subject: In-house Or Outsourced Janitorial Maintenance? [print this page] Every place, with the exception perhaps of a junk yard, needs to be cleaned. Traditionally, businesses both large and small, and public institutions like schools and government offices, have relied on cleaning service provided by staff members tasked with the work. That is, a company janitor would keep things sparkling and provide maintenance to the premises as needed. However, businesses and institutions are increasingly opting to forego their own janitorial staff in favor of an outsourced, third party cleaning service. It seems rather counter intuitive to invite an unfamiliar team in to do a job that a dedicated staff might otherwise do more efficiently, but there are numerous reasons why the switch has happened nonetheless. Let's take a look at some of the biggest factors.
First, janitorial building maintenance, especially cleaning services, are fairly static across different venues. That is, washing a window in one company is largely the same as washing a window in another. The same follows for floors and most surfaces, as well as most types of rooms. The requirements for cleaning a bathroom in one school system will vary only slightly as compared to the regulations for cleaning in another. As well, any variations and specifications are very easy to designate within a contractual agreement between an establishment and a third party cleaning service. That is, if a company wants their floors waxed and not mopped, it's as simple as writing it down. Whereas other services, such as accounting might be the same across many arenas as well, the specifics often require greater development and relationship than the static nature of janitorial work. For these reason, the assumed boon and bonus of a dedicated in-house janitorial staff is rendered moot.
In the event that a dedicated in-house janitorial staff member falls ill, there might not be any one to replace this person, but in the case of a third party cleaning service, it's as simple as sending another one of their contracted employees, of which they oftne have many, due to the fact that they work not for one establishment, but many. This leads, for both client and contractor, to the benefits of economies of scale, wherein the cleaning service is not tied to the arrangements of a single company, but can branch out and increase efficiency, reaching a balanced level of output and input as they expand.
So, though it might at first seem counterintuitive that companies have moved in this direction over time, slowly abandoning the traditional in-house dedicated janitorial maintenance staff in order to use outsourced third party cleaning services, a closer look at the details reveals how this came to be.
