Paying for a professional office cleaning service just makes sense for most business owners.  Professional cleaners can usually customize their services to your individual cleaning needs ensuring that office spaces are in optimal condition and allow for better worker efficiency.  Still, if you are paying for a service, you need to have some way to guarantee your needs are being fulfilled.  In many cases, commercial cleaners will provide you with a checklist that determines which services they will provide.  You should consider adapting such a checklist so that you can follow-up with cleaners when certain jobs are not being completed.  The following list of important cleaning services will help you develop your own list that will help you evaluate your cleaning services by allowing you to regularly check what has been done.

Entrance/Reception/Office Areas

• Garbage is removed
• Garbage bags are replaced
• Recycling is removed
• Carpets and mats are vacuumed
• Hard floors are vacuumed and/or mopped with disinfectant
• Office furniture has been vacuumed
• Horizontal surfaces of desks, chairs, tables and other furniture has been dusted
• Horizontal surfaces have been wiped with disinfectant
• Phones and computers are wiped down
• Cobwebs or other signs of insects have been cleaned
• Fingerprints have been wiped clean from light switches and door frames
• Glass doors and windows have been cleaned inside and out
• Brass or chrome work has been polished
• Walls and painted surfaces are spot cleaned
• Litter, bottles, and other debris has been removed from entrances and surrounding property
• Offices have an overall tidy appearance

Toilet/Bathroom Areas

• Toilet paper is stocked
• Hand towels are stocked
• Hand soap is replaced
• Garbage bins are emptied and bags are replaced
• Mirrors are cleaned and polished
• Hand towel cabinets and hand dryers have been wiped
• Stall doors have been wiped with disinfectant
• Toilets and urinals are cleaned and disinfected and wiped dry
• Sinks are cleaned and disinfected
• Bright work is polished
• The tops of mirrors and doors have been dusted
• Counters have been wiped and disinfected
• Bathroom floors are mopped with disinfectant
• Kitchen/Break Room
• Sinks, fixtures, and countertops have been wiped and disinfected
• The stove top and refrigerator surfaces have been cleaned
• The microwave has been wiped inside and out
• Cabinets are dusted and/or damp wiped
• Light fixtures have been wiped to remove
• Tables and chairs have been wiped and disinfected
• Trash cans are emptied and disinfected
• Garbage bags are replaced

Stairs/Elevators

• Litter and garbage has been removed
• Brass and bright work has been polished
• Hard floors have been vacuumed and/or mopped
• Glass or other surfaces in elevators or stairwells have been wiped clean

Keep in mind this is just a basic list of office cleaning requirements.  You’ll want to carefully consider your own office environment and determine which cleaning tasks are most important to you.

When you try to put it into perspective, your office is a place where you spend nearly a third of your time.  For most of us, from Monday to Friday, we spend roughly half of our waking hours in an office so we want it to be comfortable and conducive to work.  Aside from desks, computers, and other office equipment, there are many aspects of an office that should be cleaned regularly in order to maintain a productive working environment.  Regardless of the type of business or industry you’re in, organization is a key to efficiency and accuracy in the workplace; and cleanliness is one important aspect of organization.

So as you can see the benefits of a clean office are closely connected with being successful in your job.  Desks that are swamped with files and papers or to-do lists can make it difficult to maintain focus on the task at hand.  Papers should be stored and filed properly, and work spaces should be kept orderly to ensure an organized approach to the day’s tasks.  But let’s be realistic, not everybody works the same, so not everybody will have a tidy desk.  Nevertheless, there are other benefits of having a clean office that extend beyond the appearance of a few workers’ desks.

First, in many industries, client confidentiality is a major concern.  As identity theft becomes a bigger and bigger problem in today’s technologically advanced societies, companies are implementing strict guidelines with respect to protecting the personal information of clients.  Indeed, a clean office can actually help maintain client confidentiality as it is less likely that important documents will be misplaced, inadvertently disposed of, or misfiled in a clean and orderly office.  Plus, disorder leads to inefficiency.  We can all relate to misplacing an important piece of information and spending valuable time searching for it.  An organized employee with a tidy desk will be less likely to lose important documents or notes and therefore will spend more time on important tasks.

Moreover, many business owners want to ensure workplace cleanliness in order to make a good impression on customers.  When clients or other visitors enter a dirty office, they will likely judge the company so far as to even deem it unprofessional.  On the other hand, a clean and well-maintained office will give the impression of efficiency and productivity.  As much as we learn never to judge a book by its cover, sometimes we can’t overcome our first impressions making it even more important to keep a clean office.

Finally, messy offices can even be hazardous.  Hygiene is important, no doubt, but cluttered offices offer greater potential for risk.  Indeed, it is much easier to identify possible hazards in a clean office than an untidy office.  From trip hazards to chemical spills, the risk of accident or injury is considerably lower in a clean office.

Hiring a commercial cleaning company helps businesses maintain optimal working conditions while presenting their best face to potential clients and employees.  But, what should you expect when hiring a commercial cleaning company?  From the types of services they provide to the manner in which these services are provided, you should set your own expectations so that you can more easily define which and how services are delivered.

Cleaning Expectations

First and foremost, it’s important to realize that not all commercial cleaning companies are created equally.  While some companies have a list of services or packages of services they offer, other companies will provide fully customized cleaning contracts.  As such, you should carefully consider what kinds of cleaning you require so that you can ensure your commercial cleaners can meet your expectations.  Some of the services often offered by professional janitorial companies include:

• Trash and recycling removal
• Vacuuming
• Commercial carpet cleaning
• Floor sweeping, cleaning, and buffing
• Thorough dusting and wiping
• Window cleaning
• Infectious disease control
• Basic site maintenance
• Bathroom cleaning
• Industrial cleaning
• Post-construction cleaning
• General Expectations

As you can see, cleaning companies offer a wide range of services, and before entering a contract with a particular company, you need to determine which services are important to your business.  However, beyond the actual cleaning, there are some important expectations that you should have from your commercial cleaning company.  Communication, value, and consistency are among the most important concerns you should have as a business owner.

• Communication – Communication is a vital component of any relationship, professional or otherwise.  Ultimately, you want to work with a janitorial company whose representatives are available to address your concerns or criticisms in a professional and effective manner.  You should not only have multiple methods of contacting your cleaning company, but you should also be able to develop a good rapport with that company’s representatives.
• Value – Not all cleaning companies are the same.  While some companies offer bargain basement prices, others will be exceptionally expensive.  Essentially, you need to find a company that provides valuable and effective cleaning services at a price you can afford.  If you’re paying for regular cleaning but constantly asking yourself “What did the cleaners even do?” then you need to reconsider cleaning companies.  At the end of the day, it’s important for professional cleaners to provide professional cleaning services at a fair and established price.
• Consistency – Finally, consistency is a key expectation you should have from your cleaning company.  It can be incredibly frustrating when cleaning services fluctuate between excellent and atrocious.  Moreover, many business owners can report that cleaning services are great at the start of a contract, but the quality of work diminishes over time.  It is important that your cleaning company provides consistent cleaning protocols so that your office is always in the best possible condition.

Professional office cleaning companies offer a variety of services, but not all companies are the same.  Even if you compare janitorial services with commercial or office cleaners, you’re likely to find some disparity in the services they provide.  Nevertheless, when hiring a cleaning service for your office, you should have some basic expectations.  Ultimately, you want affordable cleaning services from a reputable company so that you always know that you are getting your money’s worth.

Most cleaning companies will offer individualized cleaning services.  Large office buildings may require top-to-bottom cleaning including services for the bathroom, kitchen, offices, and desk space.  They may require garbage and recycling removed on a regular basis, and floor cleaning is another common service.  On the other hand, smaller companies may require only basic cleaning services such as keeping restroom facilities sanitized and vacuuming common spaces.  Regardless of your specific needs, a quality cleaning company will be able to provide a list of the services they offer and should work with you to develop a contract that meets your needs.

Indeed, most professional cleaning companies will offer a range of basic services including dusting, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping floors, window cleaning, removing trash and recycling, and cleaning bathroom or kitchen areas.  At the very least, you should expect a professional cleaning company to offer these services, but if you require extensive cleaning services such as steam cleaning carpets, washing exterior windows, or confidential document shredding, you’ll need to make sure your company can provide those services.  Most importantly, you’ll want to ensure all your cleaning requirements are covered in your contract.

Fortunately, the best cleaning companies provide additional services, usually for an added cost.  Waxing floors and carpet cleaning are examples of services that are not usually included as standard cleaning, but may be required in many office environments.  As such, cleaning companies will add such services on an as-needed basis.  Similarly, standard cleaning contracts will include the cost of cleaning the inside of windows but not the outside.

Moreover, the frequency of cleanings will vary from contract to contract.  For example, you may work in a paperless office, so you require only bi-monthly recycling, while some larger corporations will want confidential documents removed and shredded on a weekly basis.  The best cleaners will work closely with their clients to work out a customized cleaning schedule that meets all their specific needs.  Whether you require daily, weekly, or monthly cleanings will depend on the nature of your business and the impression you want to make with your clients.

Finally, the most professional cleaning companies will offer regular inspections of cleaners’ work.  While you should also be able to provide information about the quality of the cleaning, you should expect management of the cleaning company to follow up to ensure superior cleaning quality.

The business model of any successful company will focus on increasing profits while limiting costs.  Nevertheless, regardless of the size of your company, there are some expenditures you must be willing to make; and even for the smallest independent business, janitorial services is most likely one of these expenditures.  Fortunately, professional janitorial services help managers and business owners to improve efficiency by providing an optimal working environment, and to create a good impression with current and potential clients.  So what should you expect to pay for janitorial services?

First, it is important to understand that each business will have individualized cleaning needs.  An industrial company will require more advanced cleaning services while a small start-up may need only minor cleaning.  Regardless of your type of business, your budget, and the services you require, you will be able to find a good cleaning company that provides professional janitorial services.  Still, you should spend more time determining which cleaning company can meet your needs rather than simply searching for the cheapest option.

Janitorial companies that provide surprisingly low estimates will likely skimp on their cleaning services to meet their budget.  In most cases, these cleaners will not maintain your facility to the level they promise, and in many cases the level of cleaning will diminish over time.  Moreover, by hiring the lowest bidder, you actually put your company and staff at risk.  Lowball bidders may employ illegal workers or those with criminal records because they will work for cheap.  Clearly, the quality of the staff as well as the quality of the cleaning job may suffer when you choose janitorial services that are significantly cheaper than the average bid.

So, when it comes to hiring a cleaning company, you want to consider your janitorial service needs, your budget, and the reputation of the cleaning company itself.  Most cleaning companies have a list of basic services available at a standard fee.  If you require specialized cleaning, such as external window cleaning, floor waxing, or industrial cleaning services, you should expect to pay more.  One way to keep your costs reasonable is to get bids from three to five cleaning companies, eliminate the most and least expensive bids and meet with remaining companies.  By seeking cost figures from multiple sources, you’ll get a better idea of what you should expect to spend.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer to the question “what should you expect to pay for janitorial services.”  Simply put, your cleaning needs will not be the same as your competitor, much less the needs of a company in a different industry.  As such, you should carefully consider which services you require and meet with many potential janitorial companies to find affordable and effective cleaning services.