Employ contract cleaners

Outsourcing cleaning services can save much time and money. For the small business, employing contract cleaners is probably the easiest and most hassle-free way of getting the job done.

Using in-house cleaners, ones you employ yourself, may be preferable but is more difficult to control from a financial viewpoint. Putting out work for tendering, the process of asking people to make offers to do that work, will also help you to get value for money.

If you contract out you have more time to think about your core responsibilities and concentrate on the business in hand. Using a contract team for cleaning eliminates the problem of recruiting and training staff. A contract team can find the right cleaners to meet your specifications. A good cleaning contractor will take the time to find out about the needs of your company and find the more appropriately trained staff with the correct equipment. They will also know more about health and safety requirements concerning their job.

• Be clear about what you want them to do in the role: when you approach a company, it may be useful to have a checklist ready with your requirements so that your needs can best be met
• Decide what exactly needs to be cleaned: the full office, or only some of it? Windows? Computer equipment? Contractors will want to discuss this in detail. If you don't run an office, a factory for example, cleaning plans will need to be detailed so that the contractor can assess if they have the right staff with the appropriate skills to do the job
• How often? You may decide that you don't need a cleaner every day, and would prefer one once a week. Or you may need some things cleaned less frequently. Again, assess your real needs. With careful thought, you might save some money in the process
• Specialist skills: make sure that you are getting the right cleaner for your needs. Some cleaning tasks require specialist expertise (such as graffiti removal) which you need to get the right people for