5 Steps to Determine Your Cost of Clean
Step # 1 – Conduct some research
Take a thoughtful walk around your building. How is it being used? Are there areas more busy than others?
Look for areas that are used less frequently or by fewer people. They may be able to be cleaned less frequently. For example, in office spaces, trash can be collected and removed less frequently than daily. Likewise, consider spaces that might need a bit more care. Restrooms and kitchen areas are in this category. This research will help you design a scope of work that meets your unique circumstances.
Step #2 – Develop a scope of work based on your research
A detailed scope of work will help your cleaning team know (1) what tasks should be completed, and (2) the frequency of those tasks.
Each type of space should list needed tasks as well as recommended frequency. For example, daily; three times per shift; weekly; monthly; M,W,F; quarterly?
Step #3 – Find someone you trust to estimate work hours
Find an established vendor to provide an estimate based on your general scope of work. This is especially helpful if you are currently using an in-house team.
An outsourced vendor can provide an unbiased estimate of how long it should take to service your facility. A quality vendor will be motivated to complete work with high quality (to keep business) and high efficiency (to increase profitability).
Step #4 – Consider your budget and adjust your scope of work as needed
There is no better way to describe this step than by using an example.
Let’s assume that you have a budget of $100,000 for all janitorial duties. You should subtract 5% from that number to allow for project work such as cleaning windows, restoring tile floors, and carpet cleaning. This leaves $95,000 for normal daily, weekly, and monthly services.
If your building is cleaned five days per week, you have allocated roughly $365 per day to servicing your facility. This is $95,000 divided by 52 weeks, divided by 5 days per week = $365/day. If your hourly blended rate (all costs included) for cleaning is $17.00/hr., you can afford roughly 21.5 janitorial work hours per day.
Compare this to the number in Step #3. If your work hours estimate from Step #3 is greater than 21.5 hours, or your blended rate is different, you may need to alter the scope of work accordingly.
Step #5 – Share this information internally
Finally, here is how you solve the problem with “clean”.
Talk to managers and other leaders in your organization. Let them know that you have a limited budget. Your budget “buys” a certain amount of cleaning hours per day. It’s a great ides to offer how you have used researched production rates to develop your scope of work.
When shared in this manner, you are helping your internal team to understand how you are making the best use of the cleaning dollars.