At this time a lot of business are tightening their belt to get through the credit crunch. Budgets are being squeezed all the time. What type of savings can we make?
One business owner said they were having to cut back and do all the office cleaning in Aberdeen themselves sharing the work on a rota basis. Is this a practical option for your company?
One of the things you will need to consider is the need to go out and buy on a regular basis a variety of cleaning chemicals and other equipment dependant of the type of jobs being done. Someone will need to go out and buy these from the store. This is a time and cost expense in itself.Any professional cleaning service in Aberdeen will have a supply in stock at all times as the same products will be used on a number of different contracts.
If you are not going to hire an extra person to do the work then it is likely you will be utilising one of your existing admin staff members taking them away from their regular duties. This could have an extra cost effect on your business if their normal work is not being done effectively and on time.
If that person is not proficient on cleaning duties it will need to be done again an added expense and once again your office staff would not be using their skills and training in your business.
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. Are you aware of the dangers of mixing cleaning chemicals (even household strength cleaning products)? Did you know mixing some toilet cleaners together can give off poisonous Chlorine gas?
• 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?
• Do you know enough about the role to do a professional Risk Assessment as required by law?
• 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.}
If the choice was down to me as an office manager I would be asking myself the following questions
• ” 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.