7 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Commercial Cleaning Service

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Everyone deserves to work in a dust-free, germ-free, and contaminant-free office—which is why hiring an exemplary commercial cleaning company is a must. In addition to finding out what a company’s rates are and talking to references, here are seven questions to ask before entrusting a commercial cleaning business for your office in a COVID-19 world.

1. Are you insured and bonded? General liability insurance and workers compensation insurance are must-haves. You’ll want to verify coverage to ensure you’d be protected in the event one of the company’s employees breaks something in your office or gets injured on the job.
2. What cleaning services do you provide? Some companies offer special services, such as window washing and hardwood floor buffing, that you may need in addition to basic cleaning tasks like dusting, vacuuming, and disinfecting surfaces.
3. What kind of training do your employees receive? You wouldn’t want a rookie mechanic repairing your car, would you? In that vein, you only want to hire people who are professionally trained to perform commercial cleaning duties. Pro tip: Find a company that performs background checks on its workers.
4. Do your bring your own cleaning tools and supplies? A full-service commercial cleaning company supplies its own vacuums, floor polishers, and other cleaning equipment, which makes the process seamless.
5. What businesses do you service with an office like mine? Experience matters, without a doubt, but you don’t want to just find out how many years a company has been in business—you also want to confirm that they have experience cleaning offices similar to yours.
6. Are you CIMS certified? A Cleaning Industry Management Standard certification from the trade group ISSA adds credibility to a professional office cleaning company. It’s among the most rigorous credentials developed for the industry.
7. Do you have a quality control process? You want to hire a cleaning company that tracks and manages the quality of its employees’ work.

Source: Matthew Carson, International Janitorial Cleaning Services Assoc.