Janitorial
Many businesses struggle with janitorial solutions, meaning that it can be very difficult to find the right building maintenance provider for your specific needs. By doing some research and investing some time and resources you can find the building maintenance that will keep your space looking great.
As a business or building owner you probably know that there are a lot of office cleaning and building maintenance services to choose from, but that doesn’t mean that they are all the right company for you. When you go about looking for janitorial solutions you will want to take your time and choose the company that is right for you. Ask questions of each of the services that you consider, and if you don’t get the answers that you want, why not keep looking for a service that will provide you with the janitorial solutions that you need? You’ll be glad that you took a bit more time in the end because you’ll get what you want and need without the hassle of having to deal first with people that don’t know what they are doing or simply cannot meet your needs or standards.
So many business and building owners assume that having some sort of service is better than having no service, but they quickly find that this is simply not true! If you get an inexperienced office cleaning service in your building you might find that the hassles and the stress that they cause are worse than having a less than tidy building! Simply take your time, do some research, and be sure that the building maintenance providers that you choose have the reputation, references, and credentials that they need to provide you with the services that you need.
Even if you are new to owning a business or building you probably have a good idea of what you want and need from a janitor or those that provide you with your building maintenance. You should take some time to really sit down and think about what you want and need. Make a list of the things that you will absolutely need a service to provide you and then other things that you don’t necessarily need but would be really nice. When you speak with or meet with office cleaning and building maintenance companies or services be sure that you have these lists with you so you can let them know what you are looking for. Be sure that your requests are reasonable, and if you find that a company cannot provide you with what you are looking for it’s wise to simply keep looking. It’s a good idea to speak with at least three to five different providers to get an idea of what is out there.
When you have made this list and you are speaking to these companies or individuals on the phone or in person you need to read down the list of the office cleaning or building maintenance needs and expectations and get a response from the individual that you are speaking with to ensure that they have the ability to provide you with these items. If you can, draw up a simple contract that says what you need done and how often and have the manager or owner of the business sign the contract so you can fall back on that if services are not done as needed later on down the road.
As your business has grown you may have worked with small janitor companies or individuals and this is appealing because it can save you a lot of money. The problem with these individuals is that they can also cost you money. You want to work with an office cleaning staff that is licensed to do business in your country, state, city, and county. This is important because if the company or individual is not licensed they likely are not insured or bonded! What’s the big deal? The problem is that an uninsured janitor might get hurt while mopping, and when they fall they want you to pay for their medical care and if you don’t they can actually sue you! You might trust your janitor or office-cleaning providers, but you never know what is going to happen when someone gets hurt and doesn’t have the money to pay their own medical bills.
Insured providers of janitorial solutions can come to your building or business, clean it, and if they get hurt they have their own insurance and bond to turn to. This takes you completely out of the loop, at the most you might have to make a statement about what happened, but you will not be liable for the medical bills. If you have someone on your property performing duties for you and they get hurt and do not have an insurance company, in most districts you will be considered liable. Don’t take this chance, instead you should strive to work with office cleaning and building maintenance providers that can provide proof that they are insured and bonded.
When you are interviewing candidates to provide you with building maintenance you will want to ask about experience. Experience is not everything, but it does count. If you interview five different companies and they all have about the same prices but four of them have 1-year experience and the other has 25 years experience, you may want to weigh the experience more heavily than everything else. While lack of experience is not something that should keep you from doing business with what seems like an otherwise qualified janitor, if you have the choice, those that have been in the business for awhile are usually a great option.
The reason that experience counts when providing janitorial solutions is that businesses and individuals get more efficient and effective as they go along. Think about how much more efficient your business has become since its conception, would you rather work with someone who is as efficient as you are now or as efficient as you were when you were a new company? You’ll likely choose to work with the efficient service that you are now, right? This is especially true if you can get the benefit of experience for the same price as inexperience.
If you meet someone who wants to provide you with janitorial solutions for your home or your business and you click on a personal and professional level, that is great! One thing that you may not want to overlook is the opportunity to ask the individual for references. As much as we all like to trust people that we work with, references are the only way that we can truly get a glimpse into the integrity and abilities of a janitor or office-cleaning provider. The fact of the matter is, there are some really nice people out there that run building maintenance and office cleaning businesses that just aren’t good at what they do!
In the course of any interview, it’s a good idea to ask for three to five references. This will allow for you to contact past or present clients of the janitorial solutions provider and see what their impression has been and how satisfied they have been over time. Most janitors will be able to provide you references, both personal and professional, with their resume and will be ready for you to request them. If they cannot give you any references you might want to be very careful about working with the person and at least take your time interviewing the individual to be sure that they really are someone that you can trust with the cleanliness and overall appearance of your office or building.
It’s important to remember that you will need to build a relationship with your building maintenance and office cleaning providers. The reason for this is that you need to be able to openly communicate about what you need, what is being done well, and what could be done better. You need to be able to set standards and approach the company if they are not meeting your standards. Building a relationship with the company or individual providing your janitorial solutions is especially important because you may have to trust them to be in your office or building after hours.
Many individuals find it useful to have a preliminary period of time where the janitor arrives at the office around closing times and performs their duties while you are in the office and can oversee the services that they can provide. Over time, when trust has been built, the schedule can be changed so that the services are performed when no one is in the building. This takes time for many building and office owners because it does require trust. For this reason, it’s a good idea to build a relationship with your service providers right out of the gate so that you can build those relationships and have all of your services performed at a time that is most convenient for you, your clients, and your employees or tenants.
Many office and building owners have two different services, one which provides the office or building with all of the janitorial solutions needed and the other that provides basic building maintenance such as touching up paint, replacing light bulbs, and other maintenance issues. A great way to save money on these services is to find a company that will provide you with all of your maintenance and janitorial needs in one! Office cleaning and building maintenance is often provided by the same individuals, and this is great for many office and building owners because everything can be done at one time. If an office is clean it really doesn’t matter much if all of the lights are out because your building maintenance service cannot get to your place until next week. When you roll of all these services into one you will find that you get better service, you have just one bill to pay, and you don’t have to build relationships with multiple service providers. If you cannot find a full service provider that will do building maintenance and office cleaning you might still be really satisfied, but generally it’s easier if you can get all of your services from one place!
When you interview different janitors and office cleaning companies you will likely find that they have a specific way of doing things. This is often nice because they can give you a list of what will be done each time they visit your office or building so you will know what to expect. While this works for some people it’s important to remember that because you are paying for the janitorial solutions that you can provide your input and let people know if their systems will work for you or not. Most companies are more than willing to listen to what you need and create an office cleaning plan that is specific to your office or building. If the company or individual is not willing to consider what you need or change their plan it’s generally a good idea to seek help elsewhere.
Be sure to provide your personal input, as this sets a standard for the building maintenance and office cleaning service that you employ. While you might feel a bit uncomfortable telling someone how to do his or her job, it’s your job to ensure that you get what you need from your janitor! If you don’t set the standard you might be really disappointed with the service that you receive.
There is a lot that goes into finding the right janitorial solutions for your office or building. It’s important to remember that you are never stuck with one office cleaning company or another. If one company is not working for you, simply find another that seems more appropriate or well fitting. There are a lot of different janitorial solutions out there, and there is no doubt that you will be able to find one that fits your needs perfectly. If you have unique needs, you simply need to work with a company or individual that is willing to provide you with your office cleaning and building maintenance on your terms. You may have to pay a bit more for unique services that you require, but in the long run you really do get what you pay for!