Small Business Information

Contract Cleaners - A Guide for Business Part 2


In the first part of this article I put forward 7 questions that I believed were important to ask of your potential cleaning company. In this article I will explain the relevance of the first two questions and the answers you get to you as a business.

  • What is your staff turnover?
When the top 150 Cleaning Companies in the UK were asked this question the answer came back as 73%. That means that within a 12 month period 73% of their cleaning staff have left and been replaced. What is the relevance of this figure to you? If the figure you get back is higher than about 25% it is likely that if you engage this firm then you are unlikely to have the same cleaners for very long. You will have a constant stream of new cleaners. This is not good for building up a working relationship or continuity. Worse still might be the answer 'I don't know exactly' because this probably means they are trying to avoid giving you an insight into the correct figure. They can of course lie!

  • Do you provide verifiable training?
Cleaners might simply be hired to cover a particular clean, shown what to do and left to get on with it. Verifiable means that the company has a recognised training scheme which is documented and you can see the date and times training of your staff has taken place. Is training necessary? You might think not. Everybody should know how to clean because we all do it! Commercial cleaning is not like cleaning at home. The cleaner has a time limit in which tasks must be completed. They must be trained in how to carry out those tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible. Secondly not all the tasks will be assigned to every cleaning slot. Some tasks might for example be designated as weekly in the cleaning schedule or even monthly, for example cob webbing. However the staff must be trained that if they see a cobweb they remove it then and there and not wait until the schedule allows them to do it! This may sound petty and common sense but not all cleaners are capable of working outside their little boxes and schedules without proper training.

To you as a business it is actually quite important that your cleaners are capable of doing things as and when needed and not necessarily waiting for the appointed time on the schedule to come around. So ask the question and then probe a little deeper into the cleaning companies view on cleaning schedules.

David Andrew Smith has been working for many years in the cleaning industry and is the owner of http://www.wesparkle.co.uk, general cleaners and also the owner of http://www.stonecareuk.net who are specialists in natural stone care and maintenance of such natural stone as marble, granite and limestone


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

Kerry, Snowe, Schumer Push Sec. Paulson to Purchase Small Business ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Ranking Member Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Charles Schumer, a senior ...
Is TARP Really a TRAP but is Scott Malkinson really Scott Malkinson? thestockmasters
all 445 news articles


What should a small business owner look for in a new lease agreement?
Bizjournals.com, NC - Nov 21, 2008
“You want lease terms so that they are not a la carte. You want as much included as possible. … The real critical piece is who is paying for the ...


Small business honored by Tulare Chamber of Commerce
Visalia Times-Delta, CA - 10 hours ago
It turns out the award winner was Gainsborough Photography, which was named Tulare Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year. ...


California Conference Recommendations on Small Business ...
Imperial Valley News, CA - 5 hours ago
Los Angeles, California - On behalf of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor’s Small Business Advocate Marty Keller received the top small business ...


The Forgotten Small Business
Pahrump Valley Times, NV - 23 hours ago
Almost all elected officials will tell you how important small business is in their states. However, the financial crisis largely has been focused on the ...


Wells Fargo named top small-business lender in Texas
Bizjournals.com, NC - Nov 19, 2008
Wells Fargo Bank, NA has been ranked the leading small-business lender in both the United States and Texas, according to the latest Community Reinvestment ...


Small Business Scene: Drager's Classics
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Nov 20, 2008
If you know a small business we should visit, e-mail us at smallbusiness@seattlepi.com. Jeri Drager sells cars from the heyday of the American automobile. ...


EPA Reform of SPCC Rule Benefits Small Business
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
The Office of Advocacy of the US Small Business Administration is encouraged that the EPA listened to small business and included those provisions in the ...
SBA steps aimed to fuel small-business lending Finance and Commerce
Small business loans dwindle The Tennessean
Small Business Center Provides Assistance During Tough Economic Times Memphis Daily News
Bizjournals.com - MarketWatch
all 63 news articles


DOE Recognized for Small Business Achievement
7thSpace Interactive (press release), NY - 6 hours ago
WASHINGTON, DC - The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it has met all goals of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Scorecard for Fiscal Year ...


ASTA Asks Obama To Expand Small Business Lending
Travel Agent, NY - Nov 21, 2008
The move is a follow-up to ASTA's recent letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA). On November 18, ASTA wrote to the SBA asking that the agency use ...
Uncertainty, Not Tight Credit, Chills Small Biz Lending CFO.com Magazine
Lenders: Credit Standards Tougher Inc.com
Tough times for small businesses Staten Island Advance - SILive.com
all 5 news articles

Small-Business - Google News

home | site map
© 2006