Don't think that the best way to cut your overheads is to fire your cleaning company - this can lead to a disorganised office and unsatisfied staff and clients. Alternatively, see what you can do to shave back costs with your cleaning company.
Some clients are concerned that they are paying too much for their cleaning company, but there are ways to reduce the frequency and/or the extras you are paying for.
The first place to start is by reviewing your cleaning specification. Do you really require every room in your office vacuumed every day? Your high-traffic areas such as meeting rooms, reception and toilets need to be cleaned and vacuumed daily but your personal offices and rooms do not always require the same amount of maintenance.
If window cleaning is part of your contract, quickly and simply reduce costs by halving the frequency of cleans. However if you have a prominent glass reception in a busy area of town, you should not cut back on this part. Many companies opt for 8, 12 or even 17 weekly cleaning - you should experiment with which one suits your company and location best.
A cost which can be reduced through team participation is crockery and cutlery cleaning. By investing in a dishwasher, you can save money in the long-term. Time spent by your cleaning company cleaning and putting away dishes can be significantly reduced if your workforce understand that this service is not included in the cleaning contract - a simple sign in the break room can enforce this!
Always make sure that your cleaning company use environmentally friendly and self-diluting products. These are much less expensive due to minimised shipping and storage costs. Also check to see if your cleaning service company are using recycled spray containers - this makes the running costs cheaper in the long-run.
Finally, review all the extras that your cleaning company provide. Hygiene Units can be cheaper if you cancel and renegotiate the costs. By recycling as much as possible you minimise land-fil taxes and also check your paper towels. 3-ply towels are unnecessary and add to your disposal costs.
A good cleaning company will be happy to talk through your needs and concerns. They should be open about discussing your contract and not try and hide costs.
My name is Ben Camelas a chemical expert who normally writes in newspapers and magazines about the benefits of having professional cleaning services and cleaning company, don't hesitate to get in contact.
I agree that you just don't go guns-a-blazing to cut costs by firing your cleaning service company. Have a quality conversation with them and walk through the "have to's" and figure out an agreeable solution.
ReplyDeleteAnother suggestion is to consider certain janitorial supplies to save money such as roll paper towel dispensers instead of c-fold towels and automatic foaming hand soap dispensers instead of liquid hand soaps and etc. These ideas can save companies lots of money.