Running a business is hardly a walk in the park, and business owners often get swamped by many things that require their attention. As such, it is common that some duties may fall off their radar, like office cleaning. Although meeting deadlines and commitments take priority, one should never neglect to maintain the cleanliness of their workplace.
After all, leaving the office unkempt can significantly impact the company’s bottom line in many ways, from reduced productivity due to increased absenteeism to turning away potential business partners. As such, creating a cleaning schedule and sticking to it is vital to preventing a dirty office. Creating such a schedule can be daunting at first, but it all boils down to managing the cleaning needs of your particular office space.
Below, we go over what to consider when developing a cleaning schedule that works for you from the perspective of professional cleaners.
What cleaning services do you need?
Businesses vary from one another, and this also applies to their cleaning needs. First, you must determine which cleaning services are necessary for your workplace and how often you need them.
To give you an idea, the following are the most common cleaning services for office environments:
– Janitorial services
Janitorial cleaning services generally include sanitizing and mopping floors as well as cleaning bathrooms, kitchens, desks, windows, and so on.
– Floor maintenance
Floor maintenance involves sweeping and mopping the flooring to remove and prevent dirt buildup, restore damaged flooring, and ultimately avoid expensive replacements.
– Window cleaning
Professional window cleaning removes dust, dirt, and grime from your office windows without leaving any streaks or marks.
– Carpet cleaning
Carpet cleaning and shampooing are indispensable for workplaces with carpeted flooring. Without constant maintenance, carpets can become a hotbed for germs, bacteria, fungi, and so on, posing a health risk. Smells can also emanate from unclean carpets and compromise office air quality.
Cleaning schedule considerations
Before making your business’s cleaning schedule, consider the following factors first:
1. Company size
The size of your company is the first important factor to consider when creating an office cleaning schedule as it dictates your cleaning needs and how often you need them. Larger organisations will naturally require more cleaning done at a higher frequency than smaller businesses, given their larger office space and higher employee headcount.
2. Quarterly or seasonal events
Holding corporate events—think workshops, holiday parties, networking events, and so on—within the workplace can affect the cleaning services you need. These happenings that bring more people than usual will create a need for more cleaning.
Determine if these events are recurring or just a one-time thing, and adjust your schedule accordingly to inform your partnered cleaning service provider in advance.
3. Safety and sustainability
As much as possible, engage in cleaning services that only use non-toxic and allergen-free cleaning products to ensure the safety of your workplace and avoid harming your employees and the environment.
Which areas need cleaning?
Office cleaning is more than just cleaning work desks and waste disposal. Noting down every functional area in your office is the only way to grasp just how much space you need to maintain. The spaces commonly found in all office environments which need regular cleaning are:
- Workstations
- Kitchen/pantry
- Break rooms or lounge area
- Reception area
- Private office rooms
- Meeting areas or conference rooms
- Client-facing areas
- Bathrooms
How often should you schedule office cleaning?
At this point, you should have a good grasp of everything you need to take into account regarding office cleaning. Now, the last step is to assign the frequency for the cleaning services you need, with the most common scheduling options being:
- One-time
- Nightly
- Weekly
- Biweekly
- Monthly
For larger office buildings, a nightly cleaning service is highly recommended to maintain constant cleanliness of the entire workplace.
When deciding how often you should schedule office cleaning, you should also determine when the cleaning starts. While cleaning companies can do their work during business hours, it is best to schedule services that will not disturb your employees during those active periods. Determine what is convenient for you and your business, and your partnered cleaning company will be sure to meet your requirements.
Conclusion
Cleaning your workplace environment is hardly the same as cleaning your home. The office has more spaces that require cleaning and use more manpower, time, and resources to accomplish. Thus, to ensure your office cleaning duties are not neglected as you run your business, make a cleaning schedule that suits your office and engage a cleaning company like Abba that can carry it out for you like clockwork.
Abba is a leading office cleaning specialist in Singapore that provides a wide range of commercial cleaning services covering all your upkeep needs. Whether it is regularly scheduled office cleaning, carpet cleaning, disinfection and sanitization services or more, you can rely on us to deliver the highest cleaning standards for all our services.