5 problems you will experience hiring a cleaning service for your business

The more you are aware of the some of the problems, the better informed and prepared you will be when looking for a cleaning service. These 5 problems should be front of mind when considering a cleaning company for your business.

INADEQUATE TRAINING

One of the most common problems in the cleaning industry is lack of adequate training for employees. This will most certainly translate into problems for you and your business.

Without trained cleaning staff who work to a systematic cleaning system you will not have a consistent, effective cleaning service.

Commercial cleaning is a very specialised area and depending on the type of business adequate training that is relevant to the business is essential.

All cleaning staff must have an understanding of products, what they do and how to use them. Cross contamination when moving through your business needs to be managed to ensure your property and employees are safe.

Unless you ask the right questions about staff training you may as well clean the business yourself. Remember, it is not enough that they say they do training without the proof. You need to know what qualifications cleaning staff hold to enter your business and clean your property to an acceptable standard. It also needs to be consistent and recorded. Some of the areas that need specialised training, could include:

• Bathroom Cleaning
• Kitchen / Lunchroom Cleaning
• Interior Office Cleaning
• Blood Borne Pathogen training
• Cross Contamination
• Occupational Health & Safety and other Safety training

The list of potential training available for employees working as cleaners helps you understand the potential problems if they are not adequately trained and supervised.

If the employees of your cleaning company arrive in suitable uniforms and work to a systemised cleaning system you can avoid this number 1 problem.

HIGH TURNOVER OF CLEANING STAFF

High turnover of staff in any cleaning company is not just their problem, it is also yours. We have already touched on the problems associated with inadequate training and the investment from any cleaning company to keep their staff skilled.

High turnover has a significant impact for a number of reasons, including:

• rotating in and out of cleaning staff can lead to poor quality work
• affects the relationship between yourself, the cleaners and the company
• can mean damaged equipment and waste
• can be a threat to security
• the value you get from an experienced team familiar with your business is reduced
• the costs to the cleaning company are increased, which could be passed onto you, the customer.

High turnover of staff is usually directly linked to the management of the cleaning company. How they train and pay their staff can have an impact. Ineffective management can often make employees feel they want to leave.

Turnover of staff in lower paid jobs is not unusual but there are companies that value their employees, train them and work with them.

You need to avoid the problems of high staff turnover and engage a company who is engaged with their employees and value their contribution.

POOR COMMUNICATION

We all know the problems poor communication can cause in life. It is definitely a problem that can cause strained relationships if the communication between yourself and your cleaning service is not effective.

It is impossible for a cleaning service to deliver a satisfactory service if the channels of communication between customer, cleaning staff and cleaning service are not open and effective.

We all know that sometimes mistakes do happen and that regular feedback between all parties is crucial to keep the service effective and relationship strong.

Problems will arise and tensions increase if communication response time is poor. There needs to be a process in place that everyone works within. All parties need to agree to certain terms around communication style and timing.

A good cleaning service will incorporate a communication plan so that it is clear to everyone how to avoid problems with communication.

You need to lock your business up at night with the safe knowledge that your cleaning team understand the rules on communication if needed. This one simple guideline will avoid many problems, big and small.

LACK OF SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES

We have just touched on communication and the problems that can arise if there is no process to communicate in place.

When it comes to the cleaning process in your business systems and processes are critical. Problems will arise if a regular cleaning employee is off sick and doesn’t understand the scope of the work or how to communicate between all parties if needed.

Most cleaning companies want to deliver an effective service, but not all cleaning companies put the time and money into systems and processes. When there is not accountability how can the service and the cleaning staff stay on track and fulfil the scope of the job? Quite simply, they can’t.

Any cleaner should be able to walk into a business knowing that the systems and processes are place to know what to do, how to do it and how to record it for quality assurance purposes.

Problems will be a daily occurrence if your cleaning services does not demonstrate the ability to implement, record and check what is happening on your property when their cleaning staff are on site.

NO QUALITY ASSURANCE

Life today is all about ticking the box. It is a big unticked box if there are no quality assurance tools in place for your cleaning service.

You are paying for a scope of service. How do you know that service is being delivered if there is no record. It may only become obvious when something major happens – like an outbreak of an illness in the workplace or the business is not looking clean.

Quality assurance is an investment into your business for the cleaning service.

Accountability is the big ticket item with quality assurance systems. Regular inspections connect you with your cleaning company. It is even possible these days to have instantaneous information through the use of technology.

If your cleaning company does not have an effective quality assurance system in place and operational you have a problem. There is no accountability or effective practice in place.

It is easy to ask up front what the cleaning company’s policy is when it comes to quality assurance. A reputable cleaning company will not have to think about the answer

Your business contains a lot of commercially sensitive information and valuable property. Any cleaning service you engage to service your business needs to have a good reputation and history. It will be worth your time and effort to do your research before engaging a cleaning service and inviting them into your business.

The cleaning service industry contributes billions of dollars to the Australian economy and is growing. Choosing the right commercial cleaner is as simple as asking a few key questions.

Experience and reputation

Engaging a cleaning service on face value is not enough. Your research may surprise you! You do not want that to be a bad surprise. A company with no reputation or history is not a good idea. You need to think about their investment to ensure your business is cleaned to a high standard and is safe for your employees.

Any company who cannot provide references or share clients they service should be avoided. You want to know that your cleaning service is reputable and experienced.

By doing your due diligence before you even speak with a potential cleaning service will save you a multitude of problems. Speak to other business owners on their service and do your research.

Employee training and screening

Most cleaning is done after hours when your business is vacant. This leaves your information and property exposed. You should feel comfortable asking if a cleaning service screens their employees. You are entitled to feel 100% comfortable with the service and the people they employ to clean your business.

These checks could include references, employment history and criminal background checks. The cleaning industry is not the only industry that ensures their employees are suited for a job. You are entitled to the peace of mind knowing your business is being cleaned by honest, hardworking individuals.

The cleaning industry is one of the many services that does not require a qualification. This does not mean that just anyone can clean a commercial business. You should ask a cleaning company about their recruitment and training process. It is not unreasonable for you to expect that your business will be cleaned by someone who is trained in both technique and products.

Types of services offered by the cleaning service

Like all businesses, cleaning companies often specialise in a particular area. For instance, hospital cleaning services are not likely to also do large industrial factories.

It makes sense if a reputable cleaning company provides ongoing training to their staff that evidence that they specialise in your type of business is a reasonable question.

Before you make a decision ensure they provide the services you need. Some standard service could include:

• Rubbish removal and recycling
• Vacuuming, mopping and sweeping
• Kitchen and laundry clean
• Bathroom cleaning
• Dusting
• Stocking consumables such as soap, paper towels and toilet paper.

It is important when discussing what you need cleaned or provided with a cleaning service that you are specific. This information will be included in the scope of the job and will be part of the pricing structure. Nothing is too small to include as each item takes time and the skill to clean. Your cleaning service will allocate the time and staff according to your requirements.

Types of businesses they have serviced

Experience is important so when choosing your commercial cleaning service ask if they have facilities similar to your business. As an example, do they have offices of your size or do they have cleaning services in industrial or manufacturing facilities.

Remember one of the important keys to a successful cleaning service is trained staff. If they already service businesses similar to yours you know they have the experience.

You may also need one off cleaning services for a renovation or function. There are many options available to make sure you get the right cleaning service for your business, you just need to do your research and ask the right questions.

Permits and insurance

When a cleaning team is working on site at your business you need the confidence that the cleaning service company has the right permits and insurance for their business and their employees.

You need to protect yourself against the public liability in the event of an accident.

All reputable cleaning companies will be fully insured.

Green cleaning

You might run an environmentally conscious business where all the staff are involved in recycling and do their bit for the environment. Green cleaning is the buzzword that will work for your business if that is important

When selecting a green clean cleaning company it could include everything from microfibre tools to save on waste, green cleaning products, safe disposal practices and low energy equipment. As is the case in most environmentally friendly solutions it may impact the cost to clean and require a specialised team.

There is no simple answer to this question – How much does a commercial / industrial cleaner cost your business? It is simple calculation but it is complex due to the number of elements that can impact the cost.

The cleaning business in Australia accounts for billions of dollars revenue. This also means that it is a busy space for cleaning companies and they are not all the same.

You need to do your research and speak to other business owners who use cleaning services to help you make a decision when it comes time to choose.

“Commercial or industrial cleaning is a term used by cleaning companies who clean a wide range of business premises. They are usually contracted by individuals, businesses or corporations to complete specific cleaning tasks a number of times per day, week or month.”

This explanation explains the complexity underneath the simplicity of cleaning your business. All reputable companies have a formula they use to provide equity to both parties.

A reputable company will pay their trained employees according to the award or above. When engaging a commercial or industrial cleaning company it is important that they engage trained cleaners who specialise in your industry.

The cost to clean your business is a simple calculation on the surface but requires an accurate scope of the site to be cleaned to calculate the number of hours required, the products, the staff and how often the premises are cleaned. Some companies will charge on a per metre square cleaned.

Calculating a cost to clean your premises is dependant on many factors, including:

• Size of the area
• Types of areas, eg Bathrooms, Kitchens,
• Type of cleaning to be done, eg dusting, mopping, polishing, industrial, computers, phones
• Number of staff required
• Types of Cleaning Products
• Consumables included
• Number of times cleaned per week, per month

When a company calculates the overall cost to clean your business these many factors need to be considered to come up with the cost to clean your business. It is important when comparing companies and the cost to clean that you review all elements of the calculation or quotation to ensure you are comparing apples to apples.

To make it simple, a reputable cleaning company will spend time going through your business to determine the scope of work which will include cleaning products needed to do the job. They will then calculate the hours needed to complete the work to a high standard multiplied by the hourly rate, the number of cleaners needed and the number of times cleaned per day, week or month.

Making a decision on the bottom line price alone could mean you make the wrong decision. You need to understand the level of service you will be receiving. Key questions, include:

• Do you have experience cleaning my type of business?
• Do you have ongoing training for your staff? Can you provide proof?
• What systems and processes will you implement for my cleaning schedule?
• Do you have quality control systems?
• What is the communication strategy?
• Do you do background checks on your staff?
• Have all the necessary permits and insurance in place?

Any reputable commercial or industrial cleaner will be able to easily answer these questions.

Once you have the quotation with the dollar value, add it to answers on the level of service and the references you have sourced. Those three elements should give you the confidence to make the right decision about who to choose. It may not be the least expensive quote.

The cleaning industry can be subject to unscrupulous behaviour due to some companies using unskilled, untrained staff and not paying them an adequate wage. They are sometimes not covered by the right insurance. This type of behaviour puts your company and your staff at risk.

By asking the right questions you will get the cleaning company that fits your business and provides a superb service over a long period of time.