Cleaning and hygiene are more important than ever during the pandemic and businesses have a duty of care to their staff and visitors to maintain a clean space to ensure the spread of the virus is reduced as much as possible and those entering the site can feel safe and secure while going about their daily lives.
Front line staff are being praised throughout this time, including the hard-working professional contract cleaning staff around the globe. While cleaning staff have always been an important part of any good business, the last year has really thrown to light their true value. We take a look at how perspective, priorities and attitudes have changed towards regular contract cleaning since the beginning of the pandemic.
Hiring The Professionals
Cleaning can be tackled in many different ways in the workplace, from staff being responsible for this, sporadic deep cleaning and daily contract cleaning.
However, even the smallest of businesses have begun to recognise the need to maintain frequent cleans. Larger businesses that may have previously held contracts for daily office cleaning are commonly increasing their contracts to have cleaners on-site all day, to ensure all areas are constantly seen and properly sanitised at regular intervals.
Those who previously did not have contract cleaners are now turning to their expertise. While we all know how to clean our own homes, office buildings are a different matter altogether. Contract cleaners not only have specialist training in all commercial cleaning spaces but have also undergone new training that focuses solely on the prevention of spreading viruses.
Using New Methods
While regular, traditional cleaning and sanitising will go a long way with preventing the spread of the virus, there are different approaches needed should there be a confirmed case within the premises.
Without the right attention, most offices need to close for at least three days, ideally longer, to ensure that the virus is no longer present. This can lead to lost revenue and deadlines slipping as staff may not be able to work from home, or perhaps will not be as efficient.
No matter how well we try and clean top to bottom, the virus can hide in any tiny crack and crevice of a surface and even the most powerful products will miss areas and lead to more people falling ill, endangering lives while also putting the business at risk.
Fogging is the latest must-have service for any workplace that has had an outbreak. This is when a training contract cleaning professional will enter the building and pump ‘fog’ into every room.
This product contains all the ingredients needed to kill the virus and as it is gas, it will reach every area, even the ceilings and air ducts, meaning no stone is left unturned. Not only does this properly sanitise every area, but staff can return back to the building within a few hours with the knowledge that there is nothing there that could harm them.
24/7 Service
Contract cleaning companies are now having to adapt quickly to meet demand. There is an obvious spike in need for contract cleaning professionals, but patterns and behaviours are also changing when it comes to what, and more specifically when, is needed.
Previously, it was common for contract cleaners to start their working hours when everyone else has left the building to ensure there is as little disruption as possible. These cleaners would simply leave when their tasks were complete.
Now with shifts staggering due to social distancing guidelines, many staff members are within the office at any hours of the day, meaning that cleaners are now becoming more strategic with how they complete their work.
Not only this, but contract cleaners are now being viewed as a new ‘emergency service’. Should an office manager discover late in the evening that someone they work with has COVID-19, a fogging service will be needed as soon as possible to make sure the next working day is not disrupted.
Contract cleaning services are now working with these businesses closely and ensuring they have a team of customer services representatives on hand 24/7 to ensure they can deploy their cleaning teams at any time.
Essential workers are the heroes of the pandemic and contract cleaning services are really showing their value during this time. Without them, many more businesses could fall victim to an outbreak of COVID-19, causing even more lives lost, alongside lost work hours and revenue. In short, any business that wants to survive the uncertain economic times ahead knows full well that one of the best investments they can make at this time is with their cleaning teams.
Andrea Parker is a reporter for Zobuz. She previously worked at Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Andrea is based in NYC and covers issues affecting her city. In addition to her severe coffee addiction, she’s a Netflix enthusiast, a red wine drinker, and a voracious reader.
