Cleaning services come a dime a dozen, and trying to find the perfect one for your office can be dizzying. Yet, choosing the wrong service could result in delays, poor results, higher costs, and even legal repercussions. This is why it’s important that you pick the right people to work with if you want your employees to enjoy a clean work environment, but also actually be able to trust in your premises. Here are a few questions you should ask when hiring a cleaning service for your office.

What Kind of Rates do You Charge?
This is probably one of the first things people will want to know when working with a service. It’s important not only to ask for the rates, but also why they are charging them. You want to know exactly what kind of services you’ll be getting.

Many variables will have to be taken into consideration when comparing services and whether they’re worth the price. For instance, two services might offer similar rates, but one service may have way more people working on one job. This usually translates to quicker jobs, but also less risk that they’ll be short and won’t be able to finish a job on time or as well as they should.

Also, check the type of package you’re getting if they offer any. Check what type of services are part of the package. For instance, if a service offers you an “all included” package, then you’ll have to justify why you should work with a company that offers restricted services at the same price. You should also ask for a full list of services. There might be some services that you don’t need. If you see any, ask to be discounted for the services you won’t be using.

How Long Have You Been in Business?
This one is tricky, because new services could be very competent. But ideally you want to work with a service that has many years of experience. Also ask for references. Go and see the people in person if you can so you know that their feedback is sincere. Trust your gut when interviewing services as well; your first impression is often the best.

What About Your Employees?
You want to know what type of employees they work with. Do they deal with temporary workers? What about turnover? And what type of training do their employees get?

Office cleaning services like Regional Service, for instance, take training very seriously and make sure that all their employees are trained properly so they can deliver consistent results. They take things even further and will conduct a monthly audit free of charge to make sure that cleaning was performed to the highest standard. They also take special precautions to prevent employees from inadvertently cross contaminating areas by making sure that all their equipment is colour coded.

Another thing you have to ask is if they perform thorough background checks. Some will have difficulty finding good workers, while others will wilfully hire shady characters or people who can’t work legally to cut costs. You can’t afford to put yourself and your business at risk. You could also install surveillance equipment if you want to make sure that everything is done properly and catch anybody trying to commit some sort of theft or malicious act.

Do You Have Insurance?
You also have to make sure that the company is properly insured. It is their insurance that will cover you if anything is stolen or lost, but it will also protect you in case they break something. Also, if they aren’t insured and someone ends up getting injured on your premises, you might be on the hook.

What About Contracts?
Some services will try to lock you up into a long-term contract before you even had the chance to see their work. If you come across a service that is trying to do this, then it’s better to look elsewhere. You don’t want to have to pay for services you don’t want anymore. Good services trust their work and will try to give you flexible terms.

Will You be Bringing Your Supplies?
This is also something you’ll have to take into consideration. Some services will try to get you with low prices, only to find out that you’ll have to pay for the supplies. Professional cleaning supplies can get very expensive over a year as well. At this price, you might as well have people on staff who will handle the work. So, make sure that they bring their own supplies.

Hiring a cleaning service is often an afterthought for many businesses, but one that is much more important than you may imagine. So, make sure that you do your due diligence and only work with a team that knows what they’re doing and have a solid track record for results.