The decision to hire employees or delegate to outside contractors is never easy, and the issue of keeping the office clean is no exception. But when it comes to things like deep carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning service, wouldn’t you rather have a professional on the job?
Whether you hire dedicated staff for your cleaning needs, or contract with a commercial janitorial service, each choice has its benefits and drawbacks. When having the discussion, there are three factors you need to make sure you evaluate before reaching a decision:
Weigh the Costs
When hiring a dedicated employee, it’s important to remember there is more to it that just the cost of their salary. Some of the other costs you need to consider include health benefits, vacation, sick days and workers compensation insurance. As the employer, you will also be responsible for overhead costs of cleaning supplies and equipment. When you contract with a commercial cleaning service, you pay the agreed upon rate and shift the other costs onto the contractor – it’s a big weight off your shoulders. Plus, they’re more likely to have specialized skills that will prevent you from having to hire other services individually (upholstery cleaning services, rug cleaning service, water damage restoration companies – it may all be available under one roof).
Flexibility
If you decide to handle your cleaning tasks internally, you will need to dedicate one, or even a group of employees to that task. Some may choose to divide the work up among existing staff. That means you are paying staff for time they are not spending on your core business. Plus, your time is also being spent managing the cleaning staff. By hiring a commercial cleaning service, however, you’re still paying, but your employees will be spending all of their time concentrating on your business. Plus, even if your employees are absent, the cleaning still get’s done. Your time is freed up to focus on your business.
Control
Of course, having the cleaning staff already on your payroll does give the business owner a greater amount of control than working with contract staff. Employees that are part of your staff tend to have more loyalty and dedication to you and your company. This can be an important factor. Hiring an independent, however, offers flexibility to the changing work demands of your company. You have the ability to take added opportunities as they arise, and during slow periods, have greater cost control. Independent contractors generally come fully specialized – you do not have to spend the time training them.
The decision is not an easy one to make. Retaining your own cleaning staff may make sense for you business. But hiring an outside contractor can save you money, since you can likely use them for everything, from cleaning the office regularly to fire and water damage restoration to the occasional need for upholstery cleaning services. This allows you to spend your time doing what you do best – running your business. Research more like this.
