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Showing posts from July, 2015

Commercial Cleaning Employee Turnover a Symptom of A Bigger Problem

Are you seeing a revolving door of new faces from your commercial cleaning service? Are you concerned about so many new people in your building at night? Or perhaps you feel like a new cleaner or cleaning staff just seems to really start to get it and boom, you start over with new people. High janitorial turnover might be your cleaning company’s problem, but it has a big impact on many facets of service and security that directly impact you. High Turnover From Your Janitorial Company Hurts Your Business High turnover from your cleaning company certainly is their problem but it’s your too. The janitorial industry has a pretty high overall employee turnover but some companies experience even greater attrition. Since turnover percentages can be all over the spectrum, ideally, you should partner with a cleaning company with an annual turnover well below the national average. The reality is that too many new employees in and out of your facility is often a symptom of much bigger issue

How Your Janitorial Company’s Employee Turnover Costs You Money

The Dollars & Cents of Janitorial Employee Turnover Is your  commercial cleaning company  sending a revolving door of new hires in and out of your facility? If your janitorial service seems like a continual sea of new faces, it could be costing you money and reducing the value of what you are getting. No industry is completely exempt from the costs of employee turnover, however, the cleaning industry has always suffered from relatively high employee turnover. Historically, turnover in the janitorial industry has averaged between lows around 75% percent and historical highs of as much as 400%. Currently, employee turnover hovers around 200%.  To put these percentages into perspective, imagine a janitorial company has a team of 100 employees and a turnover rate of 200 percent annually. That’s 200 new hires every year. Every time an employee leaves, it costs the janitorial company as much as $1,000 in recruitment, interviewing, criminal background check, employment and reference

Do National Cleaning Companies Really Stink?

These days everything is made available in all shapes, sizes, and locations. You have a choice in size and locality with everything: from restaurants, to cars, and even cleaning companies. In every case you’ll find yourself weighting the benefits of going with, say,  national cleaning companies  or a locally based cleaning company. You may ask yourself: is bigger going to be better? Which choice makes a positive economic impact? And, most important: can you receive quality service from the huge national cleaning companies? Bigger can be better if, like the national cleaning companies, your company maintains a national presence. For instance, if your business owns several buildings across the country and your central office wants to maintain quality control over the janitorial service, then a  national cleaning company  tends to make sense. Keep in mind though that  national cleaning companies  are a lot like chain restaurants that also have a national presence. With these restauran

The Two Top Reasons Your Day Porter Program Will Fail

A carefully planned Day Porter Program can deliver great value to many different types of facilities. Whenever a client asks us what exactly does a Day Porter do, we always answer with the question, "What would you like them to do?" Day porters are there to make your life easier by keeping up with cleaning tasks and filling gaps in service or helping out where needed. Some of our most successful Day Porters earn the trust of our clients by going well beyond the normal touching up restrooms and cleaning the front door glass. With this level of customized service, the people inside your facility can feel very cared for when they see and interact with the person delivering the services you as a Facility Manager provide for them. Likewise, there are always to do list items added and unplanned needs and that extra set of eyes and hands during the day can go a long ways in helping you manage such day-to-day interruptions. While a Day Porter program can be just what you facilit

Is It Time To Dump Your Restroom Cleaning Service?

No one likes dirty restrooms, but if your facility bathrooms are gross enough to weaken even the strongest of stomachs, you could be flushing your bottom line down the toilet. Sure, even frequently cleaned office restrooms will get dirty by the end of the day, but if your restrooms are in a state of constant yuck, it might be time to dump you restroom cleaning service. Dirty facility restrooms are a problem because either you don’t have anyone properly caring for your facility or the company you have entrusted to do it isn’t getting the job done. Either way, it’s likely time to revisit your facility maintenance and get the professional help you need to keep the loos looking good. Sending the Wrong Message With Inadequate Restroom Cleaning Your stinky restrooms, overfilling trash cans and empty soap dispensers say a great deal about your facility maintenance and unfortunately, what they say isn’t good. If a customer sees an unkempt restroom their impression will likely be th

Restrooms: Solving The Number One Issue In Commercial Cleaning

What is the number one issue in  commercial cleaning ? Well really it is the number one AND the number two issue. The issue we speak of is facility restrooms. Dirty restrooms, dirty office bathrooms and a lack of a restroom cleaning service can be challenging to any facility. As a building services contractor, there is no shortage of tough cleaning challenges but restrooms continue to top the list. Why is this? Well, there are a number of reasons why restrooms become a point of contention in a facility. One, they can be a the toughest room to tackle. Two, they are private spaces where people are doing their business, business that is more messy and smelly than say, making copies or printing off a document. Third, at home your bathroom is either yours alone or shared with a few family or friends. In a large facility, you share this private space with any number of people you might prefer not to. So having the space look and smell clean is even more important. Fourth, no one really wa

National Janitorial Companies - Is It Really Worth It?

When outsourcing cleaning services, you’re inviting an outside company into your personal workspace. The relationship between you, your employees, and your   janitorial service  is a very important one. The cleaning company you engage should reflect the values of your own business and bring with it an individuality, and a strong sense of customer service that serves to benefit your company.  National janitorial companies have many obvious advantages, which all-too-often, gets canceled out by their various  hidden disadvantages . Typically, by the time these problem situations make themselves known, it is too late. Before you get trapped in a contract with one of the major national cleaning services, take into account the things they cannot offer you; recall the positive aspects available from your local cleaning company:  The best janitorial services are the ones that give you access to the manager or owner in charge when you need it. No matter how big or how small a job, when you 

National Janitorial Services - What You Didn't Know

When you’re making a switch in cleaning services for your company, you should know that not all janitorial services are created equal--even the best of the best. The cleaning service that you want to invite into your workspace should be rooted in the same values and community as your business or institution.  That being said, assuming for a moment that the reputations of your local cleaning company and a  national janitorial services  company are the same, it is wise to research the inherent differences between the two business types. For example, there are several important points to bear in mind regarding national cleaning services: Their stockholders come first National janitorial services companies  are loyal, first and foremost, to their stockholders and not their clients. What drives these organizations is the price of their stock, raising profits and creating a return. The pockets of their investors will trump the needs of their clients every time. Robbing Peter to pay Pa

What Are Day Porter Services & Do You Need Them

Day porters are often the unseen heroes of a facility. These valued team members clean, but they also help support the image of your facility and ensure that customers, employees and tenants are satisfied. Your day porter can provide you as a Facility Manager with an invaluable service, they keep your facility clean and in good repair by helping you tick off items that can quickly overwhelm your ‘to do’ list. A Day Porter or Day Porter Staff functions as a daytime cleaning service with benefits. Your Day Porter will provide vital services that keep your building running smoothly, like: Lobby maintenance Cleaning common areas like kitchens, cafeterias and patios Monitoring and servicing restrooms Removing trash and debris Restroom Restocking Meeting setup/tear down The exact duties of your Day Porter will depend on the needs of your specific facility maintenance and your preferences as a Facility Manager. Generally your Day Porter is given a set list of maintenance tasks

Could Day Porter Services Transform Your Facility ?

While much of your cleaning and  building maintenance  takes place after business hours, many facilities see enough traffic to warrant daytime cleaning too. When a lobby has a smudgy door, coffee spills on side tables, overflowing trash or no toilet paper in the restrooms, do you really want to wait until the next day to get things in order? Day porters can assist in daytime cleaning duties to keep your facility looking good, but the real transformation power of a day porter is how their duties can be entirely customized to the needs of you as a Facility Manager, your tenants, your facility and your employees. Day porter services are designed to help you and your facility with basic janitorial needs during normal daytime business hours. Day porter’s duties often include things like trash removal, restocking restroom supplies, keeping entryways and lobbies in sparkling condition, dusting, windows    and doors and more. Again, what day porter services offer above and beyond general cl

Open Book Management

Who has a stake in Macedo Services ? Peri, Carlos, Jamie? Actually, the answer is every one of our employees. Since we have put Open Book Management in practice, all of our employees play an important part in managing the company. Every Thursday all of our employees are invited to participate in Open-Book Management meetings, where details of the state of the business are shared. The knowledge they gain from attending the meetings helps them understand how they can help the company attain success — leading to financial rewards for everyone via bonuses.  Carlos Macedo said, “It’s a win/win/win for our clients, our employees and our company .” “Open-Book Management was pioneered by John Case, who clearly and carefully explains the principles in his book, Open-Book Management . His website explains, “In its simplest form, Open-Book Management is a way of running a company that gets everyone focused on building a better business – helping the business be more successful. It teac

Finding the Best Commercial Cleaning Service & Why Local Matters

Does Local Matter? There has been a recent renewal in our interest in doing things locally. We are told and tell others to shop local, eat local, buy local and even consider taking a “ staycation ” to help keep valuable revenue in our state. In part, keeping your business and dollars local has a number of benefits for the local community, but what about your business? Sure, you’d like to keep your dollars right here in town but as a business person with a bottom line, you also need to consider budgets and the ultimate health of your business. So, when it comes to finding a reliable building services company be it a janitorial service,window cleaning services, a painting company or even general cleaning services, how can you determine if using a local based business might offer a positive return for you and your business? Could Using a Local Cleaning Company Be Good For Business? That all depends on what you need from your cleaning service or janitorial company. If your busines