The need for visibility in janitorial subcontracting

Does this scenario sound familiar? You’re a commercial cleaning company in a mid-sized city. A big client signs you on to take care of multiple locations in the city because they love the quality of your team’s facility services.

They also have locations in geographies beyond the city and want you to expand into these areas so you can manage maintenance services in their other sites.

It is a great problem and one for which all janitorial companies strive. However, it forces a challenging question: Is my company ready for state-wide or national expansion? 

There’s no easy answer to evaluate expansion readiness. Ask yourself, can you:

• Afford an office in the new area?

• Expand hiring efforts?

• Invest capital in a new region?

• Maintain quality in your base location?

So, what’s the solution? 

Subcontractors for janitorial services can help.

A significant expansion is a major risk to the health of your company’s growth. You don’t want the decision to feel like a gamble.

Many businesses look to subcontract before diving headfirst into a full-on expansion. But even subcontracting comes with its own set of challenges that are detrimental to your ability to grow if not carefully managed.

Decision makers must analyze the following considerations before trusting commercial cleaning subcontractors to lead their expansion. 

Are you ready to incorporate a janitorial subcontracting network into your operations?

Many cleaning industry companies that contract work learn it is challenging to manage:

• Work

• Effectiveness

• Efficiencies

• Finances

Contracting to established local businesses is a strategic way to get your feet wet without plunging into expansion. But keep in mind a few major concerns:

• What are the labor laws in those other states?

• Does the subcontractor have the necessary insurance and business licenses?

• Are there unique insurance considerations? 

• Does the subcontractor meet the same quality of service your customers expect?

• Will the expertise of the subcontractors make it difficult to transition your team into the region?  

Without insight and clear visibility into this information, you risk your company’s reputation not only in those geographies but with your existing customers as well.

Janitorial subcontracting can be a murky proposition if you’re not prepared for the additional management that comes with it. 

How to maintain the quality of your cleaning services with contractor labor

Remember, you’re hiring subcontractors at a lower rate than the facilities management industry standard. The challenge is to keep the same quality standards while maintaining a strong partnership at these rates.

Here’s how you should approach these concerns:

2. Contracts and partnerships between you and your subs are as important as your internal processes and decision-making in your business.Establishing a trusted partnership should be your number one priority. 

4. It’s imperative to your success to reach a financial agreement that makes sense to you and your subcontractor.Both parties must feel invested in this new partnership.

6. Establish a system that will allow you to manage your business and provide visibility into your partnership.Manage partnership processes as if they’re your own.

Cloud-based software gives you equal access and insight into your operations as your partnerships, providing structure for maintaining quality and building the foundation for future brand expansion.

Use an industry-specific software platform to manage janitorial subcontractor jobs

A single software solution for managing professional cleaning in-house work and external teams bolsters your ability to keep both teams optimized and ready to succeed.

The system must allow you and your subcontractor to collaborate daily. This means shared commercial janitorial service data that you can monitor to provide accountability and assistance to your contracted staff in the field. 

Get granular reporting to fuel your unique management style.

Some businesses require more detail than others.

• Do you want to monitor work completion or receive an invoice when a job is complete?

• Are you making financially driven correct decisions? 

• Are you able to compare the quality and efficiency of your subcontractor’s work? 

Data-driven insights will help you manage all your financial decisions, such as:

• Hiring more staff

• Replacing or contracting new businesses

• New capital expenditures: equipment, vehicles, office space, etc.

Aspire provides commercial cleaning companies with the functionality to run their business and an expanded janitorial subcontracting network. To learn more, schedule a demo with an Aspire expert today.