It’s budget time! You want the best service at the best price – who doesn’t? A janitorial services partner can help optimize your budget to save you time, money and headaches!
Cost control is a serious issue and is the primary reason to outsource janitorial services. A survey of facilities managers indicated that the primary areas outsourced were custodial and housekeeping operations (72%), and the primary functional area that respondents claimed savings from was custodial and housekeeping (52%) (FMLink & Encompass Global Technologies, 2002). According to IFMA, “in-house cleaning costs an average of 23% more than contract cleaning services” (McCagg, 2001).
Day Porters can be a valuable investment in ensuring that your building stays looking clean and professional, as well as properly maintained. Day porters can also lighten the load of your night cleaning crew, thereby reducing staffing needs, as well as evening security and electricity costs. Day porters are used to working in busy, high traffic areas, and are familiar with all kinds of cleaning and trash removal, as well as minor repairs and painting.
Bundling services may allow building management and owners to operate with a smaller total management staff than might otherwise be needed for separate management of those services through several smaller contracts. For example, the person who manages building maintenance activities, such as plumbing services, can also manage other services, such as janitorial. Bundled services with right partner will give you the right solution at the right price to optimize your budget.
Quality assurance measures are key to ensuring that you are getting the most “bang for your buck”. If services aren’t being performed to your (or your customer’s) satisfaction, you are not getting the right value for your services. A quality assurance program needs to establish a quality environment – an environment that focuses on customers, involves employees, measures performance and is continuously improving. Good quality assurance programs ensure that the highest quality of service is consistently and reliably delivered.
Benchmarking can help determine that you have the right scope of work and the right amount of assigned resources. When making key budgeting decisions (or justifications), janitorial benchmarking can provide key data about how your organization is managing their costs in comparison to other departments and/or facilities in your area. For example, one of the most common janitorial performance benchmarks is cost per cleaned area. Factors that will impact the collection of that data includes size facility area cleaned, type of facility (i.e. clean room, manufacturing, administrative space), number of part vs. full time staff assigned, etc. In this way, building type and size become filters for benchmarking facilities. With proper benchmarking tools, when budgeting rolls around you’ll have the relevant facts at your fingertips to demonstrate which areas can withstand cuts, which need to be shored up and which areas are operating at maximum efficiency.
Green cleaning can help save the environment, protect your health (and that of building occupants) and may even save you money! You may be surprised that “cleaning green” is good for the bottom line. The janitorial services industry has made huge strides to reduce the impact on the environment on a daily basis. This implementation and promotion of more environmentally-friendly chemicals, energy-efficient equipment, water reduction, chemical-free products, recycled paper, reduction of pollutants and microfiber all aid in support of environmental initiatives.
As you analyze and plan your janitorial and facilities maintenance budgets, don’t just cut costs, but look at measures that help ensure that you are optimizing your budget while maintaining your high standard of excellence.
