You’ve been tasked with securing the perfect janitorial services company for your facility. Naturally, the process will place you on a path towards the inevitable review of multiple bids from janitorial company representatives who’ve answered your request for proposal (RFP).
As you wade through the proposals, how can you differentiate one janitorial company from the other? How can you be sure each company will deliver on their promises? The good news is that there are specific things you can look for during the decision process to secure the right janitorial company for your facility, office, retail store or building.
Before selecting your next janitorial services company, consider these TOP 5 attributes of a quality provider.
1. Are they Adaptable?: The right janitorial company will customize and adapt to your specific needs. If they use a boiler plate for each customer and they aren’t willing to customize to your facility’s specific needs, the company is not the right fit. A quality janitorial service company should make suggestions and find ways to maximize efficiency to benefit your facility and the crews’ time on-site.
- A customized janitorial program based on the customer’s needs is vital.
- The janitorial company needs to sit and learn about your needs to properly know what janitorial services are required
- The company needs to put extra time and effort towards where their services are most needed.
- Example of a custom need – If a company has a lot more people in and out of the building on Fridays because of regular big corporate meetings, more cleaning services would need to take place every Friday.
- Example of a custom need – If a manufacturing company only gets their floors stripped and waxed once a year, but have constant dirty floors because of heavy foot traffic, they need a customized program based on the type of company they are. This location would need their floors stripped and waxed at least twice a year.
- Example of a custom need – There was a 120,000 sq ft office space with many cubicles and employees kept getting sick. The company did a monthly cleaning of their vents, but that wasn’t enough. In this case, the janitorial company must adapt to the customer’s needs and clean the vents more often to prevent the employees from becoming sick so frequently.
2. Check References: Are they who they say they are and can customers validate what they are claiming?
- Checking references is a fundamental task necessary to hiring the right janitorial company. It is valuable to check who will potentially be working for you.
- There are many ways a customer can check references of a company. They can check out their social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn as an example
- It is important to check references in their industry. Checking 3 references in their own industry would be helpful (industry specific).
- The references should be in line with the customer’s company size. For example, a multi-million dollar operation should be given the reference of a comparable company.
3. Experts in The Field: Does the potential janitorial company actually specialize in the industry that you need them to perform in or is it just something they “can do”? Do they have a solid history of floor care, window cleaning, nightly janitorial service, day porter service? Do they intend to become an expert once they get your business?
- Asking what the janitorial company specializes in is important. If a nightly service cleaning is what you’re looking for and the company does not mention that as one of their first specialties, it is not a good sign. Making sure that the janitorial service is an expert in the field necessary is crucial.
- A good amount of experience in the type of services you need is what you’re looking for.
- Make sure the company has sound experience in cleaning what you need them to clean.
- With experience, comes knowledge. Experienced companies will learn better ways to clean things. Not all cleaning regimens are interchangeable.
- Example of Expertise- You don’t want a company cleaning a stove top with furniture polish.
- Example of Expertise – There is a “Cleaning Guy” and he is sent to clean a hospital and does not know the standards for cleaning a hospital or how to clean the hospital in the most productive and efficient way and overall does not do a good cleaning job. The “Cleaning Guy” specializes in floor cleaning but his name does not specify this.
4. Best Value: Beware of the lowest price because it may not be your best value. You do get what you pay for when it comes to commercial janitorial services. Bottom dollar can absolutely mean bottom level service for your facilities, stores, offices and buildings.
- Does the janitorial company use a franchisee model where the symmetrics of the building = sqft of the building = the number of hours they would clean the building?
- The provider should not examine just the symmetrics. They should use a more human aspect and go to the location to see what needs to be done to serve the customer properly and efficiently.
- Cleaning is important for the longevity, cleanliness and health of any business.
- Having a reliable cleaning company also makes the facility director’s job easier. They would not need to babysit the janitors.
- The janitorial company needs to be an extension of the business/department.
- The janitorial service industry is very competitive and you need a respectable company to work for you, not the cheapest.
- Value = Price and Service
- Value is doing it right the first time so it does not need to be redone many times after–costing more in the end.
5. Happy Janitors Make For Happy Customers: If the company you are putting your janitorial dollars towards respects their employees and treats them well and pays fairly, it will be reflected in the service you receive. If they do not do these things, you will experience the high turnover and unreliable service that comes with companies that don’t invest in their people.
- A great janitorial services company will respect their employees.
- Buying advanced equipment is a great way to make the janitor’s job easier.
- By the janitorial company having badges and shirts with the janitorial company’s name keeps them safe at night. Without the necessary forms of identification, they could get shot at by security. The job is dangerous, night time workers have been robbed. It is important to keep all employees safe and happy.
- The janitorial company needs to respect and appreciate its employees.
- The employees are not just a number, machine or a robot.
- The company should also work hard to set realistic goals for the janitors. They need to leave happy with a sense of accomplishment.
- The management staff should not ask the janitors to do a task that they would not do themselves.
We understand picking the right janitorial company can be difficult. This is especially true if you have large commercial janitorial needs. The above article was brought to you by Calico Building Services, a premier provider of commercial janitorial, maintenance and construction services. We hope you found the article helpful. Be sure to visit this blog again for future articles regarding proper care of your facilities, stores, offices and buildings.
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About Calico Building Services
Calico Building Services, Inc. is a privately held company founded in 1986 by husband and wife, Ron and Kathy Strand. By developing a reputation for quality workmanship and superior customer service, the company has grown organically to become a leading provider of building, facility and property services in the Western and Central U.S. with reach and capabilities nationwide. Today, the company employs more than 650 team members and works with hundreds of strategic partners throughout the U.S.
Our core service areas delivered through the company’s three divisions include janitorial, repairs and maintenance as well as construction. With our relentless customer-centric commitment to quality and service, we serve: national retailers, banks, building owners, universities, medical facilities, government municipalities and facilities managers. Our numerous customers range from regional success stories to Fortune 500 companies.
We are proud to offer one of the most comprehensive and unique portfolio of services in the industry. From day one, personalization and offering mission-critical solutions to our valued customers has been our top priority. Depending on our customers’ needs and requirements, we can deliver our services as a self-performing company or we can deploy a network of Calico certified vendors and suppliers through effective project management. Whether they are fellow team members or certified vendors, we only hire the best and most qualified service personnel and technicians. Each of our divisions are managed and staffed by highly trained and experienced professionals in their respective fields.
There are many reasons why so many companies nationwide rely on Calico Building Services, Inc. for all their building, facility and property services. At the core, and the key differentiator, are our people and their constant commitment to excellence and unparalleled service.
