While your building or business may already have a cleaning service, as businesses everywhere look for ways to improve, this may be one area to examine. Do you know the right “bottom line questions” to ask? Here are some important ones:
- OSHA Compliance. If the contractor isn’t compliant, YOU might be held responsible for liability to injuries to cleaning workers or tenants.
- Performance Guarantees. While “guaranteed clean” might seem a hard-to-define concept, a real professional can provide you with a guarantee of performing specific functions to a specific level. That shows their confidence in meeting your expectations.
- Realistic Cleaning Specifications. You and your contractor should mutually agree on what “quality” means, and what it will cost. If the price seems too good to be true, it usually is.
- Crew Selection. How are they trained? How are they supervised? You’ll have to depend on your contractor to screen and hire good people, train them, and provide supervision and direction. Ask for background information on who will be supervising in your building.
- Uniformed Employees. Cleaning crews will access every part of your building, often when no one else is around. Having uniforms will help assure your tenants and provide better security.
- Keeping Good Employees. A dependable contractor will have training and motivational programs to retain trained people…so your building won’t suffer from continual “new training problems.”
- Good Communication. The contractor will need to communicate with you, and perhaps with all your tenants. Make sure it is someone you CAN talk to and build understanding and trust. If you want the best quality, get involved and provide feedback to a contractor.
- Respecting the Environment. Today’s business world demands an account of how wastes are disposed or recycled. Your cleaning contractor should be able to help with both.