A successful school has knowledgeable teachers, happy students, and a learning environment that’s safe and clean. To keep up with high standards of cleanliness, some schools recruit and hire their own janitorial staff. Other schools choose to outsource their janitorial duties to a commercial cleaning company. School staff are busy and budgets are often tight as it is. Let’s look at how outsourcing your school’s janitorial services can be an efficient money-saving strategy.
Outsourcing Your School Janitorial Services is the Smart Choice
Outsourcing your school’s janitorial services makes life easier for your school administration and staff. Recruiting and training an internal janitorial staff takes a tremendous amount of time and money, which stretches the resources of most schools. Instead, it makes sense to opt for an external team who can adapt easily to your district’s requirements, and the cleaning requirements set forth by the Department of Education. Furthermore, your school can benefit from the space and cost savings associated with keeping cleaning supplies and equipment on site.
Avoid Recruitment and Other Added Costs
School districts are bound by tight budgets which need to cover a multitude of areas, from teacher salaries and school supplies to outdoor play equipment and technology. Included in the long list of budgeted requirements is a school’s janitorial services. While the cost of external services may seem high at first glance, outsourcing your school’s cleaning services will allow administrators to stretch the budget so more needs can be met.
Related: Why a Cleaning Company With Employees is the Best Choice For Your Business
Selecting, hiring, and training an internal janitorial team creates many direct and indirect costs. In fact, new benchmarking data reveals that it costs on average $4,700 to recruit a new employee—money that your school could use elsewhere in ways that can directly impact your students’ educations.
Some of the direct costs associated with hiring an internal team include job adverts, for example. Indirect costs relate to the time your HR or administration team devotes to finding the right candidates and vetting them to work in schools.
Once you’ve got a qualified janitorial team, the spending doesn’t stop. Over time, members of your staff may leave, which will require your administration to recruit, train, and hire new employees. All the time and costs of this hiring cycle can be avoided by outsourcing your school’s janitorial staff.
Professional janitorial businesses conduct their own hiring process, and they train their employees so each team member has the knowledge and skills to successfully clean and disinfect your school. Typically, professional cleaning companies train their employees in practices recommended by the CDC and in areas like:
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Floor and Carpet Cleaning
- Hazardous Materials
By outsourcing your janitorial services, your staff can rest easy, knowing that your cleaning crew is already fully equipped with the tools they need to get the job done well.
Full-time employees also receive salaries and benefits that a school may not be able to offer. By opting for a professional cleaning service, your school has the freedom to select a company that offers a price point you’re comfortable with, and they’ll take care of providing benefits for their staff members.
Avoid Staffing Issues
A school building sees hundreds of children and adults pass through its doors each day, and it’s essential that the building remains clean, tidy, and germ-free. A school administration may only have room for one or two janitorial staff members at a time, and when one is sick or absent, it can be difficult to scramble and find a replacement. Substitute janitors may not have the right training, and they certainly won’t know your cleaning schedule. This can lead to subpar work in a building that requires the highest sanitation each day.
By outsourcing your janitorial services, you can rest assured that a professional team will be on-time with the skills and directives needed to make sure your school is successfully cleaned each day, according to the schedule. They’ll account for sick and vacation days, and the professional cleaning company will take care of staffing issues, so you don’t have to worry about it.
Conserve Storage Space
Cleaning a school takes a lot of equipment and supplies, and schools already have limited space. When you hire and manage your own cleaning crew, you’re responsible for storing all the equipment and supplies on-site. It’s also important to keep these supplies locked away and out of reach from the hundreds of children who walk the halls each day.
You’ll also have to maintain inventory on your janitorial staff’s supply levels, so you can manage and order cleaning supplies as needed. The time, cost, and space needed to manage these supplies simply aren’t worth it.
Professional cleaning companies have extensive knowledge of cleaning supplies, their uses, and the correct concentrations for various cleaning methods. Their teams know which concentrations to use in specific environments and how to store supplies safely. An in-house team could acquire the same knowledge, but training new and existing staff on these methods can be tedious and ongoing, and can be a burden for an already-busy administration.
Professional cleaning services typically have relationships with vendors who offer cleaning products at reduced prices. This ensures that they’ve always got the right cleaning products on hand, and your administration won’t have to worry about shopping, storing, or stocking a single cleaning supply all year.
Outsourcing your janitorial services means your school can devote all its time, money, and facilities toward educating the next generation. There is no need for your school to provide a secure cleaning closet or lose out on storage space that can be better used for other supplies.
Eliminate Liability Issues
Although it may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to school janitorial services, it’s still very important. Most professional cleaning companies are fully insured. That means that if a piece of cleaning equipment or school equipment breaks, you won’t be held liable. Instead, the cleaning company will make sure the item is replaced.
When you hire and manage your own janitorial staff, all liability remains the responsibility of the school. This means that if one of your hired janitors breaks a piece of equipment while they are cleaning, the school’s insurance will be required to pay for it. Aside from the cost, this also requires your administration to file the necessary paperwork, which takes time away from more important duties.
How to Start Outsourcing Janitorial Services
Is it time to outsource your school’s janitorial team? There are certainly numerous benefits to having a team of experts on your side. Outsourcing successfully depends on finding the right contractor to work with.
Look For an Experienced Professional Cleaning Company
School cleaning is not as straightforward as cleaning office spaces. Kids tend to be messier than office workers, schools are filled with high-traffic areas, and countless spaces can be difficult to clean—bathrooms, lockers, cafeterias, classrooms, gyms, and changing rooms are just some of them. In fact, some of the germiest places in a school include such areas as desks, bathroom doors, cafeteria trays, drinking fountains, and school supplies.
Related: What is the Average Cost of Cleaning Services For a School?
An experienced, knowledgeable contractor will know what places need the most attention, and they’ll take them into account when carrying out their duties. That way, their team will ensure the germiest places are thoroughly cleaned, along with the rest of the school.
Shop Around and Get Quotes From Several Companies
Before settling on a specific contractor, it is worth approaching several companies to ask them to provide a quote for the job. Professional cleaning companies offer services at a range of price points and also offer a variety of services.
Generally speaking, the most reputable commercial school cleaning companies will suggest a site visit. Seeing the inside of your building will allow them to understand your specific needs and requirements better, and your administration will get a chance to show them around and describe your needs and expectations in detail. As a result, their quoted price will be better tailored to your school’s requirements and will result in a contract that you’re comfortable with.
Pay Attention to A Business’s Reputation
When you are searching for a reputable contractor, it’s important to check their track record. Leading companies invest in staff training and retain their employees for long periods of time. Just as much as in other professions, working in specialist cleaning can be a rewarding career.
By outsourcing your school janitorial team, you ensure your students and staff are looked after by dedicated experts. When interviewing different cleaning companies, ask questions about how they train their staff, what their hiring process is like, and whether they conduct background checks. It’s also important to check online to see what previous customers have to say about their experiences with each company.
Outsource Janitorial Services and Save Big
By outsourcing your school’s janitorial services, your school’s administration can save time, money, space, and mental energy. DTK Inc. has been a leading professional cleaning service for over 25 years, with a focus on integrity, quality, and dependability. With over 1,500 employees, we’ll assign a team to work closely with your school to ensure that it’s clean and safe for your students every single day. If you’re interested in learning more about our high-quality school cleaning services, get in touch today and contact us for a custom quote.