based in reality means they have to know more about your building than square footage. They need to square footage broken out by flooring type, the approximate population of your building, how many restrooms you have and any other requirements specific to your facility or industry type.

People 

The Disasters
These commercial cleaning companies don’t understand that the single most important part of any cleaning business is the people. The disasters may not adequately screen their employees and are not likely to offer the comprehensive training that helps good people do their best. Similarly, subpar janitorial companies often take hiring shortcuts with illegal subcontracting and even undocumented workers putting your business and reputation at risk.

The Masters
The masters in janitorial cleaning services know that people are the cornerstone of any service business so they recruit, hire and screen carefully to find those people that are a great fit for the work. A professional commercial cleaning company conducts thorough background checks including criminal background check and drug screening on every single person who enters your facility. With good people, good training, competitive wages and benefits and solid management, the masters have a significantly lower janitorial turnover than the disasters netting you a better value and more effective building maintenance.

Systems & Processes

The Disasters
Those commercial cleaners that are disasters clearly plan to fail because they fail to plan. Whether through inexperience or a lack of vision and direction, less than good office cleaning companies often leave to chance what the better companies plan for. The maintenance of your large building cannot just be left to chance. Poor commercial cleaning companies don’t seem to understand how much planning underpins quality service. They don’t see that without systems and processes on every part of their operations, they simply cannot assure any level of consistency or follow through which translates into spotty at best service for you the customer.

The Masters
The best commercial cleaning companies have a plan in place to deliver effective service to you and that includes systems and processes that assure reliability through accountability. This means that the cleaning services company has systems and processes for every important part of their operations including their employee hiring and screening, janitorial inspections, pricing and janitorial quotes, responding to issues and problems, training their teams on issues specific to your facility and so on.

Consistency

The Disasters
Any commercial cleaning company can do the right thing once, but can they do it over and over again for days, weeks, months and years at a time? Poorly run and operated janitorial companies seem to lack the vision, planning and execution to reach a level of consistency that customers can count on. Sure even the masters will occasionally make a misstep but with the disasters, the missteps are weekly and soon add up to a pattern of inconsistent and ineffective janitorial services.

The Masters
Consistency is what can take a commercial cleaning company from good to great. Consistency will also keep complaints off your desk and keep you from having to continually step in to manage your commercial cleaning company’s people. Success comes from a company having a clear vision of how they want to operate and serve their customers and then using systems and processes to create the consistency to reach that vision.

Communication

The Disasters
Sure mistakes can happen with any cleaning company, but when the disasters make a mistake, they often compound it by not responding promptly, correctly and solving the problem long-term and not just in the moment. When one mistake becomes two, becomes three and more, it is now a pattern of substandard service. When your current janitorial company slips with regard to service, do you know whom to call? Do they get back to you quickly? Is the issue remedied to your satisfaction? Does your cleaning company use the information to change course so the problem doesn’t happen again? If not, you might have unknowingly partnered with a disaster instead of a master.

The Masters

Again, even the masters make mistakes. What truly separates the masters from the disasters is how they respond when things go off track. The masters communicate with you in real time. The best commercial cleaning companies create a plan or solution to the issue and communicate that with you so that everyone is on the same page and knows what to expect. The masters follow up with you afterward to make sure things are really better and their fix wasn’t just a temporary band-aid. The masters regularly communicate with you regarding important issues like changes in staff and new procedures. Communication is a critical part of effective janitorial services, and if your cleaning services company isn’t communicating effectively, it will start to show in your facility.

Technology

The Disasters
Less than savvy commercial cleaning companies are stuck in the past. They don’t have the money or inclination to update their equipment or supplies because they either can’t or think it is an expense without a return. So they use dated, ineffective and even dangerous equipment and supplies in your facility putting you at risk and robbing you of the cost saving efficiencies that much of today’s janitorial technology advancements bring.

The Masters
The masters understand that effective janitorial services are not about a bucket and a mop. These janitorial companies know that embracing technology helps them offer you the highest level of services and even reduce costs by introducing greater efficiency into their processes. They know that effective service and a healthy, safe work environment are important to you. They are willing to invest in their business and therefore, your own, in order to consistently offer their customers the best, most effective, professional cleaning services.

Industry Best Practices

The Disasters
The disasters probably can’t even tell you what the best practices for their industry are much less put them into practice. These janitorial services companies often wing it, and it shows in their service. Maybe it’s inexperience or maybe it’s apathy but either way, you lose.

The Masters
Best practices are those methods and technique that consistently demonstrate results superior to those attained with other means. Over time, the better becomes the benchmark. In the janitorial industry, best practices apply to nearly every part of the business. Best practices can include people processes, like the best, most reliable ways to find, hire, manage and reward the very best employees. Best practices can include using EPA approved cleaning products and a solid commitment to green cleaning practices. Industry best practices include continual improvement and using technology to reduce costs and improve services. The masters understand that just because best practices aren’t mandatory legislated standards, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be applied in order to assure a certain level of quality. 

CIMS - Certified Industry Management Standard

The Disasters
The disasters may not even be aware of CIMS much less able to achieve it. CIMS, or the Certified Industry Management Standard is an accredited management standard much like ISO 9000 and ISO 14001. Ineffective commercial cleaning companies may wish that had CIMS certification, it is good for business after all, but they don’t have the standards or discipline in place to make it happen. The CIMS standards are rigorous and exacting and most companies are not set up professionally enough to meet the CIMS standards of excellence.

The Masters
Maybe some cleaning companies don’t see the value in having an outside independent organization verify that you have systems and practices in place that all but guarantee good service, but the masters do. They know that customers appreciate being able to contract with a CIMS certified company understanding that a certain quality standard is already in place. These office cleaning services also understand that CIMS certification is a great way to show potential customers how seriously you take best practices and professional standards.

Here at Stathakis, we have spent over thirty years developing a standard of service delivery. We have worked hard to create lasting relationships with our customers and offer the businesses of southeastern Michigan the service they 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 shine.

Day Porter Services Keep Your Facility Looking It’s Best Around the Clock

After hours cleaning works for many facilities. Your evening office janitorial service gets their work done when the building is quiet and most people have gone home. The morning rolls around and you have a fresh, clean building to greet you. The entry way sparkles as you make your way into the building, the restrooms look clean and smell fresh with well stocked supplies and empty trash cans. No coffee cups litter the reception area, no waste cans near filled to the top, no salt, snow or water cling to the entry mats. It is great but as a Facility Manager, you are acutely aware of how little time it can take for a busy day to start to undo the hard work of your nightly office cleaners. In especially busy buildings with high traffic, sometimes a nightly janitorial service just isn’t enough. Sure the deep cleaning is best done at night but could you benefit from a day cleaning person or team dedicated to keeping your building looking its best around the clock?

A Day Porter Can Save You Time & Keep Things Shining

It can be helpful for many facilities to have both night time janitorial services doing deep cleaning in your building after hours, as well as a responsive daytime professional ready to meet daytime cleaning, stocking and helping needs. An extra set of hands during business hours can keep your building looking great around the clock and running smoothly. If you are unfamiliar with a day porter, what are day porter duties? What does a day porter do? Know that day porters can attend to daytime cleaning duties, perhaps clearing your reception area of coffee cups or preparing a meeting room both before and after an important meeting. Unobtrusively and without interrupting business activities, your day porter works efficiently in the background keeping your building on track. So what does a day porter actually do? It really depends on what you and your facility need but some basics include:

• Clear litter and debris from entryways and parking lots
• Keeping reception and patio areas clean
• Lobby maintenance
• Monitoring, servicing & restocking restrooms
• Keep all common areas clean
• Prepare conference rooms before and after meetings
• Periodic cleaning of common areas like kitchens, lunchrooms & patios
• Meeting setup/tear down
• Removing trash and debris
• Respond to spills and other time sensitive cleaning requirements
• Place and then remove any necessary safety signage
• Execute minor maintenance tasks light changing a light bulb
• Arranging and scheduling other maintenance tasks with your building services contractor
• Superintendent coverage

Over time, your day porter can function as an assistant helping you with any number of things. For example, perhaps an employee needs a hand moving to another office. Or maybe you need office furniture moved from a conference room for an event. These things and more are the responsive tasks you can count on for help from your day porter. 

The Difference Between Day Cleaning & After Hours Office Cleaning

Day cleaning, a day porter service and an evening janitorial service can work hand in hand and be very complimentary, but it does require a little planning and finesse. With a day porter attending to some cleaning during business hours, that person must be very mindful of the business activities going on around them and structure their services in such a way as they are minimally disruptive. So the vacuum, barring an unusual circumstance should be saved for the nighttime office cleaning crew whereas, a quick rewiping and restocking of a restroom can be done during normal business hours by your day porter. Not only must day cleaning be minimally distracting or disruptive, since there are people walking around the facility, your day porter must be mindful not to create safety hazards with cords and obstacles and be diligent and consistent with safety signage on wet flooring to minimize the risk of slip and falls. Similarly, using green products and low odor cleaning solutions can help accommodate employees who are smell sensitive or have allergies. It can be helpful to check in with employees and tenants after you have implemented your day cleaning program, making adjustments as needed to make the program work well for you and your facility.

Getting a Dayporter That’s A Real Team Player

Your dayporter needs to be cut from a certain cloth. We find that people who are naturally friendly, helpful, quick learners, positive and interested in learning more make great day porters. A day porter can become an essential part of your facility maintenance, but not just any person is suited for this important role. In order to be successful, your day porter should have a willingness to adjust their duties to meet your ever changing needs. Similarly, your janitorial company must be experienced both with finding a good fit for the position of day porter and then helping your day porter and after hours cleaning crew communicate effectively to assure you get the very best service possible. 

Setting Your Day Porter Up For Success

What is the single most component in a successful day porter program? It’s the person filling the role. What then is the second most important determiner of whether your day porter program is successful or not? That is how well your day porter or daytime cleaning staff communicate with your after hours cleaning team. The better they work and communicate, the better the services they deliver to you. First, you must communicate your expectations and requirements clearly with your day porter. Since there is so much variety in the position, it’s up to you to help your day porter and janitorial company know what you really need. Because day porters get busy in your facility fast as people tend to lean on them for help, it is important to be clear with your day porter what you expect them to attend to daily in spite of special requests and how to prioritize or ask for your help when deciding what is most critical and how to plan their work. It can happen where your day porter becomes so inundated with requests that they push off duties of theirs to the nighttime cleaning team, this not only means some important tasks aren’t being finished during the day, the added work can overwhelm evening janitorial services and create issues. Best to be clear from the beginning and if issues arise, communicate with your contract cleaning company so they can sort it out helping get things running smoothly in your facility.

Let Us Help You Get the Tailored Cleaning Services You Really Need

We talk to so many Facility Managers who wish they knew about the day porter program sooner. They so often find that the day porter becomes an integral part of their team and makes the job of keeping up with a busy, high traffic facility so much more manageable. If you could use help keeping your building look its best around the clock, Day Porter services could transform your office cleaning and facility maintenance. Contact Stathakis at (800)278-1884 and let our team assist you in designing Day Porter services custom tailored to your facility.

Do You Have A Stinky Situation On Your Hands?

Have your office restrooms become a decidedly stinky situation? Certainly there is an expected odor associated with restrooms, it is after all, the place where some smelly stuff can happen. However, the lingering odors in restrooms can point to issues with your commercial restroom cleaning. Smells that stay, odors that seem to hang in the air can point to dirty restrooms and insufficient restroom cleaning. Even though restrooms can have odors, in clean, well ventilated restrooms, these smells shouldn’t stick around. If you are smelling noticeably funky odors, urine is typically the primary offender. Urine helps flush water and salt from our bodies and some of the compounds present in urine, including nitrogen, chlorides, proteins and urea can leave behind unpleasant odors when permitted to evaporate, collect and concentrate around urinals, toilets, grout, drains and other areas around your office restrooms. And while these compounds themselves can be noxious, they also provide the perfect meal for numerous bacteria that themselves produce stinky smells.

Why Is Restroom Odor Such a Common Problem?

The problem of restroom cleaning and lingering odor is an issue for many Facility Managers. In reality, keeping restrooms looking and smelling their best continues to top the list of maintenance pain points. Stinky smells can plague facilities for a variety of reasons. Maybe your janitorial services company is failing to do the deep, detailed restroom cleaning they need to in order to leave your restrooms looking clean and smelling fresh. Maybe your office restroom venting is inadequate or requires servicing. Or it could be that you have a level of density within your building that requires more than a nightly cleaning. Offensive odors are a problem even if your restrooms look clean because bad smells register as a strong negative reaction and cast your overall maintenance and your facility in a poor light.

Smelly, Dirty Restrooms Reflect Badly On Your Whole Facility

Any restroom that is used regularly is going to become dirty, but if your restroom cleaning service isn’t keeping up with the job and your restrooms are smelly and dirty, it reflects poorly on your overall maintenance. Office restrooms have a disproportionate affect on the perception of your facility. Dirty restrooms give the impression of mediocrity, lowered standards and apathy. When office restrooms look dirty and smell unpleasant, visitors and employees in your facility notice and it makes them aware of other areas your cleaning is less than optimal. Bad smells, mystery puddles, overflowing trash and more give people in your facility a strong negative reaction. Don’t let less than clean and fresh office restrooms create doubt about the overall health and cleanliness of your facility.

A Quick Mop & Wipe Down Won’t Eliminate Odor

Commercial restroom cleaning cannot just be about a once over with a mop and a little Windex. That might be okay in your home to quick spruce things up before company comes over but office restrooms simply see too much traffic. Many offices can get by with a nightly restroom cleaning, especially if their janitorial services company does a daily, thorough clean. But more heavily used restrooms might require a daytime cleaning as well, emptying trashes, restocking supplies and giving everything a once over. If you think nightly cleaning might not be enough for your busy facility restrooms, you might consider the services of a Day Porter. But if your daily cleaning includes little more than a quick spray down and a little mopping, you aren’t likely to see the clean restroom and fresh clean smell you are looking for. The compounds related to smelly restrooms aren’t easily removed with a quick mop. Worse yet, many commercial restroom cleaning companies reuse mop heads that have not been properly changed or cleaned meaning these smelly compounds just get moved around throughout your facility. It takes real cleaning and measures to prevent against cross contamination to really make your facility shine.

A Restroom Cleaning Checklist Can Help Solve Your Putrid Problem

When it comes to quality control in restroom cleaning, a restroom cleaning checklist can be a valuable tool. A restroom cleaning checklist can be a useful way to understand the level of work required to keep your restrooms clean and smelling fresh. While thorough daily cleaning is essential, the big solution to dirty, smelly restrooms is periodic deep cleaning. What kind of tasks or checklist items assure your restroom cleaning service is hitting all of the important marks?

• Cleaning must be done first and then disinfecting surfaces using the proper dwell times to assure disease causing germs and bacteria are eradicated.
• Careful cleaning of "hot spots," “high contact” and “touch points” to diminish the spread of disease causing germs.
• Mirrors should be clean and shiny. 
• Using industry best practices-- chemicals, agitation and extraction to insure walls, floors, toilets, urinals, sinks, mirrors and fixtures are scrubbed and deep cleaned.
• There should be no overwhelming ‘toilet’ odor and the overall smell should be clean and fresh.
• Toilet and toilet seats must be cleaned, disinfected and wiped dry. 
• Urinal handles need to be cleaned, disinfected, wiped dry with urinal screens cleaned and blocks replaced.
• Feminine hygiene dispensers should be cleaned, disinfected and restocked with new liners put in place as needed.
• Frequent restocking of must have supplies like toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels.
• Regularly emptying trash & sanitary disposal containers BEFORE they are full.
• Routine inspecting fixtures like dryers, paper dispensers and more to insure sure they are in working order.
• Cleaning floors and counters to eliminate splashes, water and keep surfaces looking good. 
• Systematically cleaning around and behind toilets and other hard-to-reach yet essential areas to help eradicate odors. 
• Maintaining restroom partitions so they are free of the three G’s—grime, gum and graffiti.
• When cleaning restrooms, floor drains and grout must be clean.
• Regular dusting or vacuuming of air vents. 
• Check that all light bulbs are functioning.
• Attention to detail including clean corners, ceilings and base boards.
• Making sure regular deep cleaning is done to eliminate long term issues piling up and protect your building’s assets 
• Great janitorial services use state of the art cleaning equipment to do the best job for the best price. 
• Restroom cleaning cloths, towel and mops should not be used outside of the restroom. 
• A visual inspection should be done upon completion and any areas requiring future maintenance should be noted. 
• The supplies and equipment closet should be clean, organized and well stocked. 
• Equipment should be properly maintained, repaired and replaced as needed.

The Importance of Cleaning For Health In Office Restrooms

Smell can be a sign that your restroom cleaning company is not adequately cleaning but also a sign that they might not be cleaning for health. Cleaning enzymes and chemical disinfectants not only combat urine compounds and odors, they are proven to work well for combating viruses, bacteria and other disease causing germs. But in order to be effective, they must be used properly and according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. That means dwell times for certain cleaning products, dwell times are the amount of minutes a wet product must cling to a surface before being wiped away in order to effectively destroy germs. If recommended dwell times are not followed, the removal of the bacteria, and hence the smell, is less effective. Preferably, your restroom cleaning service can spray areas and let the disinfectant remain for the recommended dwell time while they tend to other tasks like restocking supplies, cleaning mirrors and removing trash. Similarly, your restroom cleaning services should be certain they target porous, hard to reach areas like grout lines and corners to keep the space clean and fresh longer. Cleaning for health not only keeps your office restrooms smelling better, it keeps employees and visitors to your facility healthier.

Finding A Restroom Sanitation Service Prepared to Tackle Your Office Restrooms

Finding the right office restroom cleaning services company can make a world of difference with your restroom cleaning. Don’t risk your reputation or your bottom line with smelly office restrooms and restroom cleaning that just plain stinks. Don’t continue to work with commercial cleaning services that are either unable or unwilling to deliver professional, quality, effective service without leaving your restrooms in a stinky state. At Stathakis, we have over thirty years of experience delivering the best in facility maintenance and restroom cleaning for the businesses of southeastern Michigan. 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, please contact us at 1-800-278-1884 to learn more about how we can help you maintain clean restrooms, keep your restrooms smelling fresh and get more of what matters most to you.

Health Care Facilities Should Be Places Of Health & Healing, Not Getting Sicker

The future of healthcare changes by the minute with technology informing nearly everything from the top down. Medical and hospital cleaning has become more critical as concerns about cleanliness, infection and patient satisfaction come to the forefront. Your commercial cleaning company has a direct role in patient safety, satisfaction and even HCAHPS scores. Healthcare Associated Infections have long been a concern in medical facilities but with practitioners seeing increasingly higher volumes of patients, managing rates of infection transmission are even more important. Whether you manage a hospital, clinic, surgical center, or any other healthcare facility, you want to be seen as a place to receive care and get well and not a place to get sicker.

Medical Cleaning Requires A Specialist

In order to effectively tackle the newest strains of disease that find their way into medical facilities, your commercial cleaning company must be up to the job. Just because a janitorial company wants your business does not mean they are worthy of it. Just like many medical specialties, healthcare cleaning requires a higher level of training, knowledge and experience. Just because a company has been moderately successful in general office cleaning does not mean they are prepared for the responsibility and requirements of medical office cleaning. when searching for your next healthcare cleaning company, don’t consider any company that has not done their due diligence and pursued training and systems to serve the medical cleaning requirements of area hospitals, clinics, ambulatory centers and even medical facility offices.

Medical Cleaning Requires More Than a Bucket & Mop

Healthcare cleaning services comes with its own unique requirements, risks, compliance issues and safety concerns. If your prospective commercial cleaning company isn’t fully in tune and up to speed with the requirements of health care cleaning, they are putting you, your patients, staff and even their employees at risk. Medicine has evolved tremendously over the last decade and with it, a number of services connected to medical care have continued to be professionalized. Healthcare-associated infections impact nearly 2 million people each year, with as many as a third of the reported cases being preventable with recommended infection control procedures in place. Add to that a virulent and raging flu season with heightened, severe complications and you can see how important the health and cleanliness of your medical facility is. When you contract with a generalist instead of a medical cleaning specialist, you run the risk of getting little more than a cursory cleaning that not only looks less than inviting, can actually make people sick. Certainly common illnesses like colds, flus and respiratory illnesses can spread in any facility where cleaning for health is not taken seriously, but in a medical setting, the risks and complications are profoundly more serious, even catastrophic.

Compliance Is Critical In in Healthcare & Hospital Cleaning

Healthcare and hospital cleaning are an integral part of a healthy environment but perception and reputation are no less important. The Hospital Consumer Assessments of "Healthcare Providers and Systems” survey, or, HCAHPS has become an important tool for measuring patient satisfaction as well as reducing reimbursements for those health care facilities not meeting consumer expectations. On the HCAHPS survey, the cleanliness of the medical setting gets serious consideration. Between HIPPA, HCAHPS, OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration), CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommendations, AORN (Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses) recommendations, Blood Borne Pathogen training and other healthcare cleaning requirements, your medical cleaning company must understand what you are up against and how to help support you with their own efforts and contributions toward a clean, healthy and well maintained facility.

Medical Cleaning Requires More Knowledge & Higher Standards

Do prospective medical office cleaning companies understand the difference between clean, aseptic and sterile? Do they understand the differences, differing applications and required procedures with the various products used to clean your facility like disinfectants, sanitizers, detergents, virucides and more? Aseptic cleaning is used in various clinical settings to prevent the spread of pathogens that can spread dangerous infections. In a hospital, clinic, medical offices or other healthcare setting, cleaning teams require specific training in medical cleaning in order to effectually clean your facility. Healthcare cleaning personnel must understand critical and non-critical cleaning, disinfecting protocols, correct product usage, specific product directions, dwell times, when and where personal protective equipment is needed and cleaning for health. Similarly, your commercial cleaning company must use appropriate EPA-approved, hospital-grade cleaning and disinfectant products wherever required including surfaces and touch points that are likely to be become contaminated. Furthermore, terminal cleaning is an important part of the infection control process minimizing the spread of infection-causing pathogens that can heighten the risk of health care-associated infections (HAIs). Terminal cleaning is employed to immediately lower the microorganism load on high-touch areas like remote controls, light switches, telephones, door handles, tables, computer terminals, rails and other frequently handled items and surfaces. There is concrete science behind effective medical cleaning. Is your prospective healthcare cleaning company aware of it?

Do Your Medical Janitorial Services Have Their Eye On the Future?

In order to serve you and your facility most effectively, your medical cleaning company must have their eye on the future. Professional industry certifications like the CIMS, or Cleaning Industry Management Standard, can be a good way for you as a Facility Manager to create your short list of prospective commercial cleaning companies, secure in the knowledge that CIMS Certified cleaning companies are significantly more likely to be prepared to meet the unique needs of your individual facility. Much like healthcare professionals have certification to designate special training in specific clinical areas, commercial cleaning companies can achieve CIMS certification certifying their mastery in specific, critical areas of their business. CIMS certification shows a sincere commitment to going above and beyond the basics with an adherence to industry best practices, innovation, training and responsiveness to the customers. CIMS certification provides valuable, free feedback to help Facility Managers just like you weed out the many cleaning companies in the crowded janitorial marketplace that are simply not resourced and set up to effectively clean and maintain your facility. With certifications like CIMS and evidence-based analysis of a cleaning companies commitment to industry best practices and understanding the specific issues inherent in medical cleaning, you can find a company ready and willing to deliver the services your healthcare facility deserves.

When a Mistake Becomes An Issue & An Issue Becomes A Pattern

Mistakes happen, even in the best office cleaning companies. But when one mistake becomes two, three or four mistakes and these mistakes add up to a more pressing issue, and the issue becomes a pattern, you have a real problem. At a certain point, you must ask, how many mistakes are too many mistakes? When can an issue be remedied and when is it time to move on? And if you do decide to move on and work with a different office cleaning company, how do you assure you don’t end up in the very same position just with a different office cleaning service? We talk to Facility Managers just like you each and every day. We hear their pain points and the issues that so frequently plague office cleaning. Do your issues match up with those other Facility Managers? And what can you do to keep your office cleaning company’s mistakes from becoming YOUR problems?

Are Your Office Cleaning Services Responsive?

While no commercial office cleaning service is perfect, there are some that respond to issues and problems better than others. When your office cleaning company makes a mistake, do they get in touch and rectify it promptly? And do they put a plan in place to make sure a problem doesn’t become a pattern? The best office cleaning services get back to you quickly when you report an issue. The best ones often find the problem before you even notice it with regular janitorial inspections and good employee training. If you are regularly hearing “we’ll take care of it” from your office cleaning company only to have to call or email again and again in order to get a response, it might be time to consider a new office cleaning company.

Are You Seeing A Revolving Door of New Office Cleaners?

Turnover is an unfortunate problem in any of the lower-skilled or less specialized jobs, as the pay is often at the lower end of the continuum, often people who become skilled and experienced move into more highly skilled positions and some low-skilled employees have other issues that make consistent employment difficult. So the turnover you will see at an office cleaning company is likely to be higher than say, among teachers. But office cleaning is a service business and a service business is only as good as its people. While some turnover is expected, the best office cleaning companies work hard to keep their turnover below average in order to provide their employees and their customers with consistency and excellence. How do some office cleaning services reduce turnover giving them a consistent, experience work force? They find and hire people who are a very good fit for the work. Then they arm those people with the training, tools, supervision and management to do very good work. Finally, they use competitive pay, benefits and performance incentives to both get the best from their teams and make their people feel appreciated and valued. If you see too many new faces among your office cleaners, it might be time to contract with a company that knows how to find and keep very good people.

Is Your Office Cleaning Company Using a Vacuum From the 1980s?

Office cleaning equipment is rapidly getting better, more effective, safer and greener. If your commercial office cleaning services is using old, outdated, poorly serviced equipment that has seen better days, they are shorting you of one of the many benefits of outsourcing office cleaning, that is newer, better equipment. By contracting with an office cleaning company, you should be getting the benefit of their specialization which means better equipment, serviced as needed and replaced more frequently. Office cleaning companies that are not using up to date equipment are not reinvesting in their own businesses and offering their customers the most optimal and effective service.

Criminal Background Checks & Drug Screening Are Critical

If your office cleaning company is taking short cuts with people, they will take shortcuts anywhere. People are the core component of office cleaning services. Office cleaners an in and out of your building daily and often after hours. You deserve to have people that are safe. That means no illegal hiring, comprehensive employment screening including drug testing and criminal background checks on every single employee without fail. A clean building is important but security is critical. Don’t let your office cleaning company take short cuts that put your business, your people and your reputation at risk.

Office Cleaners Need Training To Be More Effective & Consistent

Does your office cleaning company have good people? What does good people even mean? Well, as stated above, they must be legally hired and properly screened, but then what? Then training and management become critical to the success of an office cleaning program. Effective training benefits you the customer and changes the way people feel about their work, which in turn cultivates a more professional attitude. Everyone benefits. Office cleaning has leapt into the future and is so much more technical than the mop and bucket days. Science and technology have combined to give us major improvements in the Science of Cleaning and Cleaning for Health. But these advances require training in order to be implemented correctly giving you the best results possible in your facility. Is your office cleaning company finding, hiring, screening, training and managing their teams to success? Do they provide comprehensive general training as well as industry specific training to the office cleaners who work in your building?

Say Goodbye to Your Ineffective Office Cleaning Company & Hello to Better Service

There are certainly those office cleaning companies that are off track, making more mistakes than reasonable and taxing your good will and your office cleaning budget beyond their limits. But there are also those professional office cleaning services getting it right, working hard daily toward continual improvement to offer their valued customers more and better. As a Facility Manager, you are tasked with trying to discern the former from the latter. In fact, that can be the trickiest part. It isn’t always easy to identify those companies that are doing it better. The best office cleaning companies won’t take shortcuts with training, effective quality control is the goal and they operate with a professionalism that offers a predictor of service and value. The most effective Detroit office cleaning companies know that too many mistakes become a pattern and lose them customers so they strive to identify and remedy problems quickly. They know that communication and responsiveness are integral to effective service. The best office cleaning companies know that people are the face of their business and thus make it a priority to find, hire, retain and manage great people who are a great fit for the work. The most effective office cleaning services know why better, newer cleaning equipment and environmentally friendly products do the best job and make the most of their customer’s budgets. They fully understand that security and safety in your office building is nonnegotiable. Do your work upfront to find those office cleaning companies worthy of your business an you can set your facility up to run efficiently and effectively while looking its best.

Office Cleaning Prices Shouldn’t Be So Complicated

Office cleaning prices can be confusing but they don’t have to be. Why is there such variation from one office cleaning bid to the next? Well for one, the office cleaning industry is flooded with startups each year and new office cleaning businesses simply do not have the experience to accurately price the services, especially with regard to large commercial office buildings. On the other hand, competition for your business can drive some office cleaning companies to lowball in an effort to get your business with the hope that upsells and add ons will eventually get them to a livable number. This is bad for business and bad for budgets but often a reality with poor office pricing practices.

Your Role In Transparent Pricing

As a Facility Manager, you do have a role in helping prospective commercial office cleaning services get you a more accurate office cleaning bid or respond to a Request For Proposal. The first thing you must do is provide good information. What type of information helps get better office cleaning quotes? Your office cleaning company should have accurate numbers regarding cleanable square feet categorized by floor type. Various flooring has different cleaning methods with the labor times on these varying. Gross square footage with no break down by flooring type can offer a very rough estimate but if you want accurate office cleaning prices, you must get more specific. Similarly, an idea of head count and traffic patterns can help a commercial office cleaning company nail down a more accurate cleaning quote. These help determine not only how quickly your building gets dirty but can help your office cleaning company estimate consumables like trash can liners, toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap and more. These might seem like little things but having good information on them can make a big difference when it comes to accurate pricing.

How Site Visits Result In Better Office Cleaning Quotes

If you want an accurate office cleaning quote, any prospective office cleaning company must conduct a site visit. Site visits help a prospective office cleaning company see with their own eyes what your facility really needs and even areas they might save you money. Furthermore, an in-person site visit offers you the chance to see for yourself how a prospective office cleaning service will handle your questions, issues and give you the information to find the best fit and value for your facility.

Had Your Share of Challenges? Share Them With Your Office Cleaning Company

Don’t keep your pain points a secret. The more your office cleaning company knows, the better they can help you. Had a problem with your last office group of office cleaners? Tell your prospective office cleaning service. Working with reduced budgets? Tell them. Tired of a revolving door of new people in your facility? Sharing this with your professional office cleaning company will help them identify potential issues before they arise and deliver the kind of professional office cleaning you expect.

You CAN Manage Budget Cuts With the Right Office Cleaning Company

Major budget cuts can leave you with what may feel like an unworkable office cleaning budget. Here at Stathakis, we often work with Facility managers that have had to manage major building services budget cuts. It’s certainly not ideal, however, as an experienced large office cleaning company, we know better than most how to do more with less. When you need to do more with less, you must choose form only the most experienced and capable Detroit office cleaning companies. From being able to determine how your facility is used to creating minimum acceptable plans that are customized to your office, the best office cleaning companies can make sure you and your building occupants need hardly notice shifts in service. Large office cleaning companies like ours can use their large buying power and business volume to find and create efficiencies that help you live with nearly unlivable budget cuts.

CIMS Certification Cuts Through the Confusion

Getting great service and accurate pricing isn’t impossible, but it won’t just come from any office cleaning company. It takes good information, best practices, careful planning, decades of experience and even innovation to price janitorial services and deliver a standard of office cleaning services that sets the bar high. If you need help finding the needle in the crowded janitorial haystack, CIMS can be the answer to your prayers. CIMS, or the Certified Industry Management Standard is a highly coveted industry certification offer by the ISSA, the International Sanitary Supply Association. The ISSA’s CIMS is a high level certification offered to office cleaning companies that wish to set themselves apart from the crowded, often unprofessional office cleaning marketplace. Office cleaning services that meet ISSA CIMS certification have documented processes that demonstrate their ability deliver the most effective, consistent, responsive office cleaning services, clear office cleaning prices and ultimately the highest value from your office cleaning budget.

It’s January, that time to tackle a to do list that has grown large and long. A time for fresh starts and getting to those chronic issues that keep your building maintenance at a less than optimal level. It can be a great time to clear what isn’t working and make room for new solutions to old problems. If you have struggled to find effective office cleaning and are dealing with dirty restrooms, there is no better time to review your office cleaning plan, determine what is working for you and what is not and even resolve to kick the old, ineffective office cleaning company to the curb and finally find a commercial cleaning company who will deliver on their promises.

While a clean and welcoming office is important, office restrooms are often the first areas to break down and point to major issues with your office cleaning. Similarly, dirty restrooms can cause a number of other problems throughout your facility from waning productivity to higher absenteeism and more. Why are office restrooms so often a trouble spot in facilities? Chiefly, restrooms are busy places that see a lot of activity throughout the day. Even the best office cleaning companies must work hard to keep these high trafficked areas clean and welcoming. Busy restrooms must be cleaned regularly and thoroughly. If your office cleaning company is doing little more than a once over, before long, dirt, grim and odor build up to create a most unwelcoming environment. Office restrooms can be stinky places, with unidentified wetness, bacteria and more. Insufficient cleaning leads to restrooms that just get more and more dirty until it becomes an untenable problem and your inbox starts filling up with complaint after complaint.

Get Off to A Good Start With A Restroom Cleaning Checklist To Evaluate Your Current Office Cleaning Company

If service has languished and complaints have gone unremedied, it might be time to move on from your current commercial office cleaning services. But before you do, have you documented the problem and addressed it with your current office cleaning service? Not only might your office cleaning company get better given the chance, even if they don’t, you will get a sense of what must be done, what matters most when it isn’t done and the best direction to approach a new office cleaning company to assure your office restrooms are cleaned the right way, every time. First, take a good hard look at your restrooms, do you see any of the following:

• Areas around door handles are dirty and grimy.
• The floors in your office restroom are damp, soiled or appear to have been given little more than a quick mop.
• Sanitary containers inside stalls have not been recently emptied.
• Proper hand washing supplies are not being stocked frequently enough
• Counter tops in your office restrooms are damp, wet or dirty.
• The restroom mirrors are dirty.
• The trash containers are near full or spilling over with trash.
• The partitions of your restroom stalls are grimy, have graffiti and gross stains.
• Restroom sanitary disposal containers storage old trash in them and/or are broken or in disrepair.
• You notice a disagreeable, foul odor.
• Floor drains are dusty, wet and filthy with debris buildup and dirty grout.
• Sink fixtures are dusty, spotty, dirty and restroom counters are noticeably dirty or wet.
• Toilets/urinals/sinks are noticeably dirty with both new dirt and the deposits and mucky buildup of old dirt.

While even the best office cleaning company is going to miss something now and then, if you see a pattern of half-hearted cleaning and repetitive missed tasks, it might be time to look for a new office cleaning service.

Effective Restroom Cleaning Combines Science & Best Practices

Old school restroom cleaning, of the mop and bucket variety, overlooks the science that tells us these outdated restroom “cleaning” methods just spread germs and dirt around. In the office cleaning industry, the old mop and bucket cleaning has given way to a professional, systemized approach that blends technology and a systems approach to deliver better, more reliable and efficient services. Issues like reduced budgets, cross-contamination as well as a better developed standard of cleaning for health and disease prevention have made janitorial services more professional than ever, that is IF you work with the right office cleaning services. Issues of cross-contamination and cleaning for health and disease prevention are important throughout your facility but especially in your restrooms where disease-causing germs can quickly become a serious issue. With drips, splashes, grime, standing water and worse, your office restrooms can quickly become an unhealthy breeding ground for germs and bacteria and the funky odors that come with them. Add to that the importance of using the right product in the right way. Janitorial best practices like cleaning first, then disinfecting with proper dwell times effectively reduces disease causing germs and bacteria. The use of microfiber floor cleaning and color coded rag systems can effectively prevent cross contamination and don’t have to cost any more than the dated, ineffective, old school office restroom cleaning.

Dirty Office Restrooms Lead to Measurable Negative Business Outcomes

The impact of dirty office restroom is significantly more far reaching than bad smells and suspicious puddles. Consistently inconsistent restroom cleaning can lead to measurable, predictable negative business outcomes like:

• Increased employee turnover.
• Lowered employee satisfaction.
• Reduced ability to attract and retain top talent.
• Increased employee apathy.
• Decreased employee engagement.
• Lowered employee productivity.
• Increased employee absenteeism.
• Poor customer perception.
• Lost sales.

Dirty, poorly cared for restrooms are quite often one sign of a much bigger problem. If your office cleaning company overlooks this critical area, other important areas of your business will no doubt suffer.

What SHOULD You See From Your Restroom Cleaning Service?

The signs and scents of less than clean restrooms are noticeable if you really look, but you can also see clear signs that your office cleaning company is getting restroom maintenance right. Want to know what good, solid, professional office restroom cleaning looks like? 

• It is apparent your office cleaning services are giving touch points like handles, dryers & knobs and the areas around these touch points proper attention.
• Mirrors are clean, shiny and spot free.
• Your office restrooms smell clean, fresh and odors are not simply masked with fragrance.
• Mops and cloths are color coded to avoid cross contamination between your restrooms and other areas of your facility.
• Floors are clean, tile shiny, grout and moldings clean and no dust, mop string or grime anywhere.
• Restroom supplies like hand towels and soap are well-stocked.
• Stall doors are in good working order and free of old grime, gum and graffiti.
• All other areas of the restroom from sinks, to toilets, hand dryers or towel dispensers and urinals should all be clean and fully operational.

A Resolution: Work With Your Office Cleaning Company Or Look For A New One But Don’t Settle For Less Than Clean Office Restrooms

Ultimately you want an office cleaning company that will help you stay on track with resolutions for your facility maintenance, not one you have to micromanage to get the job one right. Make a resolution this year to stop putting up with less than professional, effective office cleaning services that offer you quality service at a real value. Effective office cleaning, including office restrooms, sends the right message to employee, visitors, customers and tenants. Furthermore, well-cleaned restrooms safeguard the health of customers, employees and visitors to your building. They help you create and maintain a safe, healthy workplace and a positive, professional image.

Need help finding the right medical office cleaning company? Looking for a good fit with regard to janitorial services in MIchigan? Think you could benefit from a dayporter service? Find out why Stathakis offers a better value than national janitorial companies and how you can get effective service from your office cleaning services.

Office cleaning prices, while based on measurable factors, can vary tremendously from rock bottom low to downright extravagant and everything in between. The problem is, extremely low prices can be a red flag but high prices are simply no guarantee of effective office cleaning services. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding an office cleaning company, price doesn’t necessarily equate to value. The goal when shopping office cleaning companies is to both get a good understanding of precisely what services you are purchasing and then get a solid value. Understanding office cleaning pricing is a critical component of getting the right office cleaning services at the right price. So how can you as a Facility Manager determine how much you need to budget to get the value you require and the service you deserve all at a price you can live with? The answer is you get at least a general sense of how professional office cleaning companies price their services so that you know what you are looking at and what it all means. Whether you are in search of office cleaning Plymouth or searching for a Dearborn office cleaning company, you will have the information you need to make the right decision for your facility.

How Commercial Office Cleaning Companies Estimate Costs

If a prospective office cleaning service gives you an office cleaning quote based on square footage alone, run the other way. Why? Because there is so much more to getting a meaningful office cleaning quote that both describes the scope of work and helps you understand cost. One-size-fits-all pricing, quick thrown together quotes and straight square footage estimates don’t provide an accurate estimate of what your facility really requires and what you should be prepared to pay for it. Understand the things that go into accurate office cleaning pricing and you will be in a better position to break down a prospective commercial office cleaning services prices and determine if it works for you. What variables are most significant when it comes to your pricing Auburn Hills office cleaning services?

• Geographic Area – Where is your building located? Location, the labor market and such can impact pricing.
• The Scope of Office Cleaning Services – What specific areas do you need cleaned? What services are most critical? Do you require outdoor maintenance or other specialty services? Are you looking for very basic office cleaning services or high level services, or even Day Porter services?
• What Frequency Do You Need – Do you want daily cleaning or twice weekly? Is day cleaning or a Day Porter service better or after hours cleaning when your building is near empty?
• What is Your Facility’s Square Footage – Do you manage a small office building or a 40,000 square facility? Square footage while not the only factor, can help your Farmington Hills office cleaning company accurately estimate cost.
• How Is Your Building’s Square Footage Broken Down By Floor Type? Hard flooring type and carpet all require different maintenance at different intervals so this has an impact on overall cost.
• Your Facility’s Foot Traffic and Population. The more people in and out of your facility, the faster it gets dirty and the more frequently it must be cleaned.
• How ManyRestrooms Do You Have? Restrooms are often the most time consuming to clean as they see a lot of activity and can increase the risk of cross-contamination if not properly maintained.

Transparent Pricing Is Essential

Transparent office cleaning pricing is an essential part of getting the right services at the best value. After all, how can you compare office cleaning quotes in an apples to apples way if prospective office cleaners are not giving you clear, easy to understand office cleaning quotes? Transparent office cleaning pricing and clear, easy to understand janitorial bids can also help you avoid low low quotes that do not offer value because they simply include less work than your facility requires, as well as sky high office cleaning quotes that are charging significantly more for the same services another janitorial company might provide for less. Transparent office cleaning prices can help you steer clear of overly low janitorial bids that are quite likely a sign that you are either dealing with an inexperienced Troy office cleaning company that does not understand how to price their services accurately or perhaps a Royal Oak office cleaning company that will play pricing games down the line. 

So that you may secure the most accurate, clear pricing, ask prospective office cleaning companies how many hours they intend to spend cleaning your facility. Annualize that cost and divide it by the annualized number of labor hours to calculate an hourly billable rate. If an Ann Arbor office cleaning company is charging to little, you can almost guarantee they will take shortcuts on people and processes designed to protect you, your building and it’s occupants. These can include illegal hiring and subcontracting as well as inadequate drug and criminal background screening.  Well thought out office cleaning bids should always include the following:

• Labor costs
• Direct costs (ex. cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc.).
• Employee health insurance
• Employee vacation time
• Insurance & taxes
• A management fee
• Profit

These seven factors are the building blocks of pricing and any prospective Detroit office cleaning company should be willing to be transparent about these so that you can understand where their office cleaning prices come from.

Your Office Cleaning Company Must Be Profitable

Sometimes when we imagine a company’s profits, we think of some Scrooge type character rolling around in piles of money oblivious to the hardships of those around them. But making a profit is an important component of any business. Healthy profits grow and maintain thriving companies that reinvest in their employees, technology, equipment and in the long run you the customer. If your Farmington office cleaning company isn’t profitable, they won’t be around long. Profit can’t be a dirty word when it comes to sifting through prospective office cleaning companies. Your Livonia office cleaning company needs to make a profit from their services, after all, they run a business just like you. On the same note, having an idea of what represents a reasonable profit and where that profit comes from gives you the ability to negotiate a fair price and solid value. When you outsource office cleaning to a reliable and effective Detroit office cleaning company, they will be happy to provide you with how the come up with pricing and precisely what their services include. In this way, both you and your Downriver office cleaning company can chart a path to success with a map that will measure how effectively your Novi office cleaning company is delivering on their promises to you. 

Are You In A Position Where You Must Do More With Less?

The single most significant component of office cleaning prices is the cost of labor. So if you are in the unenviable position where you have to maintain your facility on ultra tight budgets, reducing office cleaning labor hours will net you the most significant cuts. But how do you get your office cleaning service to work with the budget you have and still deliver an acceptable standard of clean? The reality is that if you must do more with less, you need an experienced, professional office cleaning company. Why? Because only the best office cleaning companies following industry best practices will be in a position to maximize the budget you have. New, innovative cleaning equipment like Boost floor cleaners and even tech-savvy cleaning practices like Smart Cleaning and Team Cleaning can all help shave labor hours without sending your office cleaning into a downward spiral. When it comes to making the most of your office cleaning budget, experience and prior success with less than optimal budgets is critical. 

CIMS Certification Can Help Clear Through the Crowded Office Cleaning Marketplace

Sifting through office cleaning prices and the crowded marketplace of office cleaners can be overwhelming. Do the prices offer real value? Is the office cleaning company providing the services you really need? Are they using high tech, cost saving equipment and following industry best practices that get you better services at a better price? Do they make safety and security paramount? Are they set up for effective quality control? Do they utilize environmentally conscious products and practices? It can often feel like as a Facility Manager, there are more questions than answers. Recognized industry certifications like CIMS, may offer a valuable and easy path to finding those Detroit office cleaning companies in the best position to offer both quality service and reasonable prices. CIMS, or the Cleaning Industry Management Standard is an industry certification offered to the very best office cleaning companies who have demonstrated specific competencies that directly translate into better service and value for you the customer. The CIMS standard measures:

• Quality Systems: A framework to ensure effective operations & continuous improvement.
• Service Delivery: Processes & systems in place to deliver consistent, quality service.
• Human Resources: Best practices for managing any service industry’s greatest asset—their people
• Health, Safety, & Environmental Stewardship: Ensuring regulatory compliance, workplace safety, and health and environmental management.
• Management Commitment: Establishing our Mission, Vision, and Values and ensuring that the organization's continuity is secured.

When you partner with office cleaning services that have put in the time and resources toward establishing themselves as an industry leader, you are all but guaranteed better, more effective office cleaning services.

Don't get stuk with below average office cleaning, you deserve more. If you are interested in learning more about what the best office cleaning companies do differently, read more like Seven Things About Commercial Office Cleaning Your Boss Needs to Know.

What We Hear From Facility Managers Just Like You

We talk to Facility Managers day in and day out, it is after all, part of our job. The thing we hear over and over again is how Facility Managers are working with tighter janitorial budgets and overall belt tightening and as such, need to hold costs steady or even reduce them. This, of course, is not the ideal but we understand that it is sometimes simply an unavoidable part of doing business. So Facility Managers have to be careful how and where the allot their dollars and yet, no Facility Manager wants to meet budgets at the expense of having a well maintained building. Angry phone calls and an email box filled with complaints is not a scenario any Facility Manager wants to entertain. SO what are you to do if you are in the position of trying to manage both getting your facility properly cleaned AND keeping costs down? If you are working with a reduced or suboptimal janitorial budget WHO cleans your facility is even more important. The best janitorial companies have responded to the economic uncertainty of budget cuts, increased minimum wage and increased employee healthcare requirements with creative solutions and high tech cost cutting measures from machines that do the work faster, better and cheaper to methods like team cleaning which offer more efficient and effective service. The best cleaning services do not always have to cost more. In fact, the best janitorial services can help you maximize your budget, deliver a level of services that lightens your load and keeps your facility clean and well maintained avoiding complaints from employees and tenants.

Finding a Janitorial Services Company That is Ready, Willing & Able

Reduced budgets require an A team, not the B, C or D team. While there are a great many janitorial and cleaning companies, there are only a few that are really poised to do more with less and clean and care for your facility well. The janitorial marketplace is a crowded one and while competition is good for you the customer, often there are so many companies that finding the right one for YOUR facility can be a challenge. And so often, we talk to Facility Managers that think just because they are working with less than ideal budgets, they have to settle for crummy service. Sure with reduced budgets you might not get everything you want but the right janitorial company will make sure you get everything you need. When looking for your next janitorial services company, we suggest you get an idea of the size and types of businesses and industries they already serve in order to avoid those janitorial companies that are simply not going to deliver services up to the standard of work you require.

Transparent Pricing Is Key

The only thing worse than getting less than what you need from your janitorial services is paying too much for it. One way to insulate yourself from unnecessary costs and still get the service you need is to get clear,transparent pricing up front. Not only will this help you find the best value, it creates a map for you and your cleaning company to measure whether they are meeting expectations or not. Cloudy pricing and fuzzy math is a bad sign that a janitorial company either doesn’t know how to price their services or is purposefully keeping pricing vague so they can charge you more down the road. A prospective janitorial cleaning service must take the time to acquaint themselves your facility and requirements up front, from the cleaning spec, site visit, they must understand and have a solid sense of your requirements and be prepared to meet them. If they cannot exhibit good planning and process BEFORE they get your business, what is the chance service and quality will get better AFTER they already have a contract? Whatever the reason for the ‘fuzzy math,’ it will end up making a mess of your carefully planned budget.

Cheap Cleaning Bids Are a Giant Red Flag

While they can certainly be enticing, in reponse to your janitorial RFP very, very low cleaning bids are a giant red flag. Listen, there are unavoidable hard costs when it comes to maintaining large commercial buildings. Think about it, how exactly can a janitorial company do the same work for so much less. Anyone who says they can do it for far less than other bids coming in is either going to do much less than you need or charge you more through hidden pricing and pricing games. Too good to be true pricing can be a sign that your prospective janitorial services company is using illegal hiring. Extremely low janitorial prices can signal an inexperienced company that wants to use your facility as a training ground. A very low janitorial bid can be tempting because when you are trying to puzzle together the pieces of your budget it seems to solve the problem. But overly low pricing will create far more problems than it will solve and it’s almost guaranteed to cost you significantly more long term.

Too Good To Be True Pricing Points to Illegal Hiring Practices

Janitorial pricing that is well below the majority of the other bids after a janitorial RFP is a possible indication that the building services company is participating in illegal hiring practices. They might be using illegal hiring to trim costs. Two illegal hiring issues are problematic in the janitorial industry, both of which are bad news for you. First, some cleaning companies hire undocumented workers. An undocumented worker is a person working off the payroll or someone that has not supplied the necessary identification to verify their legal status or authorization to work. Second, some janitorial companies illegally classified workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Dishonest janitorial companies illegally classify workers to avoid the legal requirements a company has when having employees like payroll, taxes, benefits and all of the other things businesses must provide for legal employees. These companies willing to put themselves at risk are certainly willing to put you and your business at risk, it’s just not worth the liability.

Sure Price Is Important But Value Is KEY

As a Facility Manager, it is likely your job to find the best prospective janitorial services and stay on budget. When you requets a janitorial RFP, low prices can be enticing but remember, as important as prices are, value is KEY. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. A janitorial services company that does a shoddy job with cleaning and maintenance isn’t a good value at any price right? And making things even more complicated is the fact that a higher price point doesn’t necessarily translate into better value. Basically, what you need is an acceptable level of facility maintenance at a price that comes closest to your targets. You have service and you have price and where they intersect is where you find the greatest value. So how do you recognize those commercial cleaning companies that really understand value? There are some signs that point to a janitorial service company that truly understands service and value.

The Best Janitorial Companies Know How To Make the Most of the Budget You Have

It takes a certain kind of janitorial company to do more with less. Although it might seem counterintuitive, if you are asking for a janitorial RFP and dealing with reduced janitorial budgets you need a better, more experienced and resourced company to clean your facility. Some Facility Managers are under the impression that the better companies MUST cost more but in fact, the very fact that they are experienced and resourced can dramatically cut overall costs. For instance, the best janitorial professionals have a clear understanding of where you CAN and where you CAN’T reduce services that can only come with experience. If a janitorial services company is experienced, you aren’t going to be their first customer who was working with a less than optimal budget. And experienced, knowledgeable commercial cleaning companies understand Smart Cleaning, Team Cleaning and have invested resources into using equipment, supplies and processes that all save money and time. Smart Cleaning means a janitorial company will strategically focus on the areas of your facility that see the most traffic and require more attention while maintaining less used spaces less often or as needed. Team cleaning is when duties throughout a building are assigned to specialists thereby reducing the need for extra equipment as well as creating specialties and efficiencies that save labor hours, the single biggest component of janitorial cost. They make themselves more efficient so that they can be cost competitive while still providing a quality baseline of services. Those janitorial companies that are better equipped and employ the most efficient cleaning processes are much more likely to be capable of delivering effective janitorial services at a lower cost while still making a profit themselves, a necessity in any business.