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Commercial Cleaning: Tips for Keeping Your Office Clean & Professional

Posted on: January 31st, 2014 by Tim David No Comments

Commercial Cleaning Services

The New Year can be a perfect time to start good, new habits. In previous posts (see A Clean Office Is… or Keeping Your Business Clean), the benefits of a clean office have been introduced, from increasing employee productivity and morale to improving customer perceptions. Whether you manage your office cleaning or simply organize your office and leave the more time-consuming tasks to office cleaning services, keeping your office clean can give you a workplace that you can be proud to call the face of your business. By following our tips on how to clean your office, you can make keeping your office clean easy.

Storage of Documents. This task can seem daunting. The key to keeping your office clean from clutter is properly storing your companies many documents. One strategy is to digitalize as many documents as possible. Electronic documents do not take up physical space. The ideal of a paperless office is strong, but a December 8, 2013 Los Angeles Times reports that it is also a slow process. In the meantime, have a system for maintaining physical files and be diligent about always using them. If your office is dependent on paper, then you should have a strong system for properly storing them.

Don’t Eat at Your Desk. Eating at your desk is unhealthy. Not only is your desk not sterile in the same way that an environment for eating should be, but it can also be damaging to your mental and physical health. Psychologist Dr. Janet Scarborough Civitelli claims that you need the change of space that a lunch break affords you is important for your well-being. To keep your mind and desk both clear, be sure to eat your lunch at the designated area.

Keep Desks and Counters Clean. Clutter is the greatest obstacle to keeping your office clean. Make sure that all workspaces, including desks and counters, are kept as clear as possible. You also want to regularly sanitize these spaces. According to Dr. Toby Smithson of the America Dietetic Association, the average desk has over 400 times more bacteria (including E.coli and salmonella) than the average toilet seat. Your desk needs to be disinfected daily. It must be clear of clutter and cleaned of bacteria.

Clean Computers and Electronic. Keeping your electronics clean can improve the life and function of your office. Make sure to dust the outside of all electronic equipment. You also want to have a technician clean the inside of this equipment as well. Computer expert Shawn Knight recommends using a dry cloth to remove any dirt or dust. (Do not use any liquids or vacuum equipment.) Remember, just because you cannot see the dirt does not mean that it does not exist.

Garbage and Recycling Bins. You want to regularly empty all garbage cans and recycling bins. To prevent garbage bins from stinking and keeping your office clean, you should designate specific bins in the office for collecting food and drink containers. Dr. Sondra Ugne claims that food begins to rot almost immediately and can attract gnats and flies as quickly. These containers should be emptied every day. The remaining bins should be emptied when they begin to fill.

Cleaning Common Areas. Keeping your office clean can be most difficult in the common areas. The key to office cleaning the common areas is delegation. A schedule and a system can be the key to making sure that the spaces that are shared are also treated as a shared responsibility. Clearly articulate the rules for keeping this space clean and stay consistent with them.

Commercial Cleaning Services | EHC

Put Yourself in the Client’s Shoes. Walk through your office with the eyes of your customers. This can be a task that you give to your employees. You can have employees walk through other departments with the critical eye of an employee. Not only will you better know how to clean your office, it will give your employees a chance to participate in keeping your office clean and interact with other departments.

Hire a Professional Cleaning Company. A busy schedule or large office are no reason for not keeping your office clean. Perhaps the New Year is the time to start with a new business and hiring a professional cleaning company for your office cleaning (for more reasons to hire a professional cleaning company see our blog on Outsourcing). A professional cleaning company could be the key to maintaining a clean and professional workspace.

If you need more information about a professional Commercial Cleaning Company, contact EHC.

Given the high cost of a dirty office, you cannot afford not to keep your office clean. These tips on how to clean your office will surely make your office, and your New Year, a brighter place.

Commercial Cleaning: Keeping Your Business Clean

Posted on: December 10th, 2013 by Tim David No Comments

Commercial Cleaning: Keeping your Business Clean

The holidays are a busy time of year. You have end of the year tasks stacking up on top of normal operations. There are taxes to be prepared, budgets to be calculated, and plans for the next year to be considered. For many businesses, the holidays are also linked to increases in sales. (And none of this is intended to ignore the fact that you’re personally busy during the holidays: parties, shopping, and more parties.) Just reading this probably has your heart racing! But in the midst of the stress and chaos (and hopefully joy) of the holidays, it is important to remember to stay on top of the everyday, sometimes mundane, tasks: like business cleaning.

Why it is important for keeping your business clean?

Making cleaning a daily priority is important! (see our November post: A Clean Office is… for additional reasons why cleanliness is so important.) Keeping business cleaning as a high priority is smart business for several reasons:

Dirty business may turn customers away

Commercial Cleaning Services

Your business is your most important calling card. In their research, business analysts Dr. Dennis Gioia and Dr. Kevin Corley have discovered that when it comes to perceptions a clean business can be more important than doing good business. The appearance of your business can make a lasting impression that can impact the way a customer perceives your product or services. For example, if you have a dusty or cluttered lobby, then the customer is likely to perceive your output as lacking an attention to detail. So business cleaning is a necessary task for good business.

Employees will be more productive

A clean office has greater employee output and satisfaction. Dr. Jeffrey Campbell of the Center for Facilities Research has discovered that a cluttered office is linked to employee high levels of stress and frustration with lowered levels of productivity. And business cleaning is more than simple organization. An employee who cannot maneuver the filing system is likely to experience this stress. But so is the employee who notices the lamps are dusty or the baseboards are dirty. Business cleaning can provide a workplace that employees can be proud of, which makes them happy workers with high productivity.

Prolong life of equipment

Clean office equipment, cared for with the proper janitorial supplies, can have lasting benefits that speak to your bottom line: saving you money. The experts at techpro.com have identified that keeping your business cleaning is a necessary part of the regular maintenance of your office machinery, such as computers and copiers. Dust and debris can slow down the operating speed of your equipment, reduce the operating life of your machinery, and even void the normal warranty of your office equipment. All of these can cost you a lot of money. It is important that you stay on top of business cleaning so that your equipment can work hard and long for you.

Safety

We know that we have mentioned it before. We cannot repeat it enough. A clean business is just safer, for you, your employees, and your customers. (For a reminder, please visit our previous post Winter Tips for Your Business and Employees.) And business cleaning could not save your more than in the safety of the people who enter your business. Legal expert Joseph Perkins claims that in America businesses are involved in more than 15 million lawsuits each year, which averages out to one new claim every two seconds. Having a clean business can be your protection from such stressful outcomes.

How to keep your business clean?

Because business cleaning is such a high priority, you should follow these cleaning tips to increase the janitorial services of your office:

Delegate cleaning to employees

You are unlikely to have a single person who can complete all of the janitorial services in your office. You could try splitting the work up across multiple employees. Working together can make keeping the office clean a more reasonable task.

Keep track of cleaning responsibility

As with all delegation, the key to success is accountability. You want to stay organized in your delegation. Keep a list with all business cleaning assignments available for you and all of your employees. The list should include answers to the following questions: What is the task? who is responsible for it? What is the schedule for completion? Remember: not all business cleaning tasks need to be completed daily. Some items may be on a weekly or monthly schedule. By staying organized in your delegation, you can guarantee that all business cleaning will get accomplished.

Keep cleaning supplies handy

In order for business cleaning to be a daily task, the supplies must be in a place that is convenient for employees. If someone notices the restrooms are untidy, but the supplies are inaccessible, then he or she is unlikely to do anything about it. In fact, you can store the supplies (hidden from customers) in a location that could remind employees about their assigned duties and expected obligation to keep the workplace clean. Put it somewhere they are likely to see them. And remember to have the correct janitorial supplies. Ask your employees what supplies they need in order to complete their tasks.

Do daily inspections

Checking on the cleanliness does not need to be as difficult or dramatic as that sounds. You do not need to get certified by the health department to do daily inspections. Instead of taking on the perspective of a drill sergeant or health department representative, walk through your office as if you were an employee or a customer. And ask yourself, “How does our business cleaning impact my perception of this company?”

Hire commercial cleaning company

Hiring a commercial cleaning company is smart business. These cleaning services can save you money by prolonging the life of your machinery, increasing the productivity of your workers, and keeping your customers satisfied. (For more reasons to hire a commercial cleaning company, see our blog post: Commercial Cleaning Services: Benefits of Outsourcing Your Cleaning.) The real reason you should hire a commercial cleaning services to complete your business cleaning…you deserve it. You work hard to provide your employees with a safe and happy work environment. And you guarantee your employees a good product. By this time of the year, you have worked hard and deserve a break. And a good commercial cleaning company can provide just that. Outsourcing your cleaning services can be just what your holiday needs!

Commercial Cleaning Services: Benefits of Outsourcing Your Cleaning

Posted on: October 28th, 2013 by Tim David No Comments

You have heard jokes (or horror stories) about outsourcing experiences with a phone representative in a foreign land giving jumbled service to an angry customer. And the punch line of these jokes is always the same: outsourcing does not always make sense. But sometimes, outsourcing DOES make sense. Business expert Dr. Lawrence Loh proposes that outsourcing may be the greatest advancement in business practices of the last half century. You can experience the benefits of outsourcing without hiring a company on the other side of the world (or becoming someone’s horror story).

Why Hire a Cleaning Company

You have a lot to worry about with your business: budgets, product/service quality, employee training and resources, customer satisfaction, licensing, liabilities, profits, taxes, etc. (Reading this list might be inducing stress just thinking about everything on your own to do list.) The last thing you want to worry about during your busy day is whether the bathrooms are properly sanitized (even though clean work spaces are important). Perhaps, a janitorial company could be the perfect opportunity for your company to benefit from outsourcing for a number of reasons.

You Don’t Have to Hire Another Employee

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You know that managing employees is difficult. A new employee can be a large demand on your budget and to do list. New hires have to be found, (background) checked out, interviewed, oriented, and trained. These new employees can be expensive to pay (especially when you consider the fast-rising cost of benefits for full-time employees). By employing commercial janitorial services, you free yourself from the burden of hiring your own janitorial staff.

You Don’t Have to Staff Valuable Resources to the Task

Your employees have a lot of important work to do. You probably cannot afford to have them distracted from that work for office cleaning. Outsourcing those custodial duties to a cleaning service will not only free up those employees to complete other tasks but they may be grateful that you value their time and talents. Outsourcing allows you to protect your most valuable resources for more vital tasks.

You Can Be Confident the Job is Getting Done Right

You run a business because you are confident that you know how to do the job and provide something unique to your customers. For a commercial janitorial service company, that special service is office cleaning. And the business is making sure that you can rest easy that your office space shines. A cleaning company hires experts in thoroughly and efficiently maintaining your professional space.

You can Focus on Running Your Business

Your business is important to you. Commercial janitorial services let you focus on what is key for that business. By hiring cleaning services, you are no longer distracted by the maintenance of your clean offices. You also do not have to worry about the important impression that your office leaves on customers (see our blog post A Clean Office is… for a description of the importance of your office in impression management). Instead, you can focus on the impression of you, your employees, and your product on those satisfied customers.

For more information about commercial cleaning services or hiring a professional janitorial service company, contact us at EHC for more information.

Benefits of a Clean Office

Posted on: October 28th, 2013 by Tim David No Comments

A Clean Office is…

Cleanliness is an American ideal. For many, it is almost a religion; “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Regardless of your individual preferences for organization, order, or cleaning, the simple truth is that your customers have high expectations for you and your business…and an orderly office is one of them. And office cleaning has multiple strong benefits for you and your business. The following represent just a few of the advantages of cleaning (or hiring a commercial janitorial service) to get that office cleaned.

…a Successful Office

A clean and organized office is a successful one. By employing commercial janitorial or cleaning services, you can make sure that your office is a place where: employees can get work done; customers can confidently trust your products and services; and everyone can be healthier and happier.

…a Productive Environment

Working in a cluttered office can be a difficult task. The adage that a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind cannot be truer to employees and customers. Office cleaning can provide employees with just the work-space that allows them to maximize productivity. And in the winter months, organizing and cleaning can be particularly important. Dr. Pat Bass III claims that clutter and depression can go hand-in-hand, especially as the weather is colder and daylight hours shorter. By providing a clean work environment, you can increase employee focus, morale, and work output.

…Perceived Positively by Customers

Your office makes a lasting impression on your customers. An office that sparkles from commercial cleaning services can have as strong and positive impact on your company’s brand as the great products or services that you offer customers. Business experts Dr. Bernard Booms and Dr. Mary Bitner describe this potential as the servicescape of your business. The idea of servicescape is that your products and services are first valued based on the space in which you create them. So a professionally cleaned office is likely to produce products and services which are perceived as superior to products which are not from as clean of an office. And for servicescape, the details matter. A clean parking lot, through parking lot sweeping, can be as important to a customer as the quality of the actual service or goods being purchased. And sometimes customers cannot even recognize that they have made these servicescape judgments.

…A Safer Place

Commercial Snow Plowing Services

In earlier blog posts, we explained the ways in which a clean parking lot office can eliminate unnecessary risks in the office. For example, a parking lot cleared of debris through a snow removal business or parking lot sweeping is less likely to have employees and customers slipping while walking or sliding while driving. And as we enter the cold and flu season, commercial cleaning services can eliminate the spread of germs. The thorough and efficient use of commercial janitorial services can minimize the spread of sickness, reduce employee absence, and increase productivity in the difficult winter months. (For a more thorough description of the safety that is guaranteed through office cleaning, see our blog post Winter Tips for Your Business and Employees).

These are just a few of the many benefits that can accompany a truly clean office (particularly when professionally done by a commercial janitorial service). What other benefits have you experienced by working in clean spaces? Tell us by leaving a comment to this post.

For more information about commercial cleaning Services, contact us at EHC.