Organize for Success
Typically, when we think of operating a business, we think about the actual delivery of the product or service. And as it relates to the office cleaning business, clearly delivery of high-quality cleaning and disinfecting is key to maintaining a thriving business. After all, if customers are not receiving the service which they deserve, they won’t be customers for long. However, it’s also important to focus on activities and systems that occur before, during, and after service delivery. The little details are the things that take a business from mediocre to extraordinary.
Organizing Your Route of Accounts
Before delivering the service of an exemplary cleaning, you’ve got to organize your routes and make a schedule. Whether you are a large operator of a janitorial services business or a small purveyor of office cleaning, building out your weekly, or monthly, schedule of customer accounts to be cleaned in a visible manner is enormously important to succeeding. A calendared view with account names, days cleaned, approximate length of service, and location changes everything. You can plan for what equipment and chemicals are needed as well as assist in providing visibility into other potential costs like travel expenditures. A high-level view of the customer schedule may seem small, but it packs a powerful punch.
Pre-Cleaning Prep
Similar to an athlete preparing for a big game, successful owners and operators of office cleaning businesses prepare for their cleans on a nightly basis. Once you have a laid-out route and schedule, you can then begin to think about the specific clients, their needs, and how you’ll meet those needs. According to Jonathan Frias, Regional Director at Corvus of Northwest Arkansas, “I always remind our franchisees to do the prep work for nightly cleaning at some point during the afternoon. That is the time to not only ensure you have your chemicals, equipment, and other tools ready to go, but it is also a good time to think through what hot spots, areas of focus, or special attention a customer account needs. Mentally getting ready for the work that needs to be done is an essential part of being successful”. Just like athletes, you’re never going to reach your true potential of success without being prepared for what is ahead.
Organizing the Clean
Why start from scratch on each clean? Why waste time finding new ways to do what you already know works? As the saying goes, “don’t reinvent the wheel”. Corvus Franchisees learn to create established cleaning patterns that they follow at each office or place of work. They spend time learning, organizing, and implementing the most impactful cleaning and disinfecting techniques in a manner that optimizes both the client’s time and the Franchisee’s time. Once the cleaning plan is established and proven effective, consistently following it not only helps in terms of ensuring wonderful service, it also allows for improvement on the quality and efficiency of it.
Finishing Up
Finally, once an office is cleaned, disinfected, and secured, there remains more to do if you truly want to be successful. “I always load my vehicle the same way after a clean, making sure I have all my chemicals and equipment. Leaving anything in an account does not only irritate a customer; it puts me in a jam for the next clean…or, worse, if I don’t recover whatever I left, costs me money. There is no excuse for not collecting and organizing your tool kit”, said Latarsha Key, a Corvus of Jacksonville Franchisee.
Michael Kerby, Regional Director of Corvus of Denver, takes that advice a step further by adding, “…and the work really isn’t done until a Franchisee checks his or her inventory levels, cleans their equipment, launders rags or mop heads, and stows their gear…if you will”. Clearly, organizing, cleaning, and taking care of the tools needed to provide an excellent clean is a critical part of succeeding in the office cleaning business. Again, with the athlete analogy, if an athlete simply walks off the court or field and goes home, they’re never going to be truly successful. They’ve got to stretch, reflect, shower, and clean up. Once you can look back and appreciate a job well done with nothing left unturned, then you can call it a day.
To learn more about the janitorial service industry or receive information about Corvus Janitorial Systems’ Office Cleaning Franchise Opportunity, call or email our team today.