Emmeline | Product Specialist
2 minute read
More cleaning services being delivered during the daytime, rather than out of hours, is a growing trend. Is this a good thing for the industry? Here are the top ways cleaning companies can capitalise on the trend and improve outcomes for clients too.
Many cleaning companies agree that, compared to day-time, it’s much harder to recruit and retain staff for out-of-hours cleaning contracts. Here are some of the reasons why…
- Fits in with other lifestyles (e.g. school, work, etc.) – where a higher proportion of the population works a standard 9 to 5 day, other services don’t always cater for abnormal hours.
- Communication with building users – maybe it’s your aim for your operatives not to talk to other people in the building, but if they can, they can be made aware of any areas that might require special attention. They also might not feel as isolated as they might if they’re the only person in that part of the building as they’re cleaning it.
- Monitor building traffic – being on-site as the building is in use, your operatives can keep track of areas that have been used more frequently than others.
- Plan their shift on the go – linking to monitoring traffic, operatives can cut back on cleaning areas that haven’t been used as much as others.
Inflation is pushing the price of more and more products and commodities up every day. We all know about electricity prices and how they affect our overheads and the prices of our products as they get affected by them – but the other side of it is your customers’ expenses.
This is especially important if you have a commercial contract where they only want out-of-hours cleaning. You might want to remind them that with daytime cleaning they won’t need to leave the heating/lights on for so long - meaning you won’t be making as much of an impact on their soaring energy costs.
Another factor in this is the COVID pandemic. Yes, it’s the subject nobody wants to hear about anymore, but it has made everyone, even if they aren’t in the cleaning industry, more aware of the need for cleanliness. You might actually give your customers a USP if their clients can see their cleaners in action. Daytime cleaning gives all building users the security of knowing that the whole area is clean – it isn't looking dirty and they won’t contract infections from it.
Do your customers know that daytime cleaning isn’t as much of a disturbance as they think? It isn’t as much to do with the cleaners being around other building users - it’s the machinery.
Back in the day, the sound of a vacuum would drown out most other noise – meaning anyone on the phone cannot hear or be heard over it. But with battery-powered machines hitting around 64dB (where office Air Con is around 53dB) and still delivering the same power, noise isn’t a valid reason not to have daytime cleaning anymore.
- If your customers don’t want daytime cleaning contracts, you need to find out why before you draw up an out-of-hours contract – it might be that all you need is a minor change to fit into their ideals.
- You could solve the recruitment headache by offering generally more appealing hours.
- Let your customers know that out-of-hours cleaning will always be more expensive because the pay rates are higher and they’ll also have to pay for the extended power and heating supply.
- Having a cleaner in the day means that your customers can see what quality of ‘clean’ they’re getting as it’s happening.
- Your staff will feel happier and more involved if they're working during the day. "A happy employee is a productive employee." Erin Davis