Where does a clean facility fit in the overall plan of running an effective business? According to the Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety, there are many benefits to keeping a clean workplace. (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety One of the many benefits is better hygienic conditions leading to improved health, this means less absenteeism in the workplace due to sickness.
With all the benefits that come with keeping a working place clean, it does not seem to even make it into the priority list. Often it is based on how cheap it can be done rather than the quality of service. The process of acquiring cleaning services is almost the same as taking an order at a restaurant. It usually starts with someone calling asking for a quote because they are unhappy with who they are using. (Normally this is a yearly deal because the last several cleaning companies have not performed well, according to them.) Once the walkthrough is done they ask you to drop the quote off or email it. Normally they have at least 3 giving quotes. Once all the quotes are in, they are then discussed & handed over to a decision maker who then decides who to hire. Usually, the decision maker has not personally set down with the candidate to get a clear understanding of what process is used in the cleaning. They just pick and move on until the next time history repeats itself.
Cleaning the right way takes time if you are going to do it right. Some may say the quote is too high and it is not in the budget. Really the time you spend in going through the whole process of hiring a new cleaning company. As well as the time on the phone with the list of things not done and that is if you are able to speak in person to the account manager that oversees your account. Some may even have employees doing some of the things not done. Last but not least paying for a service that is not being done satisfactorily or efficiently or maybe not at all can cost you more. History repeating itself can be very frustrating!
Ways to avoid being a victim of history repeating itself:
- Have all the parties involved (including the decision makers) at the onset and have a list of concerns already written out.
- Have a list of priorities and what is essential.
- Have the candidate provide a list of references. Do your homework and check all references.
- Price should be a concern but it should not be the deciding factor if you want to have a clean business and not changing vendors on a consistent basis.
