Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Office Cleaners

Running an office can be hectic. It requires consistent attention to office cleanliness and hygiene. Because being unable to do so can impede or slow down the company’s daily operations. These impediments can come in the form of employees getting sick more frequently, accidents caused by work hazards or your staff’s inability to focus on their work – all of which negatively affects their overall productivity.

As a business owner and/or manager, you have two options to avoid these problems. Either outsource professional office cleaning services or hire in-house cleaners. While both options provide solutions, they are not without their own pros and cons. In this post, we aim to break down the advantages and disadvantages of the two and show you why the former is the better option. For more information on commercial cleaning head over to CIC Facility Services.

Advantages of Outsourcing Office Cleaners

• It’s cheaper
  Hiring contractors is cheaper, in that it allows you to save up to 25% than hiring your own office cleaners. One reason is that most cleaning companies offer tailored cleaning services. This enables them to work within your budget and provide you only with the services that you need. This option, then, allows you to have total control on the costs involved, as well on the cleaning resources.

• It saves time and energy
  Moreover, you save more than just money with hiring a reliable cleaning company. This option also allows you to save on the time and energy your human resource team spend in hiring, training, assigning cleaning tasks and monitoring your in-house office cleaners. Instead, your HR staff can focus on more important matters, such as monitoring and evaluating the performance of your other office employees.

• Quality is guaranteed
  Reliable commercial cleaning and office cleaning companies train their staff really well, so they can provide high-quality services to clients. Doing this will enable them to gain a client’s trust and turn them into a loyal customer. When you hire a cleaning company that does this, you are guaranteed to get desirable cleaning results.

  In addition, you’re certain that the cleaners are well-versed in handling complicated cleaning equipment and dangerous products. You’re sure that they know the proper cleaning procedures that will make your office impeccably cleaned inside out. More importantly, you can be confident that all your office assets are protected because professional cleaners always follow safety cleaning protocols as they complete their job.

• Expectations are clearly set
  When you hire a professional cleaning company, there’ll always be a service-level agreement. This is an agreement that stipulates all the agreed responsibilities and expectations between the provider and the client. It also specifies all the services that the former agrees to supply to the latter.

  This type of agreement can be legally binding. It, thus, enable you to come after your service provider should they fail to meet your expectations. Moreover, having an SLA on paper allows you to inspect their work regularly with ease.

  This may not be the case with having in-house cleaners. Sure, you can provide them with a checklist that specifies all their cleaning tasks. But you can’t be 100% sure it will be followed. An even when they provide low-quality cleaning, firing them and hiring new staff will be tricky as the entire process take too much time and resources.

• The service is consistent
  Outsourcing office cleaners gives you the guarantee that the service will be consistent. Even when some of their staff become ill or don’t show up for work, you’ll still the service you require at the specified time. That’s because cleaning companies have enough people to cover the cleaning jobs their company takes – even when one of them goes MIA.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing Office Cleaners

• Communication can be tricky
  Cleaning companies tend to work for numerous clients and big companies. Hence, communicating your concerns and requirements as a client to the head office can be tricky. You’ll most likely experience this with companies whose goal is only to complete the job, take your money and move on to the next clients.

  To overcome communication problems, you should choose a cleaning company that efficiently communicates with their clients. There are many reliable companies that take the time to listen and use customer feedback to improve the service they deliver.

• Security can be compromised
  Hiring office cleaners from the outside puts your business at great risk. Doing so is practically letting strangers into your office and granting them access to offices files and equipment. These people may commit theft or they may cause damages within your business space.

  To avoid compromising your business’ security, your chosen cleaning service provider should prove that they are trustworthy. They can do this by presenting proof that their company is fully insured. Their staff should have police checks too, as well as evidence that they’ve been background checked. The cleaning company should also have proof that their cleaners are trained and qualified to provide the services you require.

• Cleaning practices may differ
  When you have in-house cleaners, you have total control over the cleaning methods you want to implement in your office. This may not be true with contracted office cleaners as they have cleaning practices that are different from yours. Even when you specify your preferred method, they may be unable to provide it to you.

In these cases, you need to find a cleaning provider that specialises in the cleaning method that you require. This also is one reason why reliable cleaning companies conduct site inspections before accepting a cleaning job. They take the time to understand your needs and preferences in order to provide a relevant service. Hiring specialised cleaning services ensures that your business operations won’t be disrupted and that your cleaning specifications will be followed to the letter.

While hiring professional office cleaners offers a lot of benefits, it is not without drawbacks. But, as you can see, the advantages outnumber the drawbacks. Also, the drawbacks mentioned are only most likely to happen when you find an unreliable cleaning company to hire. Finding a reliable, honest and professional office cleaning service provider is, therefore, crucial for your business.