Reasons to Fire your Janitorial Service

August 21, 2014

Even the word “fire” can conjure some uncomfortable feelings among employers and employees alike – there’s nothing enjoyable about firing or being fired. Nevertheless, there comes a time in almost every manager’s professional life where an employee or employment contract needs to be terminated. So how do you know when it’s time to fire your janitorial service? As is the case with any professional relationship, you’re likely to have problems with your janitorial service from time-to-time. Maybe you need to remind them to remove the garbage or draw their attention to a spot they neglected to clean, but you’re not likely to fire them over these types of problems. The following are the top reasons to fire your janitor.

Staffing Issues

Major issues like incompetent employee screening, hiring illegal workers, illegal pay practices, and other questionable business decisions are valid reasons to fire your janitorial service. Not only do you open yourself to legal and liability problems, but you don’t want to work with a company that cuts corners in these ways. More importantly, when staff feel undervalued, they are likely to suffer from poor morale and motivation, so they’re not likely to do the best job.

Poor Communication

While you probably won’t fire your janitorial service for neglecting a task on the rare occasion, their responsiveness to your complaints and concerns is important. They should have a clear system in place for dealing with customer concerns, but if response time is excessively long, move along. You want to have good and open lines of communication with all the contractors you employ.

Consistency

Janitorial services really need to be consistent. When you first meet with potential cleaners, you likely drew up a cleaning contract that clearly stipulates what tasks need to be done and when. You also likely laid out expectations about the quality of the work too. Ultimately, you want to get what you pay for, so if your janitorial service is not meeting your needs, it’s probably time to fire them.

Apathy

You can learn a lot from a janitorial contractor just from the way they treat you and their employees. They’re constantly treating their staff poorly, they are unresponsive to your communications, and their cleaning is inconsistent – maybe they just don’t care about you or your business. If it seems like your janitor just doesn’t care about properly cleaning your facility or ensuring you’re satisfied with you’re work, a timely “you’re fired!” is in order.

Finding the Right Janitorial Service

Of course, many of the problems above can be avoided by taking special care to hire a quality janitorial service. Ask friends and colleagues for referrals, and always ask potential cleaners for references. Read our post What to Look for in a Janitorial Company. Meet with all short-listed candidates to discuss your cleaning needs and the services you offer. Also, avoid long-term commitments and contracts that you can’t get out of if the janitor isn’t up to snuff.