Whatever your job, industry, or daily tasks, a clean working environment is essential for optimal health and productivity. Especially when you consider that you spend around one-third of your life at work.
For busy facilities like schools, hospitals, offices, and factories, hiring a commercial cleaning company is a must. Even if workers are willing to pitch in with the cleaning, it would be almost impossible for them to maintain the high standards of professional cleaners.
But with so many companies to consider and online customer reviews to wade through, choosing commercial cleaners can be a job in itself! Luckily, we’re here to help! Keep reading to find out the key factors to consider.
1. Experience & Professionalism
First of all, the company you hire must have plenty of commercial cleaning experience. This way, they’ll understand the implications of cleaning a large-scale working environment. They will also know how to operate in a safe and practical way, including during working hours.
Their commercial cleaning experience will mean that the specific cleaning requirements of various workplaces will be more familiar to them. And they’ll understand the importance of demonstrating their professionalism by being punctual and courteous at all times. You can click here to determine the factors required for choosing a professional cleaning company.
2. Availability
If your workplace doesn’t operate on a 9 to 5 schedule, you may need a cleaning company with extended availability. The flexibility offered by professional cleaners is one of the many reasons why hospitals need a commercial cleaning company they can rely on, day or night.
Ask the potential companies you’re considering about their working hours and their policy on emergency requests. Ideally, they should have examples of how they’ve come through for other clients with specialized needs for extra availability.
3. Equipment & Supplies
The company you hire should have access to the full range of commercial cleaning tools and supplies needed to keep your workplace clean and germ-free. This can range from heavy-duty floor cleaning machinery to the kinds of gentle cleansing detergents they’ll need to care for your building’s delicate surfaces.
You might also want to check on the quality and maintenance of the equipment and supplies the company’s cleaners use. Old tools prone to breaking down and budget cleaning supplies won’t just be ineffective, they could be dangerous for your working environment.
4. Licensing & Insurance
All commercial cleaning companies must have an up-to-date business license as well as the appropriate insurance and liability cover for cleaning commercial facilities.
Cleaners with insurance and licensing in place can often be more expensive to hire as the company passes the cost on to the customer. But the assurance this coverage provides is invaluable to you. Without the correct license or insurance, hiring them could mean breaking the law yourself. Plus, your company could be liable for any theft, personal injury, or damage that happens within your facility.
Make sure to ask for copies of their license and insurance for your records. And if they can’t provide them, steer clear!
5. References
Online customer reviews can be a helpful way to check the suitability of a cleaning company for your workplace. A stream of terrible reviews is an obvious red flag, but then, so is a perfect 5-star record. Usually, honest and trustworthy companies in any industry have mostly good reviews and a few bad ones. Anything else suggests that the reviews might be fake or paid for.
Independent review sites and social media platforms can help inform your decision. You could also ask the cleaning company for the names of businesses and facilities they’ve worked with. This way, you can ask for references and gather more detailed information about their services and standards.
6. Accountability
You’ll likely talk to the cleaning company’s managerial or admin staff during the negotiation process of choosing a commercial cleaning company. But it’s the cleaners they hire that you’ll have to deal with every day. And even the best companies with the most impeccable references can misfire from time to time by hiring ineffective cleaning staff.
As such, it’s important to find out about the company’s accountability practices. For example, how can you provide feedback – whether positive or negative – and what will the company do with this information? Is there a procedure in place for formal complaints? Does the company have any way of reassuring you that they will investigate such complaints? It’s important to ask these questions before you sign anything.
7. Customizable Plans
Don’t make the mistake of agreeing to a standardized cleaning program that doesn’t suit your facility’s specific requirements and size. Every workplace is different so it stands to reason that there should be some room for customization to reflect that.
Ask the commercial cleaning about possible add-on services, requests, or services you can drop. Whatever your preferences, it’s vital to ask how they can accommodate your needs. After all, anything other than a customized plan is unlikely to be the most effective or cost-efficient choice for you.
8. Pricing
No doubt your business has a strict budget in place to pay for the cleaning services you choose. As such, comparing cleaner fees will be an important part of your selection process.
When you have a good idea of the company’s abilities to meet your specific needs, ask for a price breakdown. This will show you whether there are any areas you can reconsider or renegotiate.
That said, if a commercial cleaning company is out of your budget, try to avoid skimping on services or hours to afford them. Even if they’re the best company on paper, they’re not right for you if you both have to cut corners to make it work.
Your Guide to Choosing Commercial Cleaners
As this guide shows, choosing commercial cleaners can be an involved and complicated process.
But your decision has a huge impact on the working environment you provide for your workers and customers. As such, it’s worth taking the time and effort to select the very best cleaning team you can find.
Do you love to learn? If so, be sure to check out more of our informative articles on everything from business to travel!
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