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Category: janitorial


How to Budget Janitorial Services

June 20th, 2017 — 9:42pm

Given the variety of janitorial services on offer, the range of companies offering services, and the types of consumers seeking these services, accurately estimating janitorial costs can be very challenging.  By extension, it is also very difficult for business owners to budget for janitorial services when they initially seek them.  In fact, sometimes janitorial companies themselves struggle to properly price their services.  So how do you go about budgeting for professional cleaning?

Know Your Needs

First and foremost, it’s important to have a clear picture of what you need as far as janitorial services are concerned.  Depending on the type of facility being cleaned, janitorial costs can vary significantly.  The size of the space, the type of flooring, the types of rooms being cleaned, special cleaning services, and whether you need indoor and/or outdoor services are all factors that your janitorial company will need to know before accurately estimating cleaning costs.  Even factors such as the number of people who use your facility can impact cleaning costs as more people create more trash and require more amenities (such as toilet paper and hand soap).

Honesty is the Best Policy

If you require special cleaning services or you already know that there are some difficult asks for any janitorial company, be up front about this when contacting potential cleaners.  For example, if your facility handles hazardous waste, your janitorial service providers need to know so that they can provide safe and effective services.

Get Quotes

Before you begin budgeting for janitorial services, seek quotes from reputable professionals in your area.  Contacting a few local companies to provide quotes for the cleaning services you need will give you a good idea of the range of costs.  Ideally, you’ll also want to arrange for site visits from your list of prospective janitors.  A site visit is fundamental for an accurate quote, so if you speak with a janitorial company that offers a quote site-unseen be wary.  A thorough site visit will also help you better understand your cleaning needs as reputable professionals will make recommendations for services based on their inspection of your facility.

Communication is Key

Ultimately, each business owner will have unique cleaning needs related to the nature of the business and each janitorial professional will offer unique services related to their area of expertise.  Effective communication and written, signed contracts ensure that you receive the highest quality services on a budget you can manage.  Be clear about your expectations and listen carefully to what the professional is willing and capable of providing.  And remember to always put any cleaning contract in writing so that if problems arise you have a legal document to reflect on and protect your rights as a business owner.

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Hiring a Janitorial Company

May 23rd, 2017 — 10:53pm

As a business owner, you likely know how important it is to maintain your work environment.  Whether you want to ensure the health and safety of your staff or you want to make a good impression for your customers, cleaning services are an important (if not overlooked) aspect of running a business.  So, when it comes to hiring a janitorial company, what do you need to consider?  From the reputation of the company and their cost of services to references and services provided, there are many factors to think about before hiring a janitorial company.

The Janitor’s Reputation

Ultimately, when you are hiring any professional to provide a service, you likely want to consider how long that service provider has been in business and their general reputation in your community.  Sure, a start-up can provide excellent services, but it’s more difficult to verify the quality of their work.  On the other hand, hiring an established janitorial company helps you know you are working with a professional that has a satisfied customer base as well as roots in your community.

Dollars and Cents

Ideally, you want to collect bids from a variety of professional cleaning companies serving your company and business type before you make a final decision.  While you probably do not want to hire the lowest bidder, you also don’t want to be taken for a ride financially.  Getting a few bids that are based on a realistic expectation of services delivered will give you a good sense of what is a fair price to pay.  Then you can consider other factors such as the company’s reputation and references before settling on an offer.  As a rule of thumb, remember that the lowest bidder might be low-balling to try to get your business but exceptionally low prices are usually a reflection of poorer services.  Aim to get around 5 quotes, take the average and carefully consider the bids that are closest to that average.

Check References

Always….always…ALWAYS check references before hiring a janitorial company.  If you were interviewing a new employee, you’d check their references and the same should be true for potential cleaning companies.  Any reputable business will be happy to provide you a variety of recent references that can help you to confirm that you’re going to get the quality and variety of services you require at a fair price.  When speaking with the references, try to have a few questions prepared that reflect your needs.  For example, you probably want to know that services were provided on schedule and to a satisfactory level.

Products and Services

Not every business requires the same cleaning services.  Before hiring a janitorial company, create a comprehensive list of all the services you require and your ideal schedule for these services.  Make sure to negotiate carefully with your janitorial company so that you get the cleaning you need when you need it.

Comment » | Commercial Cleaning, janitorial, Janitorial Company, Office Cleaning

Should Your Janitorial Company Have Insurance?

April 21st, 2017 — 6:31pm

Should your janitorial company have insurance?  The short answer is yes.  Indeed, any company that contracts professional services should be insured, but this is especially true of janitorial companies.  In fact, reputable janitorial companies will often be covered by a few different types of insurance including auto insurance, liability insurance, and worker’s compensation insurance – and these are just the industry basics.

Before we discuss these types of insurance and why they are important, let’s discuss why it’s important for you, as a business owner, to conduct business only with a properly insured janitorial company.  Most importantly, remember that your professional cleaners will typically have unrestricted access to your business property even when you are not on site.

Often, when you hire a janitorial company for your cleaning services, this means you defer all responsibilities for cleaning staff to that company.  It can be difficult to ensure trustworthy staff if the janitorial company is not properly insured.  But, never mind the trustworthiness of the staff, you also must consider that cleaning services will be conducted in and around your business equipment which can be very expensive.  Cleaning desks means cleaning around expensive computers and printers, but also important documents and files.  Damage to these items can be very costly and as a business owner you don’t want to be responsible for your cleaner’s potential mistakes.

Even eliminating theft or property damage as potential risks, you should also consider liability for injury.  For example, cleaning floors often means the floors are wet and slippery and should a member of the public slip and fall, liability is a concern.  Likewise, cleaning can be a dangerous job and it’s not uncommon for cleaners to become injured in the course of their duties.  Once again, you do not want to be liable for personal injury either to your own clients, members of the public, or the cleaning staff.

So, as an industry standard, you should expect your janitorial company to carry auto insurance, liability insurance, and worker’s compensation insurance.  Automobile insurance may not be a make or break requirement from your perspective, but in the event that the janitorial company’s vehicles cause damage to your property auto insurance offers peace of mind.  General liability insurance covers you and your janitorial company against injury claims, negligence, and property damage.  So, whether your staff, your clients, or the cleaners become injured or there is damage to your property for any reason, you and your janitorial service provider will be covered.  Finally, worker’s compensation insurance is typically required for any company with hired staff to conduct business and it’s a no brainer.

Ultimately, reputable professional cleaning companies will always be adequately insured.  If you come across a company that cannot verify their insurance coverage, keep looking until you find a company that can.

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How Often Should You Book a Window Cleaning Service?

March 22nd, 2017 — 7:40pm

Do you hate cleaning windows?  As if cleaning interior windows wasn’t a hassle enough (it is!), but really…who wants to spend time cleaning exterior windows?  I can’t think of anybody, except maybe the professionals.  No doubt, cleaning outside windows involves a lot of messing around – you’ve got to drag buckets of water and other cleaning supplies up and down ladders to reach higher level windows.  Not to mention the actual work of cleaning the window.  To make a long story short, cleaning windows is a difficult job that also poses some risk to your safety (hello! Ladders!!).  Plus, as a amateur, you may have noticed how difficult it is to get pristine, streak-free windows.  I’d swear it’s impossible!  So, what can you do?

The answer is simple: hire professional window cleaners and your window-cleaning nightmares are gone.  Window cleaning service professionals have all the skills and tools they need to do the job (interior AND exterior) effectively, efficiently, and most importantly – safely.  When many of us consider the actual cleaning part of windows (i.e. before we’ve even considered hiking up and down ladders with buckets of water, squeegees, and whatever else you’ll need), we probably think – how hard can it be?  Wipe the window, dry the window, job done.  Then if you’ve ever tried to clean your exterior windows, you probably know how painstaking the job can be.  Fortunately, professional cleaners use the right cleaners and equipment to leave your windows clear as glass!

But, how often do you need to have your windows cleaned.  This really depends on a lot of factors.  What is the weather like in your area?  Do you get a lot of rain, snow, or wind?  Is your home surrounded by trees or other sources of debris?  How clean do you like your windows to be?  It may seem strange, but the frequency of window cleanings is a uniquely personal choice.

Nevertheless, most professionals recommend window cleaning services at least once or twice a year for basic home services.  You can even get more bang for your buck and have your interior and exterior windows cleaned at the same time.  As a business owner, you will want to have more frequent cleanings.  Clean windows are an easy way to make your business appear efficient and organized – and no matter how much our mothers tried to teach us not to judge a book by it’s cover, it’s usually the first thing we do.  Professional window cleaning services for businesses should be conducted at least once a month; but once again, that depends on several factors such as dirt, debris, and weather that may cause your windows to become dirty faster.

Comment » | Commercial Cleaning, janitorial, Janitorial Company, Office Cleaning

Eco-Friendly Janitorial Services

February 22nd, 2017 — 8:37pm

The push for green initiatives is apparent in pretty much every business sector and industry.  Reducing or eliminating the harmful impact of human activity on the environment is more than just a fad and we can see the evidence of eco-friendly cleaning services gaining momentum over the past 20 years.  Nevertheless, many people are still uncertain of what eco-friendly janitorial services involve and whether it’s possible to provide the same quality cleaning with green products and procedures.  In fact, green cleaning is efficient, effective, and relatively easy to implement.  So what are eco-friendly janitorial services?

Green Cleaning Products and Supplies

It should come as no surprise that over the past couple of decades a new industry dedicated to the development of green cleaning products and supplies has emerged and is growing in popularity.  Many green products today out-perform conventional products and they are not only safer for the environment they’re safer for people too.  Moreover, many of these eco-friendly products are even more affordable than traditional cleaning alternatives.  As a side benefit, green products often provide better results that last longer.  From recycled paper products to environmentally-responsible hand-wash and sanitizer, floor seals, dishwashing liquid, and microfiber cleaning cloths, there are a wide range of eco-cleaning products that promote a healthier environment.

Whether you are looking for residential or commercial cleaning services, there are always green options available.  In the 21st century, the focus on protecting the environment drives many of the choices we make.  We buy fuel-efficient and energy efficient appliances, we purchase products from companies that address sustainability in manufacturing, and we tend to choose natural alternatives wherever possible.  To this end, even the equipment available for janitorial services is becoming more environmentally friendly.

As we become more and more conscious of sustainability, we also need to consider the manufacturing and distribution of cleaning products and equipment.  This means utilizing products and equipment that are sourced locally, but also come from facilities that promote an environmentally friendly approach.  Truly green cleaning involves a chemical-free, locally sourced approach that ensures the health of the planet and the people who inhabit it.

Potential Services

Ultimately, many of the principles that apply to environmentally-friendly living apply to environmentally-friendly cleaning.  This involves reducing waste, conserving energy, conserving water, and obviously using products that do not contain harsh chemicals.  Arguably, any responsible professional cleaning company should be applying these principles to the services they provide, but this is not always the case.  As such, it’s important as the customer that you seek out professional cleaners that offer green cleaning services.

So, if you’re looking for eco-friendly janitorial services, don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions.  Try to get more information about what approaches your cleaner takes to ensure they offer truly green cleaning.

 

Comment » | Commercial Cleaning, janitorial, Janitorial Company, Office Cleaning

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