Michigan Cleaning Companies: Is a Local Janitorial Service Better?

Cleaning companies run the gamut from a local “man with a van” operation to a colossal national janitorial giant and everything in between. There are so many choices, it can be a challenge to figure out what size and type of cleaning service will best fit the needs of your facility. On top of size and capability, there is the newer push to keep our Michigan dollars right here in Michigan by working with locally owned businesses. As Michigan still fights its way out of the economic slump, the goal to keep dollars local is a lofty one, but is local always better?

Everything Else Being Equal, Using A Michigan Cleaning Company Is Better

The short answer is yes. Everything else being equal, doing business locally has a number of far reaching benefits for other Michigan based businesses, the people of Michigan and the overall community. Keeping your dollars local means money pushed into our communities in the form of jobs, wages, tax dollars, growth and more. The better our communities do financially, the more spending power we all have to support other local businesses.

And beyond supporting the growth of Michigan’s economy, there are significant benefits for you as a Facilities Manager. Unlike the big national cleaning companies, an appropriately sized Michigan cleaning company can offer you nearly all of the benefits of a national cleaning company with a level of responsiveness those big guys just can’t duplicate. With a Michigan cleaning company, chances are should you need it, there is a direct path to an owner or manager. Unlike national corporations, even in a larger local Michigan janitorial company, there is a transparent managerial structure and it is easy to find out just who’s in charge. What other advantages might you get when working with a Michigan cleaning company?

• A connectedness with and understanding of our local community, including the knowledge on how to find and hire great employees
• A real-time customer responsiveness that the big guys can’t match
• Services can be custom fit to the individual and changing needs of your business
• The choice to retain key financial resources and revenues right here in Michigan
• The likelihood of better service because Michigan cleaning companies are heavily vested in protecting their local reputation
• The highest level of accountability and connection with the people in charge 

Size Matters When Choosing a Michigan Cleaning Company

Of course when it comes to the idea that local is better, we apply the idea of “everything else being equal,” and for good reason. Cleaning companies, especially local ones, come in all different sizes and their operations can tell you a great deal about the level of service they are set up for. Because of the persistent notion that you can start a cleaning service with little startup money, the cleaning industry sees a steady stream of start-ups that usually go away as quickly as they appeared. The industry is also chock full of little guys from the “one man and a van” operations to the mom and pop operations. These small, more informal operations fill a need but just do not typically offer the structure, systems or professionalism to effectively partner with larger facilities.

Bigger isn’t always better but size does matter. Most Facility Managers need a Michigan cleaning company large enough to offer all of the services you and your facilities need but small enough to be agile and responsive to your needs. This is where large Michigan cleaning companies really stand out. A cleaning company that is both large and local offers many specific benefits over both small local operations and the giant national cleaning corporations. How do these advantages stack up for your business?

A larger, local Michigan cleaning company:

• Has been in business long enough to work out many service and pricing issues that plague smaller start ups.
• Has the systems in place to manage hiring, complete criminal background checks, drug testing and training to get great people into your facilities. Smaller operations may take short cuts on these critical safeguards.
• Has a large well-trained staff which can mean fewer delays or issues with getting good people into your building.
• Is less likely to put you at risk with illegal subcontracting or undocumented workers. Above board hiring practices and the professional administration of things like payroll, benefits and even insurance protect you and your facility from unnecessary risk.
• Has real purchase power when it comes to frequently used supplies like toilet paper and paper towels.

The Bottom Line On Partnering With a Local Michigan Cleaning Company

Ultimately, if you are looking for a cleaning company that is big enough to successfully maintain your facility while still offering the responsiveness makes you feel like a priority, your best bet is a medium to large local Michigan cleaning and janitorial company. Now that doesn’t mean that just any larger local cleaning company will deliver great service but it is a very good starting point for your short list. After you find the right size, you can use other factors to narrow your search even further to help you find the best Michigan cleaning company for your facilities.