HOW TO EVALUATE CONTRACT CLEANING COMPANIES

WHITEPAPER

ISSUE 1 / JUNE 2017

HOW TO EVALUATE

CONTRACT CLEANING

COMPANIES

WHITEPAPER

ISSUE 1 / JUNE 2017

800 535.8285

www.4-m.com

Building Solutions

HOW TO EVALUATE

CONTRACT CLEANING

COMPANIES

There are many different factors to consider when a business seeks

to ﬁnd a contract cleaning company that is the right ﬁt for their

unique needs. Do they understand the company culture? How do

they plan to implement the owner’s objectives? Are they trying

to meet the tenant’s expectations or focused on maintaining the

status quo?

In this paper, the many different factors that are necessary to

consider will be discussed. From the building manager, to the

tenants and stakeholders, and all the way throughout the janitorial

services provider, it can be surprising how many different variables

must be addressed when ﬁnding a provider who is the right ﬁt.

COMPANY

BACKGROUND

There are approximately 50,000 contract cleaning businesses in

the United States, which makes selecting one a daunting task for

many building managers. In such a large, wide-ranging marketplace,

industry groups have created trusted certiﬁcations that can

empower customers to know which companies meet standards of

excellence. The most prominent of these is the Cleaning Industry

Management Standard (CIMS), a rigorous set of standards and

benchmarks from the International Sanitation Supply Association (ISSA).

To achieve a CIMS Certiﬁcation, an entire organization

must meet 100% of the mandatory requirements and

60% of the recommended elements presented by

ISSA. Only approximately 1% of the 50,000 contract

cleaners achieve this award. The next level up is CIMS

Certiﬁcation with Honors, which means the company

must meet 100% of both the mandatory requirements

and 100% of the recommended elements, including

quality control, stafﬁng excellence, and management’s

ability to ﬁnd unique solutions for each individual

customer, among other elements.

Additionally, a CIMS-Green Building honor recognizes

a company’s expertise in environmentally friendly

cleaning practices and LEED building certiﬁcation

standards. As sustainable practices of all types become

more and more important to corporate responsibility,

stakeholders are demanding green practices in all

aspects of a business.

Often, many contract cleaning companies that

achieve these certiﬁcations have been in business

long enough to perfect their operations. Since each

building is different and each customer is different,

there are always new challenges facing management

and team members. Those companies who have a

proven track record of ﬁnding unique and effective

solutions for clients of all types have often learned over

time to not only approach the problem analytically

and thoughtfully, but also keep a close eye on metrics

and continually strive to ﬁnd ways to improve

incrementally.

Through experience, expertise and an excellent staff

at every level, a janitorial services contractor can often

meet any building needs as long as they have the

resources available, depending on their size and the

scope of the job. As mentioned previously, people make

up the largest and most important part of a company’s

resources, so that company’s culture is paramount to

success. This begins with the most important part of

the team: the cleaning technicians.

CIMS CERTIFICAITON

Only 1% of Companies

QUALIFY

THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY

50,000 CONTRACT CLEANING

BUSINESSES IN AMERICA

WHO’S

CLEANING MY

BUILDING?

The cleaning market is competitive. It can be a race to the bottom

for price, and many are tempted to join the race. Every company in

the world would be interested in reducing their overhead, but when

a cleaning provider cuts costs, what else is getting cut? And what

are the consequences? Cost-reduction measures can affect the

quality of cleaning supplies and reduce environmentally conscious

practices. Additionally, planning, evaluation and quality assurance

are all areas that could be viewed as superﬂuous when cutting costs.

The most important area to consider, however, is where

cleaning companies incur the largest proportion of

costs. As an extremely labor-intensive industry, 70%-

80% of costs incurred by contract-cleaning companies

come from labor. So much relies upon the team that the

company assembles and how management empowers

them to succeed. In the race to the bottom, cut-rate

cleaners must decide where to cut their rates within

their labor force.

Because so much of a contract cleaning company’s

resources are devoted to their hardest working team

members, a building manager should evaluate not only

the quality of their work, but also their relationship

with their employer and leadership. Often, the

companies who adhere to best practices understand

the investment in their team members and enable

their professional development. A large investment in

training and ongoing development for a career path is a

signal that a company is hiring their team members not

just for today, but also tomorrow and years down the

road. The adage of quality being better than quantity is

accurate when it comes to human resources.

Conversely, some contract cleaning companies

will often subcontract their cleaning jobs to other

companies. This not only provides less assurance of the

type of cleaners who will be attending to the building,

but also demonstrates a more transactional approach

to each customer. Instead of working directly with

a customer to build relationships and integrate into

the customer’s company culture, the subcontractor

will provide hired guns who have less of a long-term

approach to the job.

However, situations where it would be more efﬁcient to

subcontract work out to specialized companies present

opportunities for better results. Small, specialized

jobs that are single-run or rarely run jobs like painting,

patching and power washing are very often better

left to specialists who can perform the work more

effectively while providing cost savings due to the

efﬁciency that their specialized knowledge affords

them.

Another cost to the customer can come in the form

of customer service. Since the subcontractor does

not report directly to the company who the customer

hired, the customer must now rely on a cleaning

team with whom they have no direct relationship.

With so many degrees of separation, it can become

difﬁcult to ensure that the customer’s speciﬁc needs

are being met. A short-term approach may require

less in-depth preparation or intensive labor, but that

approach may not be sustainable in the long run. It

does, however, alleviate many of the costs associated

with a workforce: payroll taxes, worker’s compensation

and employee beneﬁts. There are also other

opportunity costs, and not all of them can be measured

quantitatively.

In the long run, the best cost savings for a contract-

cleaning company can come not from hiring less-

qualiﬁed employees for a lower wage, but rather

hiring highly qualiﬁed individuals and investing in

a compensation and beneﬁts package that ensures

that they stay in the position for the long term. Why

is that? Many companies have learned investing

in a comprehensive training program often leads

to a workforce that has low turnover and high

retention, which can end up saving money in the

long run. Additionally, the efﬁciency that comes

from a knowledgeable, highly experienced workforce

minimizes costly mistakes and the tendency to make

up for lack of quality with a higher quantity of workers.

Most importantly, successful companies ensure

that their prized team members understand how

appreciated they are. Again, going back to the

importance of company culture, successful contract

cleaning companies create a culture that not only

rewards employees ﬁnancially, but also recognizes

and celebrates their achievements. A study by Bersin

and Associates on employee motivation shows that

when management recognizes and honors their

team members’ achievements, their company enjoys

a voluntary turnover rate that is 31% lower than

companies who do not recognize their team members’

achievements. Reinforcing ﬁnancial incentives with

recognition not only more effectively empowers team

members, but it also motivates them to grow within

the company and continually try to reach new, higher

performance benchmarks.

On the other hand, high turnover within an organization

can lead to a lower quality of cleaning technician and

subsequently unsatisfactory results. These are often

the results of cost-cutting measures at the employee

level, which can become increasingly detrimental over

time. Especially with the current labor environment, in

which unemployment rates have dropped to new 16-

year lows, as 2017 has seen the lowest unemployment

rates since 2001. Because unemployment is so low,

the competition to hire and retain the best employees

has become more challenging. The priority that a

company puts into creating a work environment and

compensation package that maximizes employee

retention can be very important.

The best team members ﬁnd both intrinsic and

extrinsic motivations, which play a large part in

meeting and exceeding a company’s goals. But without

direction or guidance, even the best team members

would perform like a ship without a rudder. While

great team members make the job easier, it is easy

to underestimate the importance of great leadership,

especially because great leaders will often give so

much of the credit to their team members. At the same

time, there are many different ways that leadership

can inspire and empower team members to achieve

success.

When evaluating contract-cleaning businesses, price

is certainly an important consideration, but there are

many more elements that can positively or negatively

affect a client’s business and their building. In order

to fully understand the big picture, the full range of

value that building managers derive from their contract

cleaning partners must be considered.

EMPLOYERS WHO RECOGNIZE

THEIR TEAM MEMBERS’

ACHIEVEMENTS ENJOY A VOLUNTARY

TURNOVER RATE 31% lower

THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT

TEAM

LEADERSHIP

When selecting a contract cleaner, a close inspection of the

management structure can be very telling. How involved is

management with their team members? A close relationship not

only helps provide guidance, instruction and feedback for team

members, but it is also telling of a company’s culture. Successful

companies develop management who lead by example and earn the

respect of their team members. They understand their customer’s

needs and effectively show their team members both how they can

meet these needs and help them to understand how important they

are to the process.

Effective managers understand how strongly their

actions and attitude affect their team members.

Good leadership cascades down to the lowest team

members. Like Vince Lombardi said, great leaders

know that success is not a sometimes thing, but rather

an all-the-time thing. Great managers understand

the importance of accountability. When selecting

a contract cleaning company, a customer should

know exactly who will be accountable for the team’s

performance. A strong leader will work directly with

the customer, take charge when any problems may

arise, and ensure that the team takes measures to

remedy the situation.

There are many areas in which a deeper examination

is necessary. Does management fully understand the

relationship with the client? Are the customer’s needs

being effectively communicated to the company’s

management and employees? Are all customer

concerns being addressed? And what kind of review

and evaluation is taking place? Customers like to know

that they are being listened to and that what they say is

taken seriously and acted upon.

The leadership’s approach to planning and preparation

are another important element for prospective clients

to evaluate. Does management have a proactive or a

reactive style? A proactive leader has a strong plan and

implements it effectively. They have contingencies in

place for anything that may arise and are ready to deal

with whatever comes their way. On the other hand, a

reactive management style can easily be overwhelmed.

By thinking one step at a time, instead of many steps

LABOR 80% OF COSTS

COMPANIES OVER 50,000

RESULT COMPETITIVE

LABOR MARKET

ahead, unforeseen circumstances can have a ripple

effect, especially when there is no plan in place to

deal with any sort of surprise. In those cases, a small

problem can easily escalate into a much larger issue.

Finally, a customer should examine not only the

procedures that a leader has in place before

undertaking a job, but also the methods of evaluating

performance and using data as a tool for improvement.

USE OF

TECHNOLOGY

There should be comprehensive methodology available for leaders

to objectively evaluate performance. If any sort of abnormality or

ﬂaw in a team’s execution of its tasks goes unnoticed, the effects

could possibly escalate and cause more adverse effects than it

would have if it were noticed immediately. Many effective leaders

will work directly with their customers in evaluating performance

so that the customer can enjoy peace of mind and also take a

proactive role in guiding the cleaning company’s performance.

It is essential to continuous improvement and

performance review, both as an organization and on the

individual level, that a company has processes in place

that set benchmarks, measure performance, and provide

avenues to facilitate improvement. Data is important,

but understanding that data, analyzing it and using it to

ﬁnd quantiﬁable ways to measure performance make

that data valuable. Without a system to create timely

and relevant feedback and support for leadership,

technicians and the organization as a whole, there is no

reason to collect that data.

Leveraging data collection for continued, long-term

success depends upon review, data analysis, reporting

and evaluating key performance indicators (KPIs).

Before the ﬁrst day on the job, the best contract

cleaners evaluate the building’s needs and its unique

layout, then draw from their experience and metrics

to formulate a plan that avoids any sort of disruption

during the transition period. After implementing this

plan, they use their wide range of methods to ﬁnd ways

to perform even better.

Of course, when discussing technology, a company’s

investment in the new equipment with features

that empower technicians to work efﬁciently while

promoting a healthy work environment will often pay

for themselves in the long run through more efﬁcient

performance and employee satisfaction. For a few

contract cleaners, they use industrial engineering

concepts and practices. In implementing these

practices, they can sometimes reduce wasted time,

improve production rates, and provide additional

services to the scope without adding cost.

WHAT

WORKS

FOR

YOU?

There is a wide range of factors to consider when selecting a contract

cleaning company, and many of those depend on each client’s unique

needs. How will the contract cleaner adapt to meet those needs and

how can they ﬁnd new and unique ways to do so? What types of

processes do they use and how will they ﬁt within your scope of work.

And perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the whole process is to

ask, “Does this feel right?” Sometimes it all boils down to whether or

not the contract cleaning provider jibes with your own company. Will

the cleaning technicians feel comfortable in your work environment?

What is the company culture like? Does it mesh well with your ofﬁce

environment? How does the janitorial services provider’s leadership

work in conjunction with the client’s leadership team?

Each company is different, just like every building is different. There

are many factors that go into ﬁnding the right contract-cleaning

company, many of which go beyond simply the initial costs. When

evaluating costs for a company, there is much to consider beyond

simply writing a check. These factors can directly affect the tenants’

health, assets and overall bottom line. Make sure to understand what

exactly is needed from a building services partner and how those

factors can affect the company and the building. The right choice is

not just a number, but it is also a consideration of long-term beneﬁts

and how even the smallest nuances can become a big deal.

CLEANING

TECHNICIANS

TEAM

LEADERSHIP

TECHNOLOGY

IMPLEMENTATION