Now more than ever, keeping a workplace clean and hygienic is a top priority for Facility Managers. A clean and well-maintained workplace sends a positive message to staff, customers and visitors and it plays an important role in wellbeing at work. Regular benchmarking of cleaning costs is good practice, and a professional contractor will always work with clients to offer best value. Here are eight ways to reduce office cleaning costs.
Review the cleaning specification
If the cleaning specification has not recently been reviewed, then this would be a good place to start. The scope of work may highlight some time savings if its possible to modify or remove tasks. Additionally, identifying high priority areas which must be cleaned daily will focus the cleaning resource as required and highlight other areas where frequencies could be reduced.
How many hours per week?
As we highlighted in a previous blog, using productivity to calculate cleaning hours required – rather than a visual inspection only – will ensure that the right number of hours are allocated to a project. Many clients will prefer to have a daily presence. For smaller offices with less than 10 staff, it may be beneficial to consider having cleaners only for 3 or 4 days a week. Please bear in mind that it is difficult to recruit cleaning staff for less than 1 hour shift as transport costs will make it uneconomic to work for such a short period of time.
Review consumables
Cost in use is a key factor when reviewing office consumables such as washroom paper and soap products. Your cleaning provider may be able to reduce consumption by suggesting smarter dispensing options, and work with you to reduce waste and usage. It’s a fact that higher quality paper hand towels for example absorb more moisture quickly, reducing usage and wastage.
Central bins
Individual waste bins are inefficient as cleaners spend a lot of time emptying each one and replacing the bin liner. Removing them from under every desk and replacing with communal recycling bins will save time and money on the contract. Furthermore, it can have a beneficial effect on recycling rates as it forces staff to rethink how they use and dispose of their rubbish.
Technology
In certain locations and office layouts robotic vacuums can be the ideal, innovative way to reduce time spent vacuuming floors. Time savings mean more focus for higher priority tasks such as sanitising or desk cleaning.
New generation chemicals and surface protectors with increased efficacy offer another solution too. These kill bacteria and viruses and provide a longer-term solution.
Promote a culture of cleaning up
Whose responsibility is it to return used cups and plates from staff desks to the kitchen? One way to reduce the cleaning hours required is to ask staff to take their own cups, crockery and cutlery back to the kitchen. This also applies to meeting room etiquette and clearing away items after use.
Review PPM frequency
Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) is scheduled maintenance outside of the standard cleaning, for example windows cleans and carpet deep cleans. Preparation of schedules use a pre-agreed frequency of work, for example quarterly window cleaning.
However, this may not always be the most cost-effective approach, for example north facing windows may require less cleaning than south facing ones, or carpet cleans required only during the winter months. Reviewing the schedules may result in frequency reduction.
Use a professional contract cleaning contractor
As businesses increase their focus on cleanliness and hygiene, it has never been more important to work with a professional cleaning company. A cleaning contractor will work with clients to create a unique cleaning solution that mirrors the unique requirements of the work environment.
TemcoUK works with clients to deliver cleaning excellence
Commercial office contract cleaning is our business, and we have been in business for over 20 years. We are passionate about providing an excellent service to clients. Hundreds of clients trust us to deliver compliant, consistent and reliable cleaning leaving them to focus on their business goals.
Office cleanliness not only affects hygiene standards, but also overall employee wellbeing, productivity and morale. If you would like to discuss your cleaning project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01895 520370 or email hello@temco-services.co.uk