CONTRACT CLEANING
WHAT OFFICE STAFF WANT
Tackling office cleaning with regular, contracted services seems like the simple answer to a company’s cleaning needs, but CleanSafe Services believes the real key to success is in finding out what’s important for the office staff working there.
In a survey of office workers, 86% said that office cleaning was very important to them (answering eight or above on a scale of one to ten). With that in mind, it should be clear that the old adage of ‘the customer is always right’ still stands when it comes to contract office cleaning.
If a business wishes to retain their contracts, it pays to know what office staff themselves expect and prioritise in their own minds. Of those who were asked ‘which area of the office do you think is the most important to be clean?’ more than half said that toilets were the key area for them, so it stands to reason that this should be an area of focus for cleaners.
Many of the respondents’ other grievances came from desks not being cleaned properly, with dust and coffee stains among the things people want to see wiped away on a regular basis. However, it’s interesting to note that some respondents believed communal areas were more important, stating they could clean their own desk.
The issue of personal responsibility comes up on several occasions in the survey, but far from this releasing cleaners of their responsibility, it should be capitalised upon. By providing the materials for staff to clean up after themselves – toilet brushes in every cubicle, clean
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sponges at kitchen sinks, absorbent paper towel and disposable wipes – cleaners can make their own daily tasks easier, but also improve the service they provide.
Just over half (55%) of respondents also felt that the replenishment of janitorial supplies, including soaps, toilet rolls and hand towels, was something their cleaning staff should be responsible for. These simple items appear to be an easy win for cleaning staff, helping office workers maintain general hygiene throughout the office.
WHICH TASKS SHOULD
BE PRIORITISED? Horror stories of bugs and viruses making their homes on surfaces are well worn, but there is truth in the scaremongering. There have been plenty of studies performed in recent years which highlight how germs spread and contaminate offices, with the following areas as key offenders: • Door handles • Telephones • Keyboards • Taps • Microwave handles
Many respondents in the survey showed a concern for hygiene when it came to their phones, keyboards and computers, showing that people’s priorities are quite well aligned with the areas which pose the most threat.
It’s a delicate balance to strike in an office. No contracted cleaner can be so invasive as to clean absolutely everything each day – there are too many varying factors involved for this – but no office worker should be expected to continually fend for themselves when it comes to hygiene if they employ contract cleaners.
What should be taken away from this is the fact that collaboration and the management of expectations should be the aim of the game. By arranging what cleaning tasks will be performed on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, the load can be spread out on your team.
Regular consultation should be taken with office staff or designated representatives in order to establish any points in the office which require extra or renewed attention. Not only will this approach allow for clearer communication, it should help cleaners to provide the most responsive services possible.
If you can adjust your vision to focus on how you can best cater to the needs of each individual office space, as opposed to simply cleaning every space in a general manner, you will no doubt see relationships improve, along with standards.
www.cleansafeservices.co.uk Tomorrow’s Cleaning | 35
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