Is The Math From Your Cleaning Company Not Adding Up?

The commercial cleaning market is saturated with many providers. It can be challenging to find a solid office cleaning company that also meets your budget and provides quality work. Don’t worry, there are some easy ways to make the process a little easier. Here are some tips for switching to an office cleaning company in the St. Louis area.

Bad Bids

All to often we have come across office cleaning bids that look very messy and confusing. It is difficult to explain what a cleaning service is offering and what it will really cost you. As a facility manager, the last thing you want to figure out is how the did their math for the bid.

When you have a bad bid, it is difficult to compare that against other bids for the job. The whole point of bidding the work is so you can compare companies and the work they will provide. If the bid is not understandable, then there is no point in bidding in the first place.

Accurate Bids

An accurate bid allows you to determine if the work they are promising to do will meet your needs and the prices that you want it for. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting charged hidden or extra fees later after you have hired them. This leaves you feeling very trapped and anxious about the relationship going forward. Good cleaning company that have long-standing reputations are not looking to make a quick dollar with you. They are looking to build a long relationship. If the bids you receive are not understandable, toss them out and find another company that’ll play ball fairly.

People Are The Key In Every Job

Service businesses are dependent on frontline staff that are attentive, knowledgable and friendly. If your office cleaning company doesn’t utilize best practices with regard to your employees, your service is going to suffer. This will and often does have a direct effect on your profit margin.

Professional cleaning services must have a good cleaning process in place to help attract, hire and retain the right people to provide quality cleaning in your office. What are the best practices and quality people systems?

1. Office cleaning companies must run a complete criminal background check and a multi-panel drug test. Safety and security in your office are critical and the first step in hiring good employees. Ask your cleaning company if they do this with every employee.
2. Employment and training verification is a good way to hire potential employees that are relevant to the industry.
3. Competitive pay and benefits are important to motivate people to stay longer and reduce turnover in your business.
4. Good management practices go a long way in motivating staff to do a good job in clients’ offices.
5. Provide all the tools and cleaning supplies for each team of employees so your clients don’t have to. Having the right tools for the job makes it easier and more productive.

Communication

Communication is one of the most challenging aspects of any business. We know that finding the right cleaning company is not going to be simple, but it will be worth it in the long term. What separates good cleaning companies from bad ones is communication. We are all human and make mistakes, but how does your current cleaning company handle those mistakes. Are they making excuses, covering it up, lying about fixing it or just ignoring it? These are all telltale signs that you need to break up with your current cleaning company. A good cleaning company won’t shy away from mistakes, they will meet them head-on with clear communication offering a solution to fix the mistake and ways to prevent it in the future.

If you are experiencing any of the challenges with your current cleaning company, we would love to hear from you. Give us a call, we would love to get to know you and how we can help make your business successful.