How to Hire a Janitorial Service
When you own a building or run a business, there are tons of things on your plate that have nothing to do with your primary operations. Cleanliness is a perfect example. Every building has to be consistently cleaned in order to maintain hygiene and sanitation expectations. In reality, most people don’t have the extra time for this and need to rely on a janitorial service.
This is something foreign to many business and building operators, but it’s important to learn a few things in order to make good decisions and find the right service provider. Fortunately, this is a well-established industry and you can take a learning shortcut by going through this quick list of tips. These tips will help you think about how to hire the right service and what you can expect from the process along the way.
Consider Cleaning Services
Before you can hire the right janitorial service provider, you need to figure out which services are important to you. Every building has its own set of needs, and it’s important to go through those before you even think about signing a contract.
A few questions can get your wheels turning. Do you have publicly accessible bathrooms? Do you need bathroom stocking in addition to cleaning? Do you have a kitchen area? Do you ever need surface sanitization? What is your waste removal plan? Do you need cleaning available during business hours or exclusively after hours?
Janitorial services are varied, and knowing what you’re looking for will help you weed out the wrong service providers quickly. If you aren’t completely sure about what services are right for your building, talk to some janitors or service providers. They can help you focus your search pretty quickly.
Compare Costs
This is the same for any business decision. When you need to make a purchase or commit to a contract, you have to do a cost analysis and compare costs from various providers.
For janitorial services, you’re looking at the cost of each of the services that are important to you and your building. As you get deeper into these costs, you might determine that it’s ok to forgo regular kitchen cleanings in order to free up funds for window cleanings. There are tons of small choices you can make during this process that allow you to optimize your service package. That’s the goal for this step. You’re getting information in order to pursue a janitorial agreement that provides what you want within your budget.
Check Credentials
By the time you have compared costs from service providers, you’ll have one or more of them in mind to take care of your building. Before you jump in, check their credentials. Naturally, it should be an accredited business. That matters, but the more important issue is liability insurance. We have all seen “caution wet floor” signs. That’s because certain cleaning services can increase the risk of accidents and/or injuries. It’s important to know how liability is covered in these cases before any work begins.
Similarly, you need to know how they can cover damages they may unintentionally cause in the course of their work. You would never assume your janitorial service providers are going to cause damage, but it’s a human endeavor, and mistakes and accidents do happen. You can find out how such incidents are covered by asking a potential cleaning company about their liability policies.
Vet the Company
At this point, you have found one or more service providers that can do the work. They are insured and can provide a service package that you like. The final step is to vet them as a business. This is where you ask for referrals and check reviews.
More importantly, you can have conversations with the company in mind. Visit their site. Review their customer service policies. Talk to a manager. The goal is to get to know them as much as you reasonably can. You’re checking to see if they are a good fit for you on a cultural and customer service level. If you think they will take good care of you and work well with you, then that’s great. If you have reservations, you have to decide if it’s worth paying a little more or sacrificing some services to go with a company that makes you feel more comfortable.
Ultimately, if you do your due diligence, you will be able to find a qualified janitorial service provider in your area. There are many good options to choose from. If you want to jump-start your search, check out Zeppelin Cleaning Services. You can call us today. We’ll discuss your building and needs and explain how our service packages work. You might find that this process doesn’t have to be challenging, and you can benefit from great janitorial services as soon as you’re comfortable getting started.