The best way to keep your workplace clean is to hire office cleaners. They not only have the best tools and equipment, but they also receive professional training so that they can achieve the best results in the most efficient manner.

Still, while it’s your hired cleaners’ job to, well, clean, you shouldn’t leave everything up to them. While there are plenty of tasks covered by their services—such as vacuuming the carpets, scrubbing the bathrooms, and disinfecting surfaces—there are also some things that are best taken care of by you and your staff.

In particular, it’s your job to tidy up the space before any major cleaning starts. Remember that you pay professional cleaners to clean and not to pick up after you. If they can start doing their jobs as soon as they arrive, they can finish much earlier and you will get more value for your money. Win-win!

That said, here are some tidying tips to make office cleaning more effective for everyone involved:

Clear Out the Clutter

The main purpose of tidying up is to give the cleaners more room (quite literally) to do their jobs. If there’s a lot of clutter on top of desks and on the floor, they can’t focus on their main tasks. It can even cause accidents that can result in injury or property damage.

Do note that there are some professional cleaners who also offer organisation services. However, their style might not be suitable for everyone in your office. Some people have preferences in the way they set-up their desks, for example, so it’s still ideal to have everybody tidy up their spaces before the general cleaning begins.

Finally, decluttering ensures that none of your valuables will get moved around or stolen. While many cleaning companies have various ways of vetting their employees, it’s still best to be safe than sorry.

Secure Fragile Items or Equipment

If there are any breakable items or equipment around your office, you should secure them before the cleaners arrive. Alternatively, you can also ask them for help (although note that this can cut down on their cleaning time and/or may entail extra charges).

Obviously, professional cleaners are trained to be mindful of their clients’ belongings. Nevertheless, your property is ultimately your responsibility so make sure to secure anything that you don’t want to be lost or damaged.

File Paperwork Properly

If you work in places that deal with a lot of paperwork, like a law office or accounting firm, it’s best to store any and all paperwork that might put data security at risk. Even seemingly innocent notepads should be kept in secure cabinets or else taken home before the cleaners arrive.

Like valuable and fragile property, managing office paperwork falls upon your hands. Professional cleaners might inadvertently glance at confidential documents, which can compromise a client’s privacy.

Moreover, and as earlier mentioned, accidents can happen. Someone might knock a stack of folders off a table, resulting in missing or rearranged files. To keep the integrity of your office documents, keep them secure and away from areas being cleaned.

Segregate Trash and Dispose Those You Can

Hiring professional cleaners doesn’t mean you and your employees should be lax about trash management. Some companies accommodate the removal of rubbish and recycling, but this doesn’t translate to disregarding proper segregation.

In relation to the above, you should also handle the disposal of sensitive paperwork. Shred them beforehand and place them in properly labelled containers or bags. This way, all your cleaners have to do is bring them to the correct facility.

Handle the Dishes

While commercial cleaners can help you dispose of food waste, washing dishes is another story. In fact, unless it’s explicitly specified in their list of services and in your contract, many office cleaners don’t wash dishes and dispose of food waste. (Although they will clean your kitchen and break room appliances like microwaves and refrigerators).

Washing and putting away dirty dishes will give your cleaners more time and space to clean the sink and countertops. You also won’t have to worry about post-cleaning chores. Finally, handling dishes and food waste will score you brownie points with your chosen cleaning company.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, tidying up is not just about efficiency. It’s also about showing respect to your cleaners. You hired them for your convenience, but that doesn’t give you licence to be a slob.

It’s also helpful if you can discuss your expectations beforehand. Verify what’s covered and what’s not, so you know what you’ll be getting with what you pay for. If you need or want them to do something extra, let them know in advance to give them ample time to prepare.

Of course, if you asked for additional services, you should be ready for additional fees. Unless the management says it’s free of charge, you should always assume that you’re going to pay for add-ons.

 

Having your workplace cleaned should be something that’s hassle-free. With these tidying tips and reminders, that’s definitely going to be the outcome and you can fully enjoy a clean space!