Establishing a Cleaning Schedule for Your Business

When running a business, on top of the many tasks required, you also need to make sure the building is kept clean. The easiest way to do this is to hire a cleaning or janitorial company. But before you do that, you should have an idea of the sorts of services you require and the frequency of those services. 

Some of the duties or services most businesses find a need for include:

• General cleaning: This includes regular janitorial services like dusting, cleaning floors and bathrooms, taking out the garbage, wiping windows, and other general cleaning duties. For businesses with a common kitchen area, it often does not include washing dishes. 
• Carpet cleaning: The janitorial staff vacuums carpets, but it’s also a good idea to have the carpets cleaned with a steam cleaning machine or similar tool. Twice a year is often sufficient, although more frequent cleaning may be required in high traffic areas.
• Hard surface floors: Hard surface floors that require a wax coating need a regular refresh. This can include reapplying wax and buffing the floor, as well as stripping off old wax. Doing this will remove built-up dirt that regular mopping can’t pick up, as well as protecting your floor from damage. Giving your hard surface floors a deep clean every few months will keep them looking good. 
• Window Cleaning: Janitorial staff will clean windows as part of the regular cleaning routine, but this generally does not include the outside windows. For this, you will need to schedule a window cleaning routine. In a highrise or large commercial building, this may be done by the building owner. Both exterior and interior window cleaning should be included in your overall cleaning schedule for smaller offices or corporate facilities. The frequency depends largely on your location, which will affect how quickly dirt builds up on your exterior windows. 

Some other steps of your cleaning process worth considering include removable mats, like the kind often seen in entryways. These mats are used to collect dirt, salt and grime tracked in from the outside. That means they can get pretty dirty. In some areas, companies will pick up and exchange these mats for clean ones regularly. If this option is not available in your area, make sure to have these mats cleaned more often than other carpets. 

Your employees may have specific requests for their offices. Be sure to communicate these desires to your cleaning company. If the request seems unreasonable or is too time-consuming for cleaning staff, tactfully tell your employee that their request cannot be met and they are responsible for cleaning their area. In the kitchen, be clear about what the cleaning company will or will not cover in their list of duties, and make it known to employees that they need to keep the area tidy or clean after any mess they make.

With a clear outline of the duties you would like completed and their frequency, you’re ready to work out a schedule with your cleaning company to keep your professional workplace looking presentable. Be clear in communicating your expectations so that both parties have a clear understanding of what is expected. 

If you’re in need of professional cleaning services, contact our team of experts at The Service Fort.