Why businesses stick with an underperforming cleaning team

An underperforming cleaning team can impact your whole business.

Yet in the UK, businesses frequently find themselves staying with cleaning teams that are falling short of expectations.

We delve into the barriers to switching, and potential solutions.

Cost Concerns

Opting to switch to a new cleaning team often involves additional costs. These might be recruitment, training, and administrative expenses. However, as a business you probably aim to keep costs low. So, you might hesitate to invest in a new team, even when you aren’t satisfied with the performance of your existing team.

Lack of Alternatives

Sometimes, there might be a scarcity of available cleaning services in your area. You might have found it difficult in the past to find a cleaning team that meets your needs. This can lead you to stick with your current, underperforming cleaning team.

Contractual Agreements

Many businesses enter into contracts with cleaning companies for a set period. Breaking such contracts could lead to legal and financial complications. So, you might choose to wait until the contract comes towards its end, before looking for a new cleaning team. Wouldn’t it be great to have a monthly rolling contract?!

Perceived Hassle

Moving to a new cleaning team can be a time-consuming process. It often involves researching cleaning providers, negotiating contracts, training the new team, and managing initial disruptions. As a business owner juggling competing priorities, you might choose to avoid this perceived hassle by sticking with an underperforming cleaning team.

Employee Relationships

When a cleaning team has been working with a business for a while, you can feel a a sense of loyalty to individual cleaners. You might even feel uncomfortable or guilty about switching to a new team.

Unawareness of an underperforming cleaning team

Sometimes, you may not be aware you have an underperforming cleaning team. If you aren’t actively monitoring the quality of the cleaning service you are getting, you might stay with a team that isn’t up to scratch. Is it time to do the white glove test?

Fear of Disruption

Introducing a new cleaning team could disrupt your business’s operations, particularly if the transition is not seamless. Perhaps you worry that the adjustment period will impact on customer experiences.

Decision Procrastination

Even if you aren’t satisfied with how your cleaning team is performing, it can be difficult to make that decision to switch. With competing priorities in your business, finding a new cleaning team may keep getting pushed to the bottom of your to-do your list.

Internal Bureaucracy

If you work in a larger organisation, bureaucracy can slow down decision-making. For example, there might be several layers of approval. And this can delay the process of changing cleaning teams, even if there is agreement that the current team is falling short.

Hoping to improve an underperforming cleaning team

You might provide the current cleaning team with opportunities to improve their performance over time. For example, you might offer feedback and targets, before choosing to switch.

Choosing a professional cleaning service

When you opt for a professional cleaning service for your business, you are choosing reliability and competence. You want a company that you can trust to do the right thing. And if there’s a problem, you need to know it will be sorted, and quickly.

So it’s well worth investing time and resources in choosing a cleaning service that’s right for you.
Businesses who go with somebody that sticks something through the letterbox, and don’t know who these people really are or anything about them, are often storing up problems for the future.
By entrusting your cleaning to a reputable service, you will have peace of mind and security. And you will save yourself time and hassle in the long run.

Final thoughts

All businesses are unique and the reasons behind sticking with an underperforming cleaning team can be diverse.
 
However, as a business owner, it is important to consider the impact of sticking with a cleaning time that isn’t delivering. And this can affect your operations, employee morale, and customer satisfaction. So if your cleaning team consistently falls short and affects business, it is worth taking the time to address it. Can you afford not to?

Explore your options, and research alternative cleaning providers. Ask for recommendations from other businesses you trust. Trustpilot is a great way to check out a potential cleaning service.
A clean, calm and healthy working environment is key to productivity and a happy workforce. And investing in a professional, responsive cleaning service is a decision worth taking. Good luck out there!

---