Office Cleaning Is Critical for a Safe Reopening
Thorough office cleaning has always been a high priority for most businesses, but it has grown even more critical during the past 18 months. As more workers are back from remote positions, office cleanliness is vital to keep employees healthy and restart operations officially.
According to a study by Openworks, workers are emphatic that office buildings need to be cleaned and disinfected daily. The report shows that in December 2020, 62% of employees want to see daily cleaning and disinfecting vs. 56% in May 2020. The study also showed that 76% of employees say it is essential to use commercial cleaning providers trained and certified in disinfecting.
With the pandemic still on everyone’s mind, office cleaning is more vital than ever. Having clusters of office workers mixing and sitting beside each other can invite all types of illnesses and community spread, such as bacteria, germs, and viruses. If your office isn’t regularly maintained, it can attract all kinds of bugs and other unwanted issues.
But where to begin to ensure your office is as clean as it can be?
What Does Office Cleaning Entail?
The size of your building and the number of employees you have will determine what cleaning tasks you will need.
Comprehensive office cleaning by a professional cleaning company should consist of:
- Dusting and wiping down desks and other reachable surfaces
- Cleaning office furniture, computer modules, and mirrors
- Wiping mirrors and glass fixtures
- Polishing glass and waxing wood
- Mopping floors
- Wiping down door handles and light switches
- Vacuuming rugs and curtains
- Dusting plants;
- Removing waste, garbage, and recycling items
After the regular maintenance is complete, the team will move to deep clean the facility. This phase is one of the toughest jobs to accomplish. Trained cleaners go after dirty areas by using hot water and approved detergents. Usually, these areas encompass the office’s kitchen, bathrooms, high-traffic areas, and door handles.
Cleaners will scrub, polish, and disinfect all these areas, including washbasins, sinks, toilet seats, mirrors, door handles, and towel racks. The cleaning crew can’t miss all of the gadgets and electronics, including computer monitors, mousepads, telephones, and lampshades. This process must include office carpet cleaning to remove dirt from shoes and boots, among other residues.
Now that you are aware of what pro office cleaning entails, let’s review some of the common pricing models.
Related: 8 Reasons to Find the Best Carpet Cleaning Commercial Services
What Will It Cost to Have the Office Cleaned?
A significant part of your decision to use a professional office cleaning service will be the cost. Ultimately, pricing depends on the size of your building and how much you ask them to do. While you might be tempted to choose the cleaning service with the lowest price, you might also get lower quality service.
In the end, you might ask yourself: what’s more important? A job well-done or saving a few bucks? It is possible to price office cleaning in a number of ways.
Fixed price
Some commercial cleaning firms offer a fixed price based on the square footage of the facility. This might sound enticing, but beware that these firms can be a one-size-fits all model instead of looking at your particular layout and number of employees. This type of pricing means that the cleaning team might rush through your facility and sacrifice quality over speed.
Tiered price
In this scenario, a firm offers a basic, standard, or premium package—depending on the amount of services you choose. This type of plan allows you to define the amount of hours per week in which your office will be cleaned.
Custom price
There are firms that will give you personalized quotes to clean your building. These quotes will explain exactly what you are getting and when the job will be performed. It allows you to learn about the firm’s experience, knowledge, and service that will benefit your business.
For a more personalized experience, choose a recognized firm with custom pricing methods, to make sure your office will be spotless, at the best price, while covering your unique needs.
Why Is a Professional Commercial Cleaning Service Better than Your Own Janitorial Team?
You may be asking yourself: “Why do we need to hire an outside firm when our own employees can do the cleaning ?” The answer lies in the professionalism provided by an external office cleaning service. If you use your own janitorial staff, they might not have all of the equipment, supplies, expertise or staff to do a complete job.
On the other hand, reputable cleaning companies are knowledgeable about which cleaning solutions to use, what works best on certain surfaces, and what shouldn’t be used.
No matter the size of your business, employees are expecting it to be clean and safe. A recent poll of 500 U.S. business owners conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife found that eight in 10 business owners are planning to make changes to promote safety in their workplaces and nearly half plan to increase their cleaning or disinfection efforts. A professional team can guarantee a job well done on this project.
Related: An Office Cleaning Checklist Is a Must for a Consistent Clean
What Is the Best Way to Find a Trustworthy Office Cleaning Services Provider?
If you’ve decided to use an outsourced office cleaning service, how do you find a trustworthy partner? First, you can check online for commercial cleaning services near your address and see what appears on the list. You will see what services they offer and what pricing plans they have in place.
It’s important to read the online reviews and check out what other businesses have to say and how they rate the cleaning company. Find out how long the company has been in business and if they are licensed and bonded?
Another source to check is your local Better Business Bureau. You can learn if customers have negatively reviewed the office cleaning company and how the company responded. At the end of this process, you’ll have a few commercial cleaning firms to interview in person and get a quote. Make sure you get your quote in writing and that it details everything they will do.
When Is the Best Time to Do Your Office Cleaning?
A professional office cleaning company will work with you to schedule the cleaning at your facility at a time that’s convenient for you and your employees. Most prefer to have the work completed at night when the office staff has left for the day. Some business owners prefer to have the cleaning completed on weekends. You should be able to put together a cleaning schedule that causes minimum disruption.
As an employer, it is your responsibility to provide regular office cleaning for your employees and ensure their workplace is clean. As your employees begin to transition back to the office and readjust to working side-by-side with their teams again, they’ll be looking to you to keep the office clean.
Finding the best office cleaning service for your business should be a job in which you take your time and evaluate all of the candidates.
One firm that rises to the top of the list of reputable commercial cleaning services is DTK Facility Services. It is available for routine cleaning to CDC and EPA-approved Covid-19 disinfecting. Houston-based and founded in 1996, DTK offers a trained crew with years of experience that will understand your complete building’s cleaning needs.
Its expert cleaning staff is prepared with all of the resources to do a quality job, including modern equipment, safe and effective cleaning agents, and other cleaning tools and disinfectants. DTK’s expert force of over 1,515 employees provides services for an estimated 30+ million square feet serving four states at over 500 locations. Contact DTK Facility Services to get a custom quote based on your needs for your particular business. Get started today.