The past two years have been difficult for school administrators. Closing schools and home study required quick adjustments. Months later, reopening and operating whilst adhering to stricter guidelines for hygiene and cleanliness added further challenges. As the world is entering yet another phase of the pandemic, it is worth asking whether now is the time to outsource your school janitorial staff to commercial cleaning companies. Working with a contractor has several advantages for schools, their students, and staff.
Why It’s Time to Outsource Your School Janitorial Staff
Outsourcing your school janitorial staff allows your school’s administration to save the time and costs associated with recruitment and ongoing training. An external team makes it easy to adapt to new requirements within the school district. In addition, schools save the space and costs associated with keeping cleaning supplies and equipment.
Avoiding Recruitment Costs
School districts are bound by tight budgets which need to cover a multitude of areas, including janitorial services. Whilst the cost of external services may seem high at first glance, outsourcing this function will allow administrators to make their budgets go further.
Comparing the hourly salaries of in-house school janitors with the cost of professional, commercial school cleaning services, while it may initially seem more or less expensive, does not disclose the full picture. For example, apart from salaries, relying on an in-house team creates recruitment costs.
Selecting, hiring, and training an internal janitorial team creates direct and indirect costs. Direct costs 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.
As time goes on, team members may leave, meaning administrators may almost constantly need to look for new staff. All this time and cost can be avoided by outsourcing your school janitorial staff.
Related: What is the Average Cost of Cleaning for a School?
Easy Adjustment to New Requirements
Keeping schools clean is directly related to student safety. As the past two years have shown, cleanliness goes hand in hand with minimizing the transmission of the coronavirus and other contagious illnesses in schools.
Cleaning and janitorial work no longer mean casually wiping down the main large surfaces. Schools are full of so-called high-traffic areas with often hundreds of students and faculty touching handrails and other surfaces. Keeping those clean and safe requires specific training and knowledge of suitable disinfectants and other cleaning supplies.
By working with an external school janitorial services contractor, you are bringing an expert on board. Commercial school cleaning companies understand the details of government hygiene recommendations and regulations. Like running a school smoothly is the main business of a professional administrator, applying those rules is a contractor’s main business.
As recommendations and requirements change, contractors update their procedures. You benefit from the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are working with highly trained, professional cleaners.
Your faculty, students, and parents can also be sure that their family members are working in a clean, safe, and hygienic environment. Outsourcing your school janitorial staff takes all of those worries away from you as an administrator and lets you focus on other aspects of running your school.
No Need for Supplies and Space
Cleaning equipment and chemicals need to be stored securely, especially in a school environment. Maintaining an in-house janitorial team incurs costs related to ordering and keeping on hand appropriate cleaning supplies. In addition, schools need to provide adequate storage space for these supplies.
Before the pandemic, basic floor cleaners and generic cleaning products may have sufficed. But as the pandemic forced schools to prioritize disease prevention, disinfection has become more important. Janitorial staff now handle stronger chemicals to minimize infections.
Professional school cleaning contractors have been trained extensively in the use of those substances. Their teams know which concentrations to use in specific environments and how to store supplies safely. Of course, an in-house team could acquire the same knowledge. But ensuring this training takes place and is continued as new employees enter the system would take school administrators’ time away from other tasks.
Outsourcing your janitorial team means your school can devote all its time and facilities to education. There is no need for your school to provide a secure cleaning closet or lose a storage space that is better used for other supplies.
Related: Why to Choose Commercial School Cleaning Services
How to Start Outsourcing Your School Janitorial Team
Is it time to outsource your school 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.
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 are not necessarily easy to clean. Bathrooms, lockers, cafeterias, classrooms, gyms, and changing rooms are just some of them.
An experienced, knowledgeable contractor will understand those specifics and take them into account. Before settling on a specific contractor, it is worth asking several companies to quote for the job.
Generally speaking, the most reputable commercial school cleaning companies will suggest a site visit. Seeing your premises allows them to understand your specific needs and requirements better. As a result, their quotation will be tailored to your needs and offer the most suitable contract.
When you are searching for a reputable contractor, check their track record. Leading companies invest in staff training and retain their employees for years. Like other professions, specialist cleaning can lead to a rewarding career. By outsourcing your school janitorial team, you ensure your students and staff are looked after by dedicated experts.
Outsource Your Janitorial Needs Now
For more than 25 years, DTK Inc. has built a strong team of expert cleaners, many of whom have been with the company for years. They will become a natural extension of your school’s team, offering a full range of services. To find out more about how our team can support your school, contact us for a custom quote.