13 Signs You Should Hire a Professional Cleaning Company for Your Office

Maintaining a company office clean is an art form. Presenting a clean, professional front is all-important if you are going to thrive in a competitive marketplace. 

The 2017 Healthy Hand Washing Survey reported that 89% of Americans believe that the condition of a workplace restroom is an indicator of how a company values its workforce. When areas of the office are not maintained clean, people may start believing that you don’t value their health and safety. 

If there are stains, dust and debris tainting your work environment, there is a chance that your employees and clients will get the impression that you don’t pay attention to details or care enough to give a good impression. Cluttered, dirty work environments may contribute to sick employees and lost productivity.

If the work environment is perpetually dirty, people won’t stick around. Turnover rates will increase, and company reputation worsens. Productivity may lessen, and quality of work and interactions with others may be compromised. Client service may also be impacted, placing your business and employees at risk. And in cases where your clients visit your office, their perception of your environment can have a significant impact on the reputation and success of your business.

Hiring a professional cleaning company may be part of the solution you need to convey that everyone matters. Investing in a quality cleaning company supports your workplace to remain happy, healthy and productive. When you take care of the business, your clients will trust you to take care of theirs.

Here are 13 signs it may be time to hire a professional cleaning company for your workplace:

1. Cleanliness of the Business Hurts Employee’s Experience 

Did you know your keyboard hosts more bacteria than a toilet seat? Research shows that the computer mice and keyboards are prime real estate for germs. The dirtier your workplace, the increased risk your employees of getting sick. If your employee absences have increased, it’s time to consider hiring a different professional cleaning service to move towards keeping your employees healthy, happy and productive. 

2. Productivity Goals Are Continuously Unmet

A disorganized desk negatively impacts your productivity as well as your workplace. An unclean office can increase workplace hazards. Employees spending all their time managing their environment are not getting any work done. 

Productivity is linked to a clean working environment. One study has shown that one germy doorknob can infect half of your office within hours. Regular sanitation of high-touch surfaces can help to reduce employee sick time. 

3. Inviting Clients into Your Workplace is Fraught with Tension

Your work environment is an extension of your product or service. Companies must present a professional front and cleanliness is your first line of defense. If you find you are hesitating or making excuses not to bring clients behind the scenes of your operation, it’s a red flag that your workplace cleanliness isn’t communicating the right message. It’s time to change the course direction. 

4. First Name Basis with Repairer

Whether it is repairs, maintenance or replacement expenses, excessive breakdowns can be a warning sign that your equipment may be suffering the knock-on effects of its environment. Company tools and equipment are essential in the function and sustainability of your business. The workplace must be kept clear of dust and contaminants to increase the reliability of your equipment and reduce the number of service calls required.

5. The Office Kitchen

How often do we see companies minimizing costs by enforcing a kitchen roster, but the reality is that often a cleaning roster is a catalyst for workplace stress? Comments such as “Zoe doesn’t pull her weight, Chris leaves his coffee cups everywhere, or the classic, have you seen the kitchen fridge?”. Before triggering World War 3 in the office kitchen and having to mediate workplace arguments, your mental health will thank you for bringing in professional service, and your energy will be invested in where it needs to be.

6. Keeping Your Office Clean is Serious Business

Employee absence is at an all-time high. If there has been a flu-outbreak, office cleaners may not be to blame. However, if employees keep getting sick repeatedly, then you may need to explore the work environment. When surfaces aren’t sanitized, equipment not used regularly or carpets not regularly cleaned, it can foster illness. 

Given workplace demands, company leaders should not have to worry about office spaces not being in a condition to host a meeting. By investing in a regular professional cleaner to maintain a neat and tidy office eradicate the hesitation in inviting clients into the office.

Routine inspections ensure that issues are addressed before they become a source of irritation. The cleaning service must address inconsistencies with their training protocols and ensuring all team members are adequately trained to complete tasks.

7. Employee Must Stay in Their Lane

If your employees are the ones responsible for undertaking the cleaning, it's time to hire a cleaning service. Unless your employees are trained cleaning professionals, they don’t have the training or knowledge to properly sanitize your workspace. It also has an impact on employee morale when people must spend time cleaning rather than focusing on their primary responsibilities. If you want to grow your business, then your people must concentrate on their roles and leave the cleaning to qualified professionals.

8. Uncertainty Creates Confusion

It is a sure sign of trouble when you never know who is going to show up to the workplace. High turnover or regular changes to the crew, can be an indicator that perhaps the company is not taking the time to onboard and train their team adequately. When you continuously work with new cleaners, quality and service will be inconsistent. Experienced, long term staff who know the nuances of their role are worth their weight in gold. When the cleaning company actively seeks our feedback from their clients, then you know you are on a winner.

9. Reckless When It Comes to Security

Cleaners are in a position of trust, as often they can work at night or early in the morning when there is nobody in the building. It is always essential that the cleaner respects security practices prevent the company from being open to safety, security or liability risk. If they don’t follow security procedures, your company may be left vulnerable. 

10. A Pattern of Mistakes

The best companies will have an off day however when a few days become a few weeks then it’s time to reconsider your options. Inconsistency is an issue that sits with the cleaning company and often reflective of bad people processes and insufficient training or poor leadership. When mistakes become a pattern, it is time to give them the boot. If you are getting a consistently inconsistent service, the truth is, you are not getting what you have paid for. 

11. When You Are Left Hanging

Mistakes happen, issues arise. The most important aspect is how the company picks itself up. If the cleaning company does not respond immediately to a question, there is a problem. If they commit to informing you they will take care of the issue and never do, there is a problem. Once an item is raised, steps to remedy it must begin immediately.

The company in good faith should check in with you to ensure the issue is addressed to your satisfaction. A lack of responsiveness is a given indicator. If communication is broken or absent, and you have attempted to resolve the barrier, it is time to seek a new cleaning company.

12. Apathy as the Standard

There is nothing more dangerous in business than an apathetic team. When your cleaning team is wavering in their commitment, then seeing others who are apathetic nudges them in the direction of giving up. Apathy is highly contagious and will impact your services, infect your business, your employees and clients. When people don’t care, it often translates to the perception that the manager does not care as well. When apathy stains the fabric of your business, it is time to nip it in the bud before you have an epidemic on your hands. 

13. High Price, No Quality

Successful companies tend to raise their prices over time and maintain the quality of their service. If your hire charges more and offers nothing besides disappointments in your return on investment, then it is time to rethink and move on to finding the right cleaning solution. 

Building a Mutually Beneficial Partnership

Once you have decided that investing in a new cleaning company is the right direction to keep the office moving forward, then consider arming yourself with the right quality questions to make sound choices in your company. Consider these questions:

How long have you been in business, and what types of clients do you specialize in working with?

• How do you screen your employees?
• How do you onboard your employees?
• What kind of training do you invest in for your staff as part of ongoing professional development?
• How do you inspire and lead your teams?
• What kind of quality control checks do you implement to assure reliability and accountability?
• Are you insured?
• What process is in place when any new or substitute cleaner will know what is expected of them when cleaning our office?
• Will the same cleaner or cleaners maintain the company facility?
• What kind of green cleaning program do you have?
• What system is in place to communicate problems and requirements to your cleaners?
• How can l contact you if l need to report a problem with your cleaners?
• What type of certifications does your company have?

Asking quality questions can take the guesswork out and save you a lot of headaches down the road. A high-quality cleaning company can answer these questions confidently and will demonstrate how their processes and systems support, how they deliver efficient quality service and offer real value.

Hire Cleaning Companies That Meet Your Expectations

A hallmark of a professional cleaning company meets your expectations and involves the company operating with consistency, reliability and communicating regularly.

If your company has an inbox full of complaints, gathering more complaints than compliments, it’s to rethink whether they are the right cleaning company for you. Mistakes happen, and when lousy service becomes the norm, it is time to give the cleaning company the boot.

Looking for a way to manage your office more efficiently? Check out what Eden’s Workplace Management Platform can do for your workplace.