Back to all ArticlesCleaning isn’t rocket science, so you’d think hiring a cleaner for your business would be a straight forward process, right? Well unfortunately, no!
“Every year, almost half the people hiring a contract cleaner sack them, either in the middle of their contract, or when their contract is expired, because they’re unhappy with the service they’re receiving and go in search of a better more reliable cleaner” says Smart Cleaning Solutions CEO Nicholas Pastras.
So, what are the main reasons why people sack commercial cleaners?
Empty Promises & Unclear Scope of Works
The most common reason people cite for sacking a cleaner is “They just didn’t deliver”- In short, they simply failed to do what they said they would do. The best solution to this problem is a clear written cleaning schedule and a specification of tasks”.
A Lack of Experience
Cleaning isn’t rocket science, so a simple trap a lot of people fall into is thinking the only thing they need to get a good cleaner is enthusiasm. Unfortunately, enthusiasm is not enough. To maintain standards, day in day out, 365 days a year, requires professionalism, systematic organisation and good supervision. (The checklist has two simple questions to ask to make sure you get a cleaner with adequate experience cleaning your business.)
They Didn’t Listen
“We told them again and again but they forgot this, they always missed that, we told them a million times, but they didn’t listen…, in the end we had to sack them”. (The checklist we recommend you download has six simple questions in it to ask a cleaner about their communications processes before you hire them.)
They Exposed Our Business to Risks
“They were so unprofessional, they left the front door open overnight.” That’s one we’ve heard before, says Pastras. Another thing to watch out for is that anyone you have in your premises after hours is of good character, because another thing we hear is that “we had to get rid of the old cleaner because ‘things were going missing.’”
At Smart clean we take care of all client risks associated with having a cleaner on their premises. All our cleaners are police checked before we engage them and all public liability and work care issues are manged by us – efficiently. (Our checklist has five simple questions you need to ask a prospective cleaner to make sure they don’t inadvertently expose your business to risk and potential financial loss).
A Lack of Quality Control Systems
Anyone can tell you that they will clean your business reliably day in day out, but it’s much harder to do than say, in fact in the thousands of consulting meetings we’ve had with businesses, 75+% have said they were frustrated and unhappy with the cleaning they were receiving . That’s why it’s so important that your cleaning requirements are documented and that your cleaner is able to demonstrate that they have systems and processes in place to ensure that your cleaning standards are maintained and met consistently. At Smart Clean we do weekly spot checks and monthly audits against a written cleaning schedule, these are just two of the ways we manage and maintain consistency and reliability in cleaning standards. Adequate quality control is important on any site, but is even more important in specialist cleaning, for instance, cleaning for an Aged Care Centre or cleaning toys and high traffic play areas in a Childcare Centre (Our checklist has seven simple questions you need to ask a prospective cleaner to make sure they have adequate Quality Control processes in place).
BONUS: POINTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN CLEANING CONTRACTS
The final step in the process of hiring a cleaning company is entering into a services agreement. But there can be a number of ‘gotcha’ points you need to look out for in cleaning contracts and our free checklist points out 8 things you need to look out for when reading over a cleaning services agreement, and how to change them, before you sign it.
Knowing why people sack cleaners and the things to look out for when hiring a cleaner greatly simplifies the task of hiring a good cleaner. Take advantage of this knowledge when you next need to hire a cleaner for your facility, by downloading our free checklist for interviewing a commercial cleaner.