Businesses have enough challenges to face each day without a dirty workplace getting in the way. Not only is a clean, well-maintained facility pleasant, facility cleanliness has a sizable impact on a host of measurable business outcomes that directly impact your bottom line. The right professional office cleaning service can keep an eye on the cleanliness of your facility so you can keep your eyes focused on your business. What can optimal maintenance do for you, your facility, your employees and your bottom line?
First impressions are made in an instant and once made, they are hard to change. One of the first things people notice upon entering an office or facility in general is its level of cleanliness. A clean office represents and reflects the culture of the company as a whole and the overall quality of its products and services. Unfortunately, when you move about your building every day, it can become all too easy to miss areas of your facility that need attention. You just get used to the dirt or maintenance issues piling up a little at a time that over time, your facility might be in rough shape and you just aren’t seeing in. So it is important to really think about complaints you are getting. Are they accurate? Are there areas of your building that really do need some attention? Likewise, try to tune out your other worries and make time to walk through your facility with a fresh set of eyes. Then really look at your building. Look at it the way a customer or prospective customer might see it. What do you see? Carpet that sorely needs a cleaning? Floors that need stripping or cleaning? Dusty light fixtures? Walls that are scuffed and dirty? Office restrooms that haven’t been deep cleaned in ages? If your building is in need of better commercial office cleaning, either work with your current office cleaners to ramp up the level of clean, or enlist the help of a professional, reputable, consistent office cleaning service to protect your reputation and make a quality first impression with customers.
While positive first impressions with customers are critical, they are also very important with employees and prospective employees. The level of clean in your workplace speaks to the culture within your organization. An office that is poorly maintained sends the message that standards, performance and quality of work don’t really matter. Sure, you don’t believe that, but your employees will get the message whether you like it or not. Commercial office cleaning services are critical because an office that suffers from an inconsistent level of clean will in turn broadcast a message that inconsistency is acceptable. These messages are worrisome for a few important reasons. First, the best, most engaged employees do not want to work for organizations that don’t operate consistently at a high level. They will either steer clear of your company or given the chance, they will quickly move on to an organization that supports their level of excellence. Second, there will always be tiers of employee performance. High performers can inspire mid level performers and in turn, even raise the standards to an acceptable level for lower level workers raising your overall employee performance. If on the other hand, you are losing the best fit, most productive employees, productivity, engagement and quality suffer throughout your organization with a domino effect of mediocre performance. Having a clean, well-maintained workplace not only sends customers the right message, it sets a positive and productive tone with employees. Attract, retain and get the best from your best employees with a clean and healthy work environement.
It is misguided to view commercial cleaning as simply a cost. Commercial cleaning is an investment in your business and your people. In time, maintaining a clean environment can pay for itself many times over, often in unexpected ways. Less than optimal office cleaning can impact health, illness transmission, indoor air quality and worse. A poorly cleaned building is less safe for its occupants. There is an established correlation between a clean work environment and improved employee health. Likewise, employee health correlates directly to sick days and even employee turnover. A well-maintained, healthy building builds and sustains a welcoming atmosphere for occupants, setting the right tone for hard work and increased effort.
There is clean you can see, and clean you cannot see. We all appreciate walking into a room that smells fresh and looks clean. Still, clean isn’t just about what we can see with our eyes. Without effective cleaning, germs and bacteria can lurk unseen on the surface of everything—door handles, computers, phones, light switches and more. Does your office cleaning company clean to reduce the spread of illness in your facility? Do they utilize office cleaning best practices to keep your facility looking good and help create a healthy work environment? Do they use up to date equipment that is well maintained? Do they train their office cleaners to use the cleaning chemicals and are the cleaning chemicals environmentally sound?
A clean, healthy office will equate to healthier employees, taking fewer sick days, being more comfortable and thus more productive. Sick days cost the public sector billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and revenue. Solid office cleaning companies can reduce germs where they lie in wait and create a clean, healthy, welcome environment conducive to good work. A clean office means fewer people going home sick. Likewise, an office that is cluttered, dusty, grimy, with overflowing, smelly trash receptacles is not only a health hazard, it’s demoralizing. And cluttered, dirty workspaces are a significant source of workplace stress. Working around an unkempt office and navigating a dirty workplace result in lost time each day. Multiply those minutes by the number of employees in your facility and you can begin to appreciate how much time is lost each day trying to deal with the effects of a poorly maintained office. A clean, well-maintained office is inviting and can result in employees that arrive at work eager and ready to do their best.
Another important issue with effective office cleaning practices is their effect on employee morale and engagement. Let’s face it, coming to work in a dirty, cluttered, poorly maintained workplace is demoralizing. Employees will take personal pleasure and satisfaction in the work they do and the environment they work in, IF that environment is clean, comfortable and makes them feel pride in the place they work. Cleaning has a direct link to employee morale and engagement and yet all too often companies take short cuts or ignore cleaning worrying about cost. The reality is that an unclean office will impact your bottom line, not through the savings you net on putting cleaning on the back burner but rather in the loss of morale, engagement, productivity and even employee retention.
A clean and welcoming workplace can be an excellent marketing tool, whether you’re trying to sway prospective clients, would be employees or even lease space in your facility. Your building’s appearance is one of the major elements that conveys your image, sets your value and separates one company from another. Whether you are hiring a new employee, renting a space, vying for new business or meeting revenue goals, with a clean and cared for building, nearly everything you do becomes easier.
A regular, effective office cleaning program preserves and protects your building’s assets. Assets like carpets, floors, tile surfaces and equipment can take unnecessary wear and tear without adequate maintenance. Solid office cleaning prevents excessive wear and extends the usable lifespan of your building’s assets.
Office cleaning is vital to the success of your facility. Yes, it costs money but a clean work space leads to satisfied and productive employees, lowered absenteeism and turnover and a positive experience for both customers and employees, so it is truly an investment in your success. Sure, you would like to partner with an effective, efficient office cleaning company that delivers value--but perhaps you have suffered with less than optimal office cleaning services for so long or from multiple contractors that you can’t imagine there might be better out there. Don’t get stuck thinking all office cleaning companies are the same. There are many professional, reputable, experienced office cleaning companies that are just waiting to show you that high levels of service can come with a price you can live with. Protect your employees, your image and your bottom line with effective office cleaning.