Office Cleaning: More Than Just A Routine Chore

You’re in business to make profits. Doing this extends beyond focusing on the quality of the products and services you offer. How your business presents itself will be key in determining whether your current and prospective customers will be interested in engaging you. A positive image is needed to build and retain your customers’ confidence. What image greets them after they step into your office? In fact, what sight will they see as they come up your driveway? How is the curb appeal of your business premises? What are the conditions in the reception area, to the offices themselves where you intend to serve your clients? They all have an impact on your brand.

Influencing the customer experience

The likeability of your business brand is tied to the cleanliness measures that have been undertaken. Customers want to identify with a clean establishment, and ensuring that yours is well taken care of will impress them. This ranges from the condition of the surfaces- including the desks, walls, floors and windows, to the arrangement of the office. A soiled environment will chase away your customers, right through your competitors open doors. On the other hand, a satisfactory experience will increase your chances of retaining their loyalty.

Your reputation is on the line

A soiled interior or exterior will tarnish your image. Windows with streaks of dirt on the glass spaces, floors covered in stains, odours that are permeating from the washrooms to the rest of the working space, work desks and lounges that are coated in dust and other allergens that trigger reactions from those using them- it negatively impacts your enterprise. You want your customers to be comfortable, not constantly on edge because of worrying about their health.

The productivity of your workforce

Providing your employees with a clean environment to work in will boost their morale, as opposed to leaving them in a dilapidated workspace where they keep looking at the clock, longing for closing hours for them to go home. A soiled working environment is actually stressful, lowering their quality of life, and this ends up affecting your business operations. Then there are the sick leaves and medical bills that result when their health is impacted. These incidents can be prevented by putting a comprehensive cleaning program in place, that includes ensuring your janitorial team has a sufficient supply of cleaning products to work with.

Cleaning Tasks Involved

These can be broken down into 2:

Daily cleaning

These mainly affect the workplace and communal office spaces, since there are multiple people using them frequently, leading to the rapid rate of soiling. Thus, they require more attention. For instance, the faucets, light switches, doorknobs and other high-touch surfaces should be routinely disinfected. Trash Cans should be emptied as they get full, and new trash bags put in place. Ensuring that the trash has been removed enables you to retain a presentable office space for your clients, employees, associates, and visiting executives as well.

Cleaning products like microfibre cloths enable you to safely work on the electronics. For instance, you can use them to quickly wipe the computer screens, as the material will lift the dust particles without putting it at risk. This should also be done to the telephones and fax machines. The microfibre cloths also lift a majority of the germs from the surface, making them a crucial tool to incorporate amongst your office cleaning products. Paper towel dispensers, and soap in the bathrooms should be refilled, and the toilet surfaces cleaned and sanitised. Any dishes that are left in the employee break room should be washed and put away as well.

The surfaces of the microwave in the break room have to be cleaned daily- both on the exterior and interior. Any remnants from the day’s meals that were heated can lead to thick greasy residue coating the microwave walls, and also create a health hazard. The floors should be swept and mopped, and the office clutter cleared away. When mopping, ensure that the proper safety measures have been put in place, such as setting up signs warning the persons walking around that the surface is currently wet. The sidewalks outside your business also need to be worked on, as you don’t want to have a messed-up exterior.

Some cases call for immediate attention, such as when spills occur. Allowing those coffee, milk or juice spills to remain on the desktops or floors for long will cause the stains to set into the surface, and become more difficult to clean. What’s more, these spots will be sticky, increasing the rate of soiling on the affected section. Are there reading materials that have been displayed in the waiting area? These are the likes of pamphlets, brochures, and magazines. Tidy them up- and also get reading material that is up to date. Dust the furniture, wall hangings, windows and shelves, to create a healthier indoor environment.

Weekly cleaning

These tasks call for deep cleaning. The hard and tiled floors need a thorough mopping, and all the flat surfaces- including the desks and tables, should be disinfected. The windows need attention, washing them down- both outside and inside, and the mirrors wiped. After emptying and washing the trash cans, disinfectants come in to sanitise them. New bin liners are then put in place. Lamps and computers should be dusted, and the carpets and mats thoroughly vacuumed. Are there marks on the walls? Get rid of them using cleaning products that are developed for the particular type of wall.

Any leftovers that are in the communal refrigerator should be disposed of, and its surfaces wiped down. For instance, you can institute a weekly disposal day- like Friday during closing time. Inform the employees that all items that remain in the refrigerator will be tossed out. After the last lunch break of the week, the chairs, tables, shelves and sinks in the breakroom should be disinfected as well. For the floors, a good buffing will enable them to retain their polished effect.

Office Cleaning: More Than Just A Routine Chore