Office clean

Offices, for many of us, are nice and clean when we arrive each morning. Large corporations can afford teams of cleaners to come in each evening and clean – like the shoemaker’s elves – so that we’re ready to get on with our own jobs the next morning.

But there are a great many offices that don’t have that luxury, that have a lady in once a while to give the office the once over, and the rest of the week employees are left to their own devices. Some don’t even have that. As a small business owner, you need to take stock and consider your cleaning options.

When you walk into your office each morning, you see the place as your clients see it. Next time you open the office door, decide whether this is the image your want the world to have of your business.

Before your employees arrive, walk through the office and make a note of things that aren’t as impressive as you’d like them. As your employees arrive, ask them to do the same. You could even give them a checklist of things to look for headed with three columns: looks great, could do with some attention, and seriously YUCK.

Your offices represent your company’s service and professionalism. If there is toilet roll dragged across the floor, and dust piled high in the reception area, your clients aren’t likely to stay around for long. A clean environment impresses your clients, and it affects your employees’ mood for the good.

Regardless of what you chose to do about the cleaning, as your reception is the face of your company, you should consider redecorating and updating. Buy some coffeetable books to replace the dog-eared industry magazines, and get a few plants to pep the area up a bit. Comfortable chairs aren’t a massive investment when you consider how much more money you could make from impressed customers.

After a walk-through with your employees, you’ll probably all come to the conclusion that you need a little help with your cleaning. Either you agree as a team to tackle chores together daily or weekly – maybe you could make it into a team building exercise – or you find an office cleaning service to help you keep on top of the place regularly.

Find an office cleaning firm – Ask other business owners for cleaning firm recommendations, trawl the internet for local cleaning companies and flick through The Yellow Pages, then approach a number of cleaning companies for quotations based on a twice-weekly or daily clean. Find out if the cleaning firms provide their own products in the quoted price, or whether you have to provide those yourself.

- When you have a list of possibles, ask them for references from happy customers – you could even ask to go to an office that they clean to check the quality of their work.

- Find out whether they use permanent employees, or whether they use temps. Also ask about their security policy, insurance cover and guarantees.