Keeping an office clean and employees healthy goes way beyond just tidying up at the end of each workday. To truly get the most value for your money, you need to have in-depth, commercial cleaning done regularly. Not only will this help impress your clientele, it will keep your employees healthy and thus result in fewer absences. A clean office leads to higher productivity, more efficiency, and less waste.
Unfortunately, there are hundreds of different cleaning companies to choose from and it can be overwhelming to sort through them all to find the one that will be the best for your business. To make sure you get the best value for your money, avoid these 10 common mistakes that businesses make when hiring a commercial cleaning company.
1. Hiring a Company That Lacks Strong Management
A cleaning company that doesn’t have strong management or leadership is a cleaning company that won’t provide consistency in quality and professionalism. It also increases the likelihood of poor communication between you and the cleaning staff if any issues come up during your partnership. Make sure that you hire a company that has strong leadership, and has upper-level management train, visit and audit your cleaning sites. This type of guidance and attention-to-detail shows you that the company is serious about the work of their employees and will make sure nothing is missed during the process.
2. Forgetting about Supplier Diversity and Related Certifications
While there are thousands of companies to choose from on the market, there are not a lot with strong certifications and diversity metrics. Hiring a company with a diversity certification (like WBENC) will strengthen your supplier base by making sure it’s pulling from a diverse number of sources. Studies have shown that having a more diverse supply base helps the bottom line. In fact, the estimate is that for every $1 million spent operating a diversity supplier program, there’s a return on investment of $3.6 million. This is achieved by providing knowledge and inroads into new domestic markets, solidifying a flexible and reliable supply chain as demographics continue to shift, and providing a robust base for contract bids. That’s a fantastic number that highlights a practical reason every company should be interested in supplier diversity.
To find the best diverse cleaning company for your company, make sure to ask about specialized certifications, memberships and standings.
3. Forgetting to Ask About Background Checks, Sub-Contracting & Reference Checks
Some companies will hire anybody that walks through the door, or worse yet, will sub-contract or even sub-sub-contract, and might not even know who is working in your facility. When you don’t ask about background checks for a cleaning company’s employees, you won’t know who has access to your office space. This isn’t an ideal situation. You should feel at east about every single visitor, cleaner and employee in your building, and excited to partner with a company that understands those needs. To make sure that you and your employees have the peace-of-mind you want in your corporate office space, always ask about whether or not a cleaning company does background checks.
4. Hiring a Company That Doesn’t Provide Ongoing Staff Training
While the process of cleaning a corporate office doesn’t seem like it’d take too much training, employee development is still a crucial part of maintaining effective and professional personnel. A company that invests in their team is a company that will do the job right and prove themselves dependable. When you work to interview different cleaning companies, ask about their training procedures. You’ll notice a huge difference between a company that provides ongoing staff training and one that doesn’t, especially after seeing the results. If no ongoing training is provided, how can you be sure that any training is provided?
5. Focusing Solely on Cost
Finding a really cheap commercial cleaning company isn’t hard, but it’s not worth it. Focusing on cost alone will leave you with low-quality cleaning, personnel, and management. In the grand scheme of business, it is found time and again that many of the most evangelistic customers come to us after being sorely disappointed by companies like this. Make sure to look at qualifications, certifications, specializations, references, and companies that have a good track record. You can still compare prices, but don’t make a decision solely based on cost.
6. Hiring a Company Without a License
Just like any other legitimate company, a cleaning company should have the proper certifications and licenses needed to operate in your city and state. Don’t make this office cleaning mistake and overlook this step in the hiring process and don’t be afraid to ask to see the cleaning company’s license. There are hundreds of companies that say they’re professional, but lack proper qualifications. The difference between the two will be reflected in both professionalism and quality results.
7. Looking Past Liability Insurance Coverage
It might seem a bit weird to think about a cleaning company needing liability insurance, but accidents can and do happen. If the company is at your office location and the unthinkable happens, they might not be able to pay for the repairs out of pocket. That’s where liability insurance comes in. Liability insurance guarantees that if anything does happen, your business won’t suffer because of it.
In most circumstances, liability insurance covers any injury that occurs on the job. In this case it would mean any injury that the cleaning company employees incur while at your office. This safeguards you and your business from any claims of neglect or accidents that lead to bodily harm. When you hire an office cleaning company that doesn’t have liability insurance coverage, be prepared to pay some unexpected, out-of-pocket costs. You will be held responsible for any and all medical costs due to accidents if the cleaning company does not have the proper insurance.
8. Forgetting to Ask For a Company’s References
Just as you’d call references for prospective employees, you should call references for commercial cleaning companies. Contacting the references will give you an idea of what to expect, how well the job is done, the consistency of work, and the professionalism of the company. Talk to past customers and make sure you know what you’re getting into when hiring a new company. You’ll be happy you did.
9. Disregarding the Service Agreement
When you find the right cleaning company, you’ll enter a service agreement. Don’t disregard the service agreement. Take time to read it and ask questions if you don’t understand certain parts. This will be your contract. If you don’t fully read and understand it, you will be in for some surprises down the road. The service agreement will include any clauses, what would happen if there were accidents, how a company handles situations where bodily harm might occur, and goes into detail about their commitment to service. If the service agreement doesn’t specific insurance or licensing, make sure you ask them about this and get a copy of both prior to signing anything.
10. Hiring Out of Desperation
If you absolutely need a cleaning service, fast, try not to hire out of desperation alone. This is a huge mistake and will end up costing you more money in the long run. Last minute cleaners are often over priced and under qualified. Take the time to anticipate your needs and schedule an office cleaning company ahead of time. Make sure you interview a few different companies to avoid making a mistake and hiring someone who won’t get the job done right. If you only look for a cleaning company when you need one, it’s time to make a change. Regular cleanings are more affordable and will keep your office in better shape than random bursts of desperation.
About The Author
