Why Your Janitorial Service Should Be Using Supervisors

You’ve hired a cleaning company to take care of all your janitorial needs. In the beginning, the cleaning service did a great job. But, lately you’ve noticed a decline in the quality of their work. The cleaning crew’s the same, but their work isn’t. So, what’s changed? It may be due to a lack of adequate supervision.

Some people have a strong work ethic and don’t require supervision. But, that’s not always the case. Cleaning is a highly detailed activity. On a given day, the cleaning crew can miss or forget a certain task. That can’t be prevented. But, the crew should be held accountable for their work.

The best way to do that is by periodic inspections and adequate supervision. A supervisor or account manager should be assigned to your janitorial account. The supervisor must be easy to reach if you have any questions or concerns about the service you are receiving. Some cleaning companies provide communication software for this purpose (read about Ace’s customer service software).

How Often Should a Cleaning Supervisor Inspect?

There really isn’t a single answer to this question. Some large buildings and offices require daily inspections, but many smaller facilities can be managed with weekly or even monthly inspections. Nonetheless, they all require supervision.

Have you Seen a Janitorial Supervisor, Manager or Owner Lately?

When a cleaning crew starts a new job, a supervisor or manager is often present to set up the account. The supervisor typically brings the equipment and supplies that are needed to clean the facility. During that visit the staff are given a cleaning schedule to follow. For many cleaning companies, that’s where supervision starts and ends.

Many business owners report that the only time they’ve seen a janitorial supervisor is to follow-up on a complaint. While it’s important to respond to issues the customer is having, its better to be proactive and have some type of quality control measures in place before problems arise. Many of the accounts we’ve taken over report that they’ve NEVER seen a supervisor in their facility. Its no wonder things got out of control!

Some cleaning companies employ supervisors and managers to maintain quality control. But, if your cleaning company doesn’t have a “supervisor,” someone still has to check the accounts to make sure things are running smoothly. For some janitorial companies, the owner may take on that responsibility.

Remote Timekeeping System Monitors Cleaning Times:

Janitorial workers usually clean at night when no one else is in the building to supervise. Cleaning crews tend to cut corners and spend less time cleaning when they aren’t supervised. Our cleaning crews clock in and out of each job using a remote timekeeping system. This ensures that our janitorial workers are spending sufficient time to complete their tasks.

Daily Inspections: The Advantage of Team Cleaning:

There are many ways to maintain quality control. The most cost effective approach is to use a system called team cleaning. This approach can be applied when there are two or more cleaning technicians on the job. The major advantage of this system is the double check, daily inspection system.

Each technician is assigned a particular task. The team “leader” or closer, inspects everyone’s work at the end of the cleaning session. This ensures more consistent results.

Even team cleaning systems, require periodic inspections to ensure that the system is being followed correctly.

Monitoring Cleaning Equipment and Supplies:

The janitorial company may have brought in the proper supplies and equipment when your account started, but do you know what they’re using now? Without the proper supervision your guess is as good as mine.

If no one is supervising the job and replenishing supplies on a regular basis, there is no control over the type of cleaning products being used. Janitorial crews have no choice, but to purchase household products when their supplies run low if no one is supervising the account. (we’ve seen this this happen with many cleaning companies when we take over their accounts). Many over the counter cleaning products aren’t meant for commercial cleaning and just can’t get the job done properly.

Quality Control through Accountability:

We hold our employees accountable through daily inspections (i.e. team cleaning) and frequent on-site inspections. We incentivize our employees based on the results of our inspections and customer feedback.

High Customer Satisfaction using Proactive Quality Control Measures:

We maintain quality control by supervising and inspecting our staff’s work on a regular basis. Our proactive approach is aimed at maintaining a high level of service by closely monitoring our employee’s performance. We have several proprietary methods to achieve these goals.

Please contact Ace to learn more about our quality control systems and start getting better results now!