While finding the best janitorial services isn’t easy, it is possible. We have a twenty-point plan for finding janitorial services in Michigan and really, anywhere. Do twenty points sound like too many? Certainly there are many factors to consider when choosing a professional janitorial service for your facility. But do the work of asking questions and verifying information upfront and you will be far more likely to find commercial janitorial services that deliver the effective services you and your facility require. Janitorial companies come in all shapes and sizes and only a select few are really equipped to handle larger facilities with the degree of professionalism and responsiveness required. Whether you are looking for the best janitorial services Detroit or trying to determine which office janitorial services are right for your facility, these twenty points are the make or break elements of the best janitorial companies. So what is the secret to finding the best janitorial services? Below we examine the twenty points that can help you as a Facility Manager wade through the crowded janitorial marketplace to find the janitorial company that will be a true partner in maintaining your facility to the highest of standards.
There is no good reason for janitorial prices to be fuzzy or unclear. Sometimes confusing pricing is a failure of a cleaning company to understand how to accurately price their services and other times, it is a blatant attempt to play pricing games intended to charge you more down the line. Either way, commercial cleaning companies that can’t provide clear pricing and janitorial bids should be out of the running for your facility’s maintenance.
People are paramount to this service business and if a prospective janitorial company isn’t serious about their people, it will show in their service delivery, security and more. Does your prospective janitorial company avoid any illegal subcontracting and undocumented workers? Do they go above and beyond to attract, hire and retain people who are a good fit for the work?
The best janitorial companies will take no shortcuts with security and compliance. The people that come in and out of your building day and night must be worthy of your trust. Trust can’t be just a feeling, it must be grounded in real data and information. Much like you would not trust the care of your children to just anyone, you shouldn’t trust your facility to an individual or janitorial company without a proven, demonstrable record of careful employee screening, including thorough background checks and drug testing.
Finding the best janitorial company requires you search for those companies that offer quality, comprehensive staff training. Of course you need to hit other critical points that assure effective facility maintenance but no janitorial company without sufficient staff training will consistently deliver. Does your prospective janitorial company offer solid training, safety training, general training and training specific to your industry and facility? Are the people they send into your facility trained and equipped to do their very best?
Health and safety are vital components of quality building maintenance. When it comes to your employees or tenants, visitors at your facility and their own employees, a commercial cleaning company must consider health and safety at every part of the process. From requiring drug screening and criminal background checks of their own employees to using cleaning chemicals that meet the highest safety standards, to minding air quality and the spread of communicable illnesses, health and safety must consistently be top of mind.
Your facility is a busy place, and with people in and out, the risk of transmitting common illnesses like flus and colds goes way up. Understanding how disease causing germs spread so quick in high traffic buildings and how to reduce their transmission is an important responsibility of a professional janitorial company. Any prospective janitorial service must have a firm grasp of the Science of Clean and Cleaning For Health. Experienced, knowledgeable janitorial services understand how to use their knowledge of the spread of bacteria and other germs, hot spots, cross contamination and more to keep your building truly clean and its occupants safe and healthy.
Any prospective janitorial company must understand and apply innovative solutions to reduce costs and help you stay on budget. Smart Cleaning, for instance, is about identifying the essential services in your building, demarcating those that are important but perhaps not essential and determining which services you can intermittently go without, where you can cut, where you cannot and how to find efficiencies without it being obvious that services are being reduced. The reality is that it takes a highly professional, agile company to help reduce costs without throwing your building maintenance into a tailspin. Similarly, Team Cleaning can help reduce costs without crushing quality. With team cleaning, each cleaner is responsible for a very specific set of duties so both task mastery and accountability are increased skyrocketing efficiency. This efficiency results in reductions in the need for added labor and equipment.
The best janitorial companies not only protect themselves, they assure you are protected. Your prospective janitorial services company should have four different types of coverage to mitigate risk and manage liabilities. The four categories of coverage include general liability, workers’ compensation, automobile liability and an umbrella policy. You should verify coverage in order to give you peace of mind that you and your janitorial company is adequately protected.
In the janitorial industry employee turnover averages around 200%. This level of turnover is typical but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Yes turnover is commonly higher in the service industries and especially higher in lower waged, less skilled labor. Still, janitorial turnover can skew high in large part because of a lack of best practices from janitorial companies themselves. Quite often it comes down to a lack of things like: competitive wages, benefits, quality training that raises performance and engagement, and a lack of responsive management that helps good people do their best. High janitorial turnover might seem like your janitorial company’s problem but it is your problem too. That’s because high janitorial turnover means a revolving door of new people in your facility which in turn leads to security issues as well as a reduction in the overall value of the services you are getting.
With janitorial services, there can be no one-size-fits-all solutions. Every facility is different from the layout, to the traffic and use patterns and expectations. Every Facility Manager wants to save money and the best way to get the most for your budget is by not paying for services you don’t actually need. The best janitorial companies will customize a plan or maintenance schedule with the individual needs of your facility in mind. Beware the companies that offer you cleaning quotes based upon square footage alone. The most professional companies need much more specific information and want to understand how you use your space, what is most important and such in order to provide both an accurate cleaning quote and the services you really need.
Even if you have the best janitorial services, mistakes and miscommunications are bound to happen. What separates the best from the worst is how these issues are handled. When there is an issue, what does your janitorial service do? Ask them, they should have a formal plan to handle complaints, forgotten items and more. If they don’t, it is a clear indication that they are unprepared for the normal service issues and hiccups and are unlikely to offer you and your facility the responsive, individualized service you deserve.
Do you have a point person? Do you know exactly who to contact when there is an issue or you need something more? Does your janitorial company get back to you in timely manner? Do you regularly hear from them to keep you posted on janitorial inspections or to check in on how satisfied you are with their services? Good communication is a critical part of the plan for high-level service delivery. Does your current commercial cleaning company communicate regularly with you?
The best janitorial companies deliver effective services because they have a solid plan and processes in place to assure reliability through accountability. The best janitorial services have systems and processes for every important part of their operations from hiring and screening to janitorial inspections to janitorial pricing and more because they know it offers the best chance of meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
Professionalism is of the utmost importance, in fact without it, everything else is called into question. Sure professionalism can include front line employees wearing uniforms to help create an image and make them a visible part of facility maintenance, but professionalism should extend to every aspect of a business. But how do you as a Facility Manager determine whether or not a janitorial company is operating with the professional standards needed to deliver real results? Again, look at everything they do. Do they offer transparent pricing? Are their teams well trained and properly equipped?
Technology is rapidly advancing in most industries and the janitorial industry is no exception. From people processes to floor cleaning equipment to janitorial inspections and more, it seems more and more of our business is becoming automated or at the very least, directed by the technologies we have come to depend upon. While not every innovation is ultimately useful or cost effective, emerging technologies are helping enhance the professionalism of our industry as well as manage costs and quality for our customers. Technology is driving efficiency, cost savings, even safety and enhanced compliance.
Many of the best janitorial companies offer a large menu of Building services under one umbrella. These can include cleaning related tasks like window washing and professional carpet cleaning or even more maintenance related tasks like HVAC, plumbing, painting and electrical. If a janitorial company can provide you with an added menu of services rather than you have to call, negotiate and contract for them separately, this can save you significant time and money.
Best practices are those methods and techniques that have been proven superior to others. They are better than what was done before and thus, set a benchmark. Best practices are a feature of accredited management standards such as ISO 9000, ISO 14001, and CIMS because these certifications understand that these best practices lead to best results. Janitorial services best practices encompass a number of practices that run the gamut from things done in your facility to management practices that help the best janitorial companies operate more consistently and deliver more effective, reliable service to their customers.
The best janitorial companies offer green cleaning solutions in order to insure your facility can minimize employee and tenant exposure to harsh chemicals and reduce their environmental footprint while still getting the deep clean your facilities require. And while green cleaning can encompass chemicals and products, it should go much further. From safeguarding air quality to operating with practices that reduce waste like dumping paper trash without replacing plastic liners every time, a commitment to sustainability is an integral part of how the best janitorial companies do business.
When it comes to the best janitorial service, there is a huge difference between cost and value. Cost is what you pay while value is what you get. While everyone has a number they need to be at, the wrong services for your facility aren’t really a bargain at any price. Value is where you get the services you need for your facility at the best possible price. The best janitorial companies deliver real value.
The above nineteen factors in great janitorial service can be overwhelming. This last one is where things get easier. CIMS certification can help you consider all of these other factors without having to spend hours asking questions and verifying information with a sea of applicants, only a few of which are capable of really maintaining your facility. Professional certifications like the ISSA’s CIMS certification can be a valuable tool and shortcut to make the process of finding the best janitorial company infinitely easier. Industry certifications like the CIMS-GB Certification, or Cleaning Industry Management Standard give janitorial companies the opportunity to demonstrate that they are among the best in their industry. It can be prudent to begin your search for the best janitorial company start by looking at companies that are CIMS certified and then qualify from there to find your best value and best fit for your facility.