So, the question that office managers ask themselves is, should you outsource the cleaning function or hire a cleaner yourself? To answer this, consider the following factors :
Size of your office / number of employees
The greater the headcount, more work is needed to maintain office cleanliness and tidiness. The advantage of outsourcing the cleaning lies in time saved in managing the office cleaner. An experienced cleaner will be able to work independently without too much supervision. However there will be times when you will need to intervene, for example when things are not done properly, or when the cleaner resigns. When this happens, finding a replacement can be challenging, especially if handling the office cleanliness is just one of your job functions. If you are hiring the cleaner directly, there will be times when she is on medical leave or annual leave. The office will not have any cleaning service during this period unless a temporary cleaner is found.
Expected traffic into your office – is this a public space or are the number of visitors likely to be minimal
The same consideration here applies, ie a busy office will have more work, and hence the level of supervision is correspondingly going to be higher. In such instances, it is usually more expedient to outsource as the cleaning contractor will be able to source for suitable and experienced cleaners to handle the workload. In our experience, we find that it may take some time to settle the cleaner into the workload. It can be rather frustrating have to work with a few cleaners before the right person is found.
Do you have washroom facilities within the office that need to be maintained
The advantage of hiring a cleaning contractor here is that they are usually one-stop provider of toilet consumables and will take care of ensuring the supplies do not run out.
Does your headoffice have a headcount for a cleaner
Sometimes the head office will not provide a headcount for this job function. Here, it will be necessary to outsource cleaning to a service provider.
