Any business owner or operator knows the importance of a clean workplace. It is not just for your clients or customers, but also for your employees. A clean and hygienic environment has multiple benefits whether you own a traditional office building, retail store, or any other type of space. The question is do you get your employees to clean up after them, maintain an in-house team, or hire professional cleaning contractors.
What Are Commercial Cleaning Contracts?
When you work with professionals, you can have true peace of mind because they will insist on a written cleaning contract. This is the most effective way of starting a partnership with your new cleaning company. There is little room for disagreements in a professionally drafted cleaning contract. Furthermore, properly written contracts explain the exact obligations and responsibilities of each party.
Generally, the scope of commercial cleaning covers both general and routine cleaning. This includes floors, internal walls, partition walls, lighting, furniture, dining and kitchen areas, window cleaning, and restrooms. You can always add or remove things based on your individual needs.
This is one of the reasons why you should hire professional cleaners with experience in your particular industry and not amateurs. They know the type of cleaning that a business like yours usually requires. For instance, standard office cleaning for a retail facility will be very different compared to a medical office building.
In general, typical cleaning and janitorial services include the following:
- Mopping of floors
- Vacuuming
- Cleaning of toilets
- Replenishing supplies
- Cleaning of kitchen
- Emptying trash bins
- Sanitization of high touchpoints, such as doorknobs
- High dusting for removing cobwebs
- Cleaning of glass surfaces
Advantages of Hiring a Commercial Cleaning Contractor
These are a few reasons to outsource your cleaning requirements to a skilled commercial contractor:
1. Cost and time efficiency
The most obvious reason for business owners not wanting to hire a cleaning contractor is because of the perceived costs involved. However, what you don’t understand is that you are probably paying more when you expect your employees to invest time in cleaning after themselves. You are keeping them away from their productive roles.
It would be way cheaper and more efficient to hire a commercial contractor to get the job done. You don’t need to face the awkwardness of creating a cleaning schedule or staying on top of it. The whole team may develop an ill-feeling towards anyone who is slacking off. You may end up with a lot more problems that would be easily avoidable if the responsibility was with a subcontractor.
You may consider hiring an in-house cleaning team. However, you would need to invest in their training. Cleaning chemicals are potentially harmful. You would also have to follow OSHA standards. Cleaning services are aware of these standards because it is part of their day-to-day activities. You would also have to hire a supervisor to be accountable for the cleaning team.
2. Increased staff productivity and morale
Having a clean and pristine office environment is, without doubt, a major contributor to increased productivity. Offices or workspaces that are full of dirt, grime, and clutter affect concentration levels and become a distraction. If you don’t care for your office, it will eventually filter down into the work standards.
When business owners or facility managers keep the office clean and pay attention to the little things, it has a positive impact on staff productivity. Your staff will take their duties and responsibilities seriously when you set high standards of cleanliness.
Creating a healthy, hygienic, and clean working environment lets your people know that you care about them. This helps in setting high standards that eventually filter down to the entire workforce. When employees come to a clean and fresh office in the morning, they feel valued and cared for.
The increased sense of loyalty and commitment will help in creating an environment where visitors are cared for as well. This is especially important for customer-facing businesses.
3. Improved health & safety
Dirt, bacteria, dust, debris, and other particles can swiftly build-up without the assistance of a commercial cleaning company. This can make your office environment appear unhealthy and unpleasant. The Spread of germs can cause rampant illness among the staff, including colds, allergies, and flu. Staff sickness can cost several business hours. It is estimated that the flu alone results in the loss of millions of dollars each year. Cutting corners may not save you a lot of money in the long run.
Trained office cleaning professionals will know the entire property map. They will know the areas that need frequent disinfecting and cleaning. You can also include day porter services in the contract to have a dedicated day porter take care of spills and other cleaning concerns as they arise. Restrooms and workstations are breeding grounds for germs. Commercial cleaners can be made responsible for sanitizing frequently touched areas.
4. Enhanced company image
Every commercial building needs to appear clean and hygienic if they want to portray a good and respectable image. You cannot expect clients and customers to give you their business if you invite them into a dirty and foul-smelling space. First impressions are generally the last impressions. In addition, you cannot simply focus on the common areas, such as the lobby, hallways, and conference rooms while ignoring other areas, like bathrooms or kitchen areas.
Without wholesome cleaning, you could lose several dollars’ worth of lucrative business. Green practices have become an important component of the corporate image. Professional cleaning companies make use of cleaning products that don’t contain hazardous chemicals. This includes toxins, such as formaldehyde that have been proven to promote diseases and have carcinogenic effects. Such practices can allow a company to minimize its footprint.
5. Expertise and experience
When you use a professional cleaning company for your commercial property, you are essentially taking advantage of their years of experience. You can expect a high standard of service. Office buildings that experience frequent deep cleaning are usually in good repair. Commercial contractors have trained team members depending on the particular job types.
For instance, janitors would be trained on best practices involving specific cleaning tasks, such as parking lot, high traffic areas, or carpet cleaning. Based on this, recognized and established companies will provide a reliable day porter that takes care of all public areas and focuses on the little details. For instance, they may ensure the windows and other glass surfaces remain squeaky clean. You will get value for money because trained cleaners don’t just wipe a surface, but ensure that it is cleaned deeply.
6. Use of correct equipment
Doing a great job of cleaning requires a whole range of equipment and tools that are specifically designed for cleaning a commercial space. With commercial cleaning services handling your property, you won’t need to worry about investing in industrial or commercial cleaning products. They will use the right equipment depending on the specific needs and cleaning task at hand.
The majority of organizations benefit from hiring commercial cleaners in the long run because they don’t need to create an additional budget for purchasing, repairing, or maintaining cleaning equipment. With that said, most commercial cleaners don’t charge anything extra for working off-business hours. This cannot be said for an in-house team.
7. Customized cleaning contracts
The best contract cleaning companies will personalize the cleaning schedule depending on whether you are hiring them for the entire building or specific tasks. They will ascertain the cleaning needs of your organization and provide information on recommended services. Employers have to pay special attention to maintaining the right standards. For instance, areas that receive a lot of traffic may be recommended for constant cleaning and disinfection.
Professional cleaning and janitorial companies typically perform a location visit to understand the job better. This will allow them to inspect your facility and discuss particular needs. The cookie-cutter approach rarely works when it comes to keeping a clean environment in commercial office buildings, medical facilities, and other properties.
8. Complete peace of mind
It is hard enough to run a business than to have to worry about maintaining a decent facility appearance. You shouldn’t have to worry about weekly or daily facility duties. Outsourcing to a professional service will allow you to focus on other important and productive tasks instead of worrying about whether the paper towels or toilet paper are replenished or not.
Disadvantages of Professional Cleaners
You may wonder about the cons of hiring professional cleaners. You should consider the following scenarios before you hire a commercial cleaning crew:
1. Expensive in the short term
When you hire professional cleaners, you would be adding a new line item to your budget. This may seem like a major immediate expense. Needless to say, commercial cleaners prove to be cheaper than filling in-house cleaning positions. Their dedicated expertise also helps avoid cleaning disasters and prevents expensive maintenance down the road.
2. Disrupts the flow of work
The majority of employees don’t mind having general maintenance tasks performed during office hours. However, certain departments may not appreciate having these vital services performed. Based on this, the extra set of hands may add to the overall confusion if your place of business is fast-paced with a high traffic flow. Fortunately, an experienced cleaning and janitorial company would offer to perform the cleaning duties during non-working hours.
3. Loss of personal touch
It can be difficult to trust cleaners that are in and out of the office randomly. While there are significant benefits to hiring any kind of daytime help, not knowing the workers that take care of tasks during off-business hours is another story. Facilities with good building security don’t usually have this concern. Others can insist on seeing criminal background checks before hiring commercial cleaners.
What Is Usually The Duration/Term Of A Cleaning Contract?
There are several components to a cleaning contract that should be reviewed thoroughly. For instance, if the contract is about basic cleaning and front lobby support through a reliable day porter service, the contract should mention the exact nature, scope, relevance, and times.
The contract should communicate when the services would commence and when they would expire. You may want the services to continue indefinitely until either party chooses to cancel. In such a situation, the agreement may state that the contract will last for a certain period and continue till one party determines not to.
You should ensure that the responsibilities of a day porter, night janitor, and other cleaning members are mentioned clearly. In addition, the contract should specify who will be responsible for the primary access to your business and the person(s) that will be permitted inside the building. Cleaning times should be mentioned clearly to remove any confusion. You may also want to mention whether the access would be provided daily or not.
Why Do You Need It?
Several sanitation issues can make a workplace appear rundown and shoddy. Office cleaning contract firms are thought to provide real value. Hiring a professional commercial cleaning company may be one of the best decisions a facility manager can make. You should consider outsourcing to a contractor that understands your company’s needs.
The crew should have a positive attitude in providing a clean and safe environment to the occupants. They should provide an excellent job with minimal risk of accidents. Having a clean office is not just about the customers or the competition, it is also about your employees.
Hire a Commercial Cleaning Contractor Today
Are you looking for a professional cleaning service that helps you keep your office looking its best? Servi-Tek can ensure that your office, store, warehouse, factory, or any other facility is up to industry sanitation standards. Get in touch with us today to learn more about the type of services we provide that will help ensure your workplace looks its best. Give us a call today at 866-454-6185 or use our online form to schedule an appointment.
