When auditing office cleaning quality, the focus should be on whether work has been performed against the scope, not against one’s memory or arbitrary spot checks. Managers in Baton Rouge, Gonzales and Lafayette should be able to assess whether the same tasks are being performed over time by reviewing documentation, bringing recurring misses to the cleaning company’s attention, and allowing the cleaning company to adjust its activities to the scope of the work.
Which Tasks Should an Office Cleaning Quality Audit Review?
An office cleaning quality audit should consider the scope of work against which the daily tasks should be evaluated, document missed tasks over time, and assess whether the scope of work of the office cleaning company is aligned with the office environment.
The environment of a business can change over time. For example, a higher volume of business can mean the need for additional cleaning of surfaces. A cleaning company should not be evaluated negatively for missing a monthly task that was performed in the previous month.
Come Back Clean has published its office cleaning service offerings, which break down typical office cleaning tasks and provide examples of the scope of work of office cleaning companies.
To a large degree, the office cleaning scope of work aligns with the assessments of an office manager.
Come Back Clean, a woman-owned small business, provides office cleaning services. The frequency of cleaning is determined by the needs of the office and may be weekly, biweekly or multiple times a week.
Trash, dust and dirt are easily noticeable.
Published office cleaning service tasks indicate that Come Back Clean employees perform the tasks listed above. In addition, Come Back Clean employees perform sanitizing and restocking of breakroom supplies.
This type of quality control will help ensure the job is done right.
Ask specific questions:
- Were there issues with the handling of the trash?
- Is there a spill or other floor issue?
- Are the restrooms and breakroom cleaned as directed?
- Were other things left visibly dirty?
Employees in Baton Rouge, Gonzales and Lafayette are most familiar with the areas of a facility that receive the most use and see the most throughout the day. These are the areas that need to be clean in order to be functional, such as entrances, restrooms and break rooms.
The importance of consistency in completing a service cannot be overstated. If the customer is satisfied with the service, there is no reason to be overly critical just because the crew may have missed a small minor task.
It is also important to monitor the completion of periodic and one-time tasks.
Some office cleaning services may fail to differentiate between what needs to be done on a daily basis and what needs to be done on a less frequent basis.
Current office cleaning services include the monthly or quarterly cleaning of telephone receivers and other hard-to-reach surfaces, baseboards and blind trim. High dusting and vacuuming of carpets and other surfaces should also be done on an infrequent basis. Full vacuuming of carpets should also be part of the service.
Just because a blind or baseboard is not clean does not mean that the office cleaning service skipped that part of the service. The same is true for high dusting.
When performing a quality audit, the task frequency should also be provided.
Instead of:
“Baseboards were missed Tuesday.”
Check to see if baseboards have been cleaned this month, as they are scheduled to be done monthly.
The suggested change promotes process improvement by incorporating feedback from all staff members.
The article Come Back Clean identifies and explains the systems used to clean and check customer satisfaction by describing the use of manager inspections, client feedback and ongoing quality review and checklists.
Focus on Recurring Misses
Initially, reporting all issues may be beneficial to identify patterns and issues, but for ongoing process improvement, reporting one-time issues may not contribute to the process.
A simple Excel spreadsheet may be all that is required of you to report issues.
- Date
- Issue
- Reported?
You don’t need to devise a scoring system to gauge the issue.
If the microwave is reported during just one visit, report it.
If reported issues happen during multiple visits and it is within the scope of the contracted work, report the issue. The work log helps determine what issues deserve further consideration.
If a situation occurs where the issue is difficult to describe, like a spill that happened after hours, taking a picture may help the manager and the cleaner understand the situation and the area and task that is the focus of the concern.
Pictures should not be used as evidence to discipline an employee.
Issues should be documented to aid in the discussion regarding process improvement.
Allow Your Team to Do Their Job
A good system would diminish the need for manager oversight.
Office managers shouldn’t have to check up on cleaners themselves.
Instead, a good system would involve designating a main contact, identifying and highlighting the most relevant issues, and giving constructive feedback to facilitate positive change.
Rather than:
“The office still doesn’t look right.”
Try something like:
“I noticed the trash can in the back conference room is still being done, we need to check that, right?”
If the scope is clearly defined, the cleaning company can easily check if trash has been removed.
This system is especially helpful when dealing with after-hours cleaning. Come Back Clean acknowledges that commercial cleaning can happen after regular business hours and gives guidelines on how to handle after-hours cleaning.
The same thing can happen if a staff member has changed the security code to the office alarm. If the cleaning team misses something, it could just be because they weren’t allowed access to that area.
This is probably a good system to implement for larger, more complicated properties. Come Back Clean implements similar facility cleaning services.
When the Office Changes, the Cleaning Scope May Need to Change
What accounts for the difference?
- Was staff increased?
- Is there a conference room in a sectioned-off area of the office?
- Are there new restrooms?
- Is there more trash?
- Is there more visitor traffic?
- Is there a change in access rules to the building?
When any of these things occur, it's possible that the current office cleaning service does not meet the needs of the office. That is why the office cleaning service needs to be changed when the office service is changed.
Come Back Clean has the ability to assess a customer’s office for free to determine the scope of the office cleaning service. To arrange for Come Back Clean to assess your office, contact them here.
If the scope has changed, it may be appropriate to increase the service frequency or add new tasks to be performed.
If the office has changed to include more visitor traffic, restrooms, and/or trash, it may require a more comprehensive cleaning service than before. The service should be modified to reflect the changes in the office.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should an office manager assess the quality of office cleaning?
This will depend on the schedule established for the office cleaning service. Assess the quality of service based on the tasks defined in the service scope. If tasks are to be performed on a weekly basis, the quality of the service should be assessed at that time.
Should I snap photos of cleaning problems?
Photos can be beneficial to show issues that may need addressing. Making photos to report minor problems is unnecessary. Photos can be used to document large or difficult-to-describe issues. Photos documenting after-hours cleaning can help with communication.
What constitutes a cleaning miss?
Review the service agreement to determine the scope of work and frequency of the tasks. If the task is within the scope of the agreement, document the date, the location, and the condition that leads you to believe the task was not completed. A scheduled, preventative weekly task is not considered a cleaning miss if it was not done during an unscheduled interim visit.
What should I do with regards to repeated cleaning issues?
Document the repeated issues and inform the point of contact of the cleaning company. Be sure to include the location of the issue and the nature of the work that needs doing. It is difficult to determine the reason a generalized condition of the office is less than acceptable.
When is a cleaning walkthrough justifiable?
A walkthrough is warranted when the office has undergone sufficient change to affect the level of service required to maintain the office in an acceptable condition for clients.
What is the difference between an office cleaning complaint and a scope change?
When there is an office cleaning complaint, it is because work that was agreed upon in the plan was not done. A scope change is when additional or different work is added to the agreement. In most cases, an office cleaning complaint means the work is not being done to the expected quality level and, therefore, requires a follow-up visit by the office manager and cleaning company to assess and, if necessary, adjust the office cleaning plan.
The Scope of Work Agreement Is More Important Than the Cleaners
Most office cleaning audits show that the office cleaning plan is implemented as agreed. The audit should not require the office manager to follow the cleaning staff and evaluate if work done for the month is done for the week.
The plan, work agreements and the office cleaning schedule should be the first things checked during a routine cleaning service. When a consistently agreed office cleaning plan is not done or done poorly, a scope change may be necessary.
