How Do I Save Money On Commercial Cleaning?

For business managers and owners, cleaning is just something that has to be done. Whether it’s internal or outsourced, there are costs involved, including personnel and cleaning supplies.

If you choose to hire a company, it’s still not fun; it can be very draining on the bottom line, and finding a reputable, reliable service can be a challenge.

Of course, with running a business, owners and managers expect costs. Things like rent, insurance, taxes and utilities. Then there are other costs that are not foreseen, so adequate research needs to be done before decisions are made.

There is some good news: commercial cleaning will improve the impression and overall professional look of your business and it can also save you money.

Some tips that can help:

1.Manage your personnel

Hire part-time workers, versus full-time. Even if your plan is to outsource, this will help save on benefits; you can offer higher wages, and specified breaks. If you do have some full-timers, consider combining the standard 15 min breaks into one 30 min break. Studies show this will save about 20 mins of productivity time. The reason is, 15 min breaks are generally abused, stretching into 27 mins (the national average).

Take control of absenteeism. You can offer a perk/reward for perfect attendance in the form of bonus per pay-period or month, or even per year.

Hire floaters. They can fill in for employees that are out on vacation or sick and have lower labor rates and generally no benefits have to be offered.

Implement zone or team cleaning. Specified cleaning routes will help improve productivity rates.
Have three-faceted training programs for new employees as well as continuing education requirements. Schedule regular mandatory-attendance meetings with employees. Cover safety topics, and seek employee feedback. Better training keeps employees engaged and helps with retention, which also saves on costs.

2.Manage your supplies

Make smart decisions about supplies. Provide quality tools of the trade, instead of trying to cut corners to save money. For example, purchase commercial vacuum cleaners that are reliable. Yes, they’re more expensive, but purchasing them once is better than buying a cheaper, non-commercial alternative just to have it/them break because they can’t keep up demand of use, and need to be replaced on a regular basis.

Know what you have in inventory. If you opt to purchase larger quantities for a lower price, ensure there’s an actual need, and the item(s) will be used within their shelf-life, especially the chemicals.

Be aware, there can be hidden costs with minimum orders, lead times, and service related charges, so do detailed price comparisons. Ask the right questions if you’re working with consultants and suppliers. Consultants usually get a commission and try to exploit the idea that businesses have disposable income, so be educated in your decisions.

Cut chemical expenses by using chemicals that come with recommendations for dilution.

Cut expenses in restrooms with roll-towel dispensers, as opposed to the single-sheet dispensers, and use and double-roll toilet tissue dispensers.

Use multi-purpose cleaning products (with dilution instructions from the products themselves) and purchase only brand names. They’re higher quality for their purpose. This is the same as the commercial vacuum example. Commercial cleaning products go farther, and are designed for a better clean.

3.Combine services wherever possible

If you’re already using a cleaning service and a separate floor service, explore some options that might cover both for one price. If your cleaners are outsourced, most companies will charge a lesser rate if they’re already cleaning the building to provide the other service.

Switch to Day-Cleaning. If your crew comes in at night, it might be cheaper to switch to day-time hours. Not only does this cut your energy bill, because it requires less lighting at night, as well as the heating/cooling for your facility, better hours mean hiring day-time people may be with little effort. Or, you retain your current staff by making the cleaning hours generally more desirable than at night.

Whether your commercial cleaning personnel are on a new contract, or from a solid years-long partnership, it only makes fiscally-responsible sense to cut expenses where you can.

Commercial cleaning is a necessity, if you own or manage a commercial building, especially if you let space and have tenants. Happy tenants mean they’ll stay with you long-term, which is just as important as providing a clean, professional edifice.