As a property manager, there is never a dull moment and there is always something to do. You took your time in selecting a commercial janitorial cleaning company to look after and maintain your properties, but how do you know if it is doing a good job?
The concept of clean is subjective and what might be clean to one person is not the same for others. You don’t need the area to be hospital-clean, but you want it to always be neat, tidy, and hygienic. You want to know you are getting the best possible return for the money you spend on janitorial cleaning services every month.
There are several consequences to having poor cleaning and that is why you made the monthly investment in the first place. If your buildings are not well-cleaned, you risk having unhappy tenants. This could complicate rent negotiations or late rent collection and will take up your time. It will also put potential investors off if they see the buildings are poorly cleaned.
Another consequence of substandard cleaning is poor maintenance. A dirty or messy building will mask minor issues that need to be addressed by maintenance. When janitorial cleaning services staff members do a good job and the building is clean, these issues will be more apparent and can be addressed quickly, preventing more costly repairs down the line.
Why You Need to Measure the Results of Cleaning and Janitorial Services
You cannot manage what you cannot measure. If you stick to a purely subjective outlook on your commercial janitorial cleaning, you run the risk of standards slipping below an acceptable level. If you are not actively monitoring and measuring service levels in some way, you won’t notice the decline until it has been going on for some time.
If this happens, by the time you realize the drop in cleaning levels, the damage could have already been done. You could have several unhappy tenants who could possibly move and you could’ve lost investment opportunities without realizing it.
This damage will take time to repair and it’ll be a while before a positive perception will replace the negative ones. You will have to meet with the existing janitorial cleaning services company to see if it can perform to the required standards or you will have to replace it. This can be costly and time-consuming.
It is better for all parties to get it right at the start and always maintain the required standards. This takes planning from both the property managers and the professional cleaning company.
The best way to do this is to have a detailed and comprehensive cleaning plan. This needs to be well-documented, cover all aspects of the job, and include a timeline. This way, expectations are clear on both sides and you have something to measure against.
A professional cleaning company should have experience in this, and, with the input of the property manager, be able to draw up a plan for the property. The more specifics and detail the plan contains, the less chance of any conflict or misunderstanding down the line.
Measuring the Results of Cleaning and Janitorial Services
There are several ways to measure the cleaning.
Key Performance Indicators
A formal approach to evaluating and measuring each aspect of the cleaning is to create Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. This can only be done if there is already a written cleaning plan in place. Study the plan and walk through the building to determine the KPIs.
The KPIs must tie in with the cleaning goals and objectives you have for the building. As with all goals, they must be specific, measurable, and have a time or frequency assigned to them.
Appearance
The first KPI should be the appearance of each area. Although this is potentially subjective, if it’s done formally and regularly, it should yield useful results. Each area should be specified on the KPIs and scored by a team of people on a scale of 1 to 10. The team doing the scoring should include people from the staff of the property management company and the professional cleaning company.
Remember, something can look clean, but it isn’t really. It is important that those doing the scoring look closely at each area or room to determine the score. The more consistent the method and people doing the scoring are, the more accurate the results will be.
Customer Satisfaction
This is slightly harder to put a statistical value on, but it can be done. Here you will want to look at feedback from tenants or other relevant parties. All complaints or even compliments should be documented and measured. Over time, a pattern will emerge and tell you if the cleaning is good or poor or if it’s getting better or worse.
Any other areas of specific concern or importance should be added to the KPIs.
Closing Thoughts
Whatever method you use, make sure you do something to be certain you’re getting the results and outcomes you expect. For peace of mind cleaning for your properties, give iNX a call. Our experienced team of professionals has the ideal solution for all your cleaning requirements.
Click here to schedule an appointment or call 1 (888) TEAM-iNX to speak with one of our sales representatives today!
