Is It Cheaper To Clean In-House Or Employ Professional Office Cleaners?
With the recession or credit crunch or any name you want to give to the current economic issues we all face today I have come across a number of people who tell me they are cutting back on business costs.
One option being considered is to end the contract with the professional office cleaning in Aberdeen and do it all in-house using existing office staff. But does that actually save money in- practice?
Obviously your staff may not be happy about having this extra duty placed on them when they may already feel under pressure to do their normal job. But what other issues do we need to consider?
Firstly you will need to start buying a number of different cleaning chemicals and some equipment on a fairly regular basis and hope you don’t run out if people are using too much. Someone will need to go out and buy these from the store. This is a time and cost expense in itself. All professional cleaning service in Aberdeen will have their own preferred cleaning chemicals which their staff will have trained in using. This means they will have access to all associated safety data sheets etc from their usual chemical supplier.
You may decide to employ an extra person to do the cleaning thus doing away with some of the savings but if you are considering using your existing staff you need to calculate into the process the lost opportunities for staff doing their “normal job”. Will that suffer if they are asked to do these extras and at what cost to your business?
The job may even need doing twice if the person is not shown exactly the right way to do the task. You also need to consider whether using an existing staff member is the best use of their time. They definitely will not be using the expertise that caused you to initially select them at the interview or spent time since developing their new skills for the job. How much did it cost you to train that person in real terms not just the cost of the training programme?
In addition the potential for damage to your office interiors increases as the person does not understand the use of some materials and the surfaces being cleaned. I recall going into one office complex and seeing that the cleaner (also employed as a book-keeper) had squirted some strong bleach on a floor and it had burnt the floor almost beyond economic repair. There is also the danger of mixing cleaning chemicals e.g. some toilet cleaners when mixed together generate considerable amounts of heat and poisonous gases.
• Have you all the skills in house to develop all the health and safety guidance in-house? Or will you to pay to outsource it?
• Who would do the required risk assessment for each and every cleaning task being performed? Not Necessary… just wait and see what the Health and Safety Inspector has to say after an accident on your premises!
• Do you have copies of the COSHH data sheets for every single cleaning product your staff purchase in the event of an incident? Your local superstore will not supply them for the general household products they sell!| Can you be certain that you have the required COSSH safety data sheets for every single cleaning product your staff purchase? Your local supermarket or corner store will not be able to supply these legal documents and you will need them on site in case of an safety incident.}
At the end of the day the main questions you need to ask yourself is
• ” Will I lose more money by taking staff away from the main business focus than I pay to use a professional cleaning company”
• “What is the cost of not doing the job properly and having to repeat the work, do expensive repairs or facing legal issues over health and safety? ”
Personally I would come to the conclusion in most places that it would be better to hire a professional cleaning company in Coatbridge rather than take the risk of letting untrained people make mistakes. I believe it works out cheaper that way in the longer term.
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