Things to Consider When Renewing Your Office Cleaning Contract

As with most things in business, making informed decisions about new and existing service providers is key. This is just as true when it comes to renewing your office cleaning contract.

Commercial cleaning isn’t the most glamorous of tasks but it is as important as a good internet connection and comfortable chairs. Without a clean workplace, morale will drop, attendance will be impacted and the overall health and wellbeing of staff will fall dramatically.

Choosing the right provider with the right approach for the right price is only part of the challenge though.

You also have to consider some of the following:

Quality of service

Quality should be everything in every business. If you’re not delivering quality, you’re not delivering value. In something as important as cleaning, that could have genuine consequences.

Do you have to constantly check and monitor cleaning staff? Are you constantly reminding them to not miss areas? To clean certain areas more effectively or more thoroughly?

Or are they completely self-contained? Do they come in, do their job to a high standard and then leave without impacting your productivity?

Communication

Business is about communication. Whether you’re running a multinational or communicating pain points to suppliers, the easier and more efficient your communications, the easier it is to deal with them.

Is your current cleaning service responsive to feedback? Do they respond quickly to queries or questions? Are the cleaners effective communicators?

Staff attitude

Commercial cleaners should ideally neither be seen nor heard. Not in a negative way as we’re nice people! The intent there is to minimize disruption and perform tasks almost invisibly.

It’s about knowing what to do, when to do it and getting on with the job. When a cleaner takes pride in their work, it shows in how they portray themselves.

Are your current cleaners efficient? Quiet? Happy? Willing to answer questions? Willing to engage when you talk to them?

Happy staff are effective staff and can tell you a lot about the company they work for.

High staff turnover

We will freely admit that commercial cleaning is not the most glamorous of jobs. But, if you make it as enjoyable, rewarding and fulfilling as you can, people can really engage with it.

Do your current cleaners seem to change all the time? Are you constantly seeing new faces or providing passes for new cleaning staff?

While turnover is inevitable in any industry, excessive or excessively fast turnover is a warning sign.

Quality of equipment

Commercial cleaning requires some specialist equipment and some not-so specialist equipment. The quality of all that reflects how a cleaning company invests in itself and its people.

New equipment can perform key tasks faster, more efficiently, with less effort and hopefully, less waste.

It’s not just about new equipment though.

There are tried and trusted pieces of equipment we have used for years. As long as the equipment is well-maintained and in good working order, it doesn’t have to be new to be good!

Quality of training

Specialist cleaning equipment often requires specialist training. A company that invests in training, invests in its staff and itself.

Some of the equipment we use requires minimal training but some requires more involved training. The same for some of the chemicals and processes we use.

Plus, training shows staff you care. Invest in them, invest in their development and retention improves, as does quality and efficiency.

If you see staff struggling to get a machine to work or doesn’t look comfortable using a product or machine, that’s definitely not a good sign!

Clear pricing

Pricing is a clear differentiator between commercial cleaning companies. Along with quality, pricing is one of the main determining factors in securing cleaning contracts.

That’s why you’ll often see very low quotes only for them to increase once you come to sign the contract and be charged for every little thing.

Are the company’s pricing policies transparent? Do they charge for every little thing? Do you often see random charges in the breakdown?

Ideally, the charging structure for commercial cleaning should be clear, concise and understood by all. You will often have additions and extra tasks but these should be clearly communicated and priced.

If you never know what bill to expect at the end of the month, perhaps it’s time to revisit your provider.

COVID-secure practices

If we’re trying to encourage people back to the workplace, we have to convince them they will be safe. One way to help with that is with more stringent cleaning.

Is your current provider able to offer specialist COVID services? Do they use products proven effective against coronavirus? Do they offer cold fogging or other services known to be effective against COVID?

The cleaning industry improves and evolves just like any other and providing essential COVID services is just part of that equation.

If your current provider isn’t offering all the services you need to get people back to work, perhaps it’s time for a change.

Renegotiating your cleaning contract

If you recognise any of those signs above or have concerns about your current provider, contract time is the perfect opportunity to address them or look elsewhere.

If you have tried to address the issues without success or failed to get engagement with your needs, perhaps it’s time to change.

Choice is certainly not something you’re short of when it comes to commercial cleaning. Quality and the ability to constantly deliver what you need is though.

If your cleaner is falling short, contact Nk Clean Company. We pride ourselves on offering competitive cleaning services delivered by an engaged, well trained, permanent workforce.

Try us, you’ll be amazed at the difference we could make!