Commercial cleaning during the holiday season can be a tricky endeavour, from scheduled office events to navigating around decorations to managing labour allocation and more. This can be a challenging time of year for cleaners as they strive to service customers with varying needs, while trying to maximize revenues for the end of the year.
Being strategic with your cleaning services can help your business stay profitable and keep clients happy this holiday season:
Adjusting cleaning schedules
Your clients may require different scheduling arrangements during the holidays to accommodate increased traffic and adjusted work hours. This may involve being flexible with staffing to accommodate availability before and after holiday parties, during holiday closures, or by adding extra services to the contract. It may also mean greater attention needs to be paid to sanitization and hygiene as more people are gathering, and additional time is required for weather-related cleaning as the snow, salt, and ice arrive. Communicate clearly with your clients about your availability and their needs well before the holidays to allocate labour accordingly and deliver on customer expectations.
Adding services
Holiday décor can add time to your cleaning schedules when businesses add festive decorations that need to be considered. Things like trees that drop needles, fallen tinsel, ornaments that collect dust and more, can add time and change your cleaning plan. In addition, holiday parties may result in extra garbage, like food delivery packaging and gift wrapping, and the increased attention and trips to the garbage may require billing and allocation changes as you plan for the season.
Some businesses close for a period over the holidays, and this may be an opportunity to book a more complex, time-consuming service like a carpet deep clean or floor wax. Suggesting this as a way for companies to use up remaining budgets, address neglected areas, or complete unfinished cleaning or maintenance projects could provide a much-needed service while raising your revenues.
Additional services like January cleanings after the holiday season to get office spaces clean and ready for the new year should also be part of your communication with existing clients. Moreover, find out whether end-of-year visits from management or audits are taking place, where your clients may be looking for extra scheduled cleaning.
Learn your clients’ office schedules so you can offer additional services that take advantage of the downtime and set them up for success in the new year.
Managing your labour
Communicating with your customers allows you to handle staffing over the holidays. You may have staff who want time off, and if you know your customers’ needs ahead of time, you can reduce your labour costs by cutting down on the staff you need to cover over this time period. Once you determine your business needs, meet with your team to confirm availability and schedule early so there’s enough time to make any necessary changes before they affect your customers. Your clients may also want deep cleaning completed before the holidays, allowing you to lessen the workload and your staffing once the holidays arrive, and that can help you better manage labour costs for the end of the year.
Focusing on training
If you have downtime, consider using it as an opportunity to train your staff. This could include introducing new services, brushing up on their skillsets, or improving knowledge for more efficiency. Consider your company culture, too. This may be a good time to recognize star staff members and practice team building to raise more and inspire efficiency through the coming year.
The holidays can be challenging for commercial cleaners, from the planning to the execution, but starting early, communicating with your clients, and efficiently managing labour can help cleaners thrive through the holidays and through to next year.
