Managing a public school is a challenging task. The highest standards have to be upheld for not only the students but also for teachers, support staff and the parents. As any facility team will attest, it is not only the quality of the teachers and the curriculum that determine success. The condition of the school buildings play a pivotal role, most notably the cleanliness of classrooms, hallways and bathrooms. Here are 7 reasons why you should consider outsourcing your school cleaning.
1. Flexibility
Having janitorial staff on a public school payroll can be a challenge when one wants to increase or decrease the number of hours of cleaning service. The Covid pandemic is placing increased importance on cleaning and sanitation, and it is underscoring the need for flexibility. A lot of charter schools have gone from being closed the one month to going to full capacity the next month. The janitorial crew needs to have the flexibility to scale up or down according to the ever-changing conditions. Partnering up with a janitorial company is the best answer to meeting the flexibility requirement.
2. Decreased Cost
Having a full-time cleaning crew means having a high fixed cost in the budget. The costs break down into 3 categories. First, the cost of direct wages which the school has to bear regardless of whether it’s a snow day or a public holiday. Second, there are the costs of paid leave time, payroll tax, insurances and benefits such as pensions. Third there are recruiting, training, supplies and equipment expenses to take into account. A cleaning company has a different cost structure for its employees and when the work is outsourced, the vendor will bear these costs. Ask a janitorial company if they can structure an arrangement that is time based only.
3. Specialized Expertise
Commercial cleaning companies have the specialization that is required for large public school cleaning. Successful janitorial staffing companies ensure to stay abreast of the latest guidance from the CDC for disinfecting and sanitizing, and floor care methods. Large-scale cleanups, electrostatic fogging and green cleaning may be daunting to staff without that experience or equipment. However these are table-stakes for a competent janitorial service. For the school management, that means having the comfort that full trust can be placed in a commercial cleaning partner to taking care of everything. Management can also give assurance to parents that a professional cleaning company is keeping the building safe for their loved ones.
4. Safety
Cleaning can be more hazardous than one may think. An example is when high up areas need to be dusted and someone is working on a ladder cleaning tough-to-reach areas. Also, working with high-powered tools to buff the floor, public school management needs to be very confident that the cleaning crew can be trusted to accomplish the job safely. An often overlooked fact is having the right insurance. When an accident happens the school might find out that their insurance does not cover workplace accidents related to the high-dusting or riding a buffer, whereas a fully insured janitorial company does carry the right coverage.
5. High Standards
High standards should be right in place from the process of hiring charter school cleaning staff. Professional janitorial service custodians or janitors provided by the specialized janitorial staffing companies such as the System4 of Del-Mar are background checked and screened to ensure trustworthy, hardworking and experienced people for schools and commercial buildings.
6. Management
Managing janitorial staff is different from managing teachers or facility maintenance experts in a public school. Often the work takes place after-hours which adds to the management challenge. A commercial cleaning company has experience in managing cleaning crews.
7. Contingency planning
If the Covid pandemic has taught us anything, its planning for contingencies. Situations can change rapidly. Whether it is staff members calling in sick or moving to a new job. Whether its government mandated closures or re-openings. Whether its increased expectations from stakeholders that required double the effort on sanitizing and disinfecting. The curveballs thrown at facility maintenance or school custodial teams are numerous. Its never to early to talk to a professional cleaning company to see how they can assist with contingency planning.
Contact System4 if you are interested in having a discussion on how we can help your school. Let System4 be an extension of your school facility maintenance team. We can customize a solution for your school, ranging from having one ore two day porters on call when you need them to complete end-to-end janitorial teams.
