The last few years have been a rollercoaster ride for school administrators. Not only have they had to adapt their classrooms and curriculums to meet the abrupt changes caused by COVID-19, but they’ve also had to make tough decisions about how to best manage resources and personnel as budgets shrink and spending cuts become more severe.
One of the areas that is often the first to fall victim to stringent budget constraints is the janitorial staff.
As schools aim to make cost-saving adjustments, they rationalize that the janitorial staff is an expendable luxury – after all, it’s not a core service that directly impacts learning.
But this line of thinking overlooks the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in the classroom and the many benefits that come with outsourcing janitorial services to an experienced commercial cleaning company.
By supplementing their internal staff with a trusted partner, schools can benefit from cost savings, improved safety and hygiene, increased productivity, and enhanced quality control.
In this post, we’ll look at the key benefits of supplemental staffing as an addition to an internal janitorial team and discuss why it should be a serious consideration for schools.
Current State of School Cleaning Services
Schools typically employ in-house janitorial staff to keep the school clean. This is a perfectly reasonable approach, as long as the team is adequately trained and up to date on the latest cleaning protocols and procedures.
The problem arises when budget constraints force schools to cut their janitorial staff size or attrition takes its toll and staff numbers aren’t replaced in a timely fashion.
This can lead to an understaffed janitorial team, resulting in poor cleaning standards, delays in services such as garbage collection, and a lack of attention to specialized areas such as floors and carpets.
Benefits of Supplemental Staffing
Cost Savings
The most obvious benefit of outsourcing janitorial services is cost savings.
School districts are bound by tight budgets and outsourcing janitorial services gives them the flexibility to adjust the size of their external team as needed according to budget constraints.
Not only that, but outsourcing also saves on recruitment and administrative costs.
Rather than having to recruit, hire, train, and manage employees internally, schools can outsource the services to a commercial cleaning company that will have a process in place to ensure the team is properly qualified and trained.
Dedicated Service Provider
Beyond cost savings, outsourcing janitorial services also provides schools with a dedicated service provider that can be held accountable for ensuring high cleaning standards are met consistently.
This helps reduce the risk of cross-contamination, illness, or injury from unsanitary conditions, which keeps both staff and students safe.
Improved Efficiency and Productivity
Outsourcing janitorial services also allows for improved efficiency and productivity.
An experienced cleaning company will have the necessary equipment, supplies, and resources to provide more effective cleaning services than an in-house janitorial staff would be able to do on their own.
In addition, since the cleaning team is hired for a specific amount of time each week or month, schools can rest assured that tasks are being done quickly and efficiently without any disruption to the learning environment.
How to Start Supplementing Your School Janitorial Team
If your school is considering supplementing the current in-house janitorial staff with a commercial cleaning company, here are some steps you can take to get started:
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- Research potential service providers – research different companies and read customer reviews online to make sure they have a good track record and experience working with schools. Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few options, contact them and schedule an initial meeting. This will give you an opportunity to discuss your school’s unique needs and requirements.
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- Outline your specific needs – create a detailed list of the tasks you need the cleaning company to perform, such as general janitorial duties, deep cleaning services, carpet cleaning etc., so that they can provide you with an accurate quote for their services.
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- Ask questions and get feedback – use the initial meeting to ask any questions you may have and also to get feedback from the cleaning company on how they can best support your school’s needs. Keep in mind that cleaning a school requires a skillset that differs from other types of commercial cleaning, so make sure the cleaning company you select has sufficient experience in this niche.
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- Set expectations – before signing any agreements, make sure you have a clear understanding of the services they will be providing, the associated costs, and that you are comfortable with the timeline they provide. It’s inevitable that changes will need to be made along the way, but make sure that these are discussed and agreed upon in advance.
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- Create a system to monitor results – finally, set up a system to regularly monitor the results of the services provided by the cleaning company to make sure all tasks are being completed in a timely and satisfactory manner. This could be something as simple as a checklist that staff members can use to report any issues/discrepancies or as detailed as a tracking system to measure performance and satisfaction.
By following these steps, your school can rest assured that supplemental staffing for your janitorial services will be a successful investment and benefit both staff and students.
If your school is considering outsourcing janitorial services, we would love to talk! Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and learn how our experienced team can help you customize janitorial services to meet your school’s unique needs.
