In-House Cleaners vs Outsourced Cleaning Services: Which Is Better?
If your business needs regular cleaning, one of the decisions you may face is whether to employ your own cleaner or outsource the work to a commercial cleaning company.
Both approaches can work.
For some businesses, employing a cleaner directly may be the most practical solution. For others, outsourcing removes much of the administration and responsibility involved in managing cleaning internally.
The important thing is to look beyond the hourly cleaning rate and consider what each option actually involves.
Here are some of the main factors worth considering.
What Is an In-House Cleaner?
An in-house cleaner is employed directly by your organisation.
Just like any other employee, your business is responsible for their recruitment, wages and ongoing employment.
This gives you direct control over the role, but it also means taking responsibility for everything required to deliver the cleaning service.
Depending on the workplace and cleaning requirements, this could include:
Recruitment
Wages
Employer National Insurance
Holiday pay
Workplace pension responsibilities
Training
Sickness
Uniforms
Cleaning equipment
Cleaning chemicals
Insurance
Day-to-day management
The true cost of employing a cleaner therefore involves considerably more than simply looking at their hourly wage.
What Happens When Your In-House Cleaner Is Away?
Holiday and sickness cover is an important consideration when comparing the two approaches.
If your business relies on one directly employed cleaner and they're unavailable, somebody still needs to clean the premises.
The business may need to arrange temporary cover, ask another employee to undertake the work or accept that some cleaning won't be completed.
With an outsourced cleaning service, providing the agreed service is normally the contractor's responsibility.
You're purchasing a cleaning service, rather than relying solely on the availability of one individual cleaner.
For businesses that require consistent cleaning throughout the working year, this can be a significant advantage.
Who Manages the Cleaning?
Employing a cleaner directly also means somebody within the organisation needs to manage that employee.
That can include dealing with:
Recruitment
Training
Holiday requests
Sickness
Performance
Cleaning standards
Supplies
Equipment
Employment administration
Individually, some of these tasks may not take much time. Collectively, however, they create another responsibility for a manager or business owner.
One of the advantages of outsourcing is that much of this management responsibility moves to the cleaning contractor.
The client's involvement should largely be about ensuring they're happy with the quality of the service.
If there's a problem, it should be reported to the contractor and dealt with quickly and without unnecessary fuss.
Equipment and Cleaning Products
Cleaning a workplace requires more than labour.
Someone also needs to provide, maintain and replace the equipment required to carry out the work.
Depending on the premises, this might include:
Vacuum cleaners
Mops and floor-cleaning equipment
Cleaning cloths
Warning signs
Cleaning chemicals
Personal protective equipment
Specialist products or equipment
The range required will depend heavily on the premises.
A very small office with limited floor space may need relatively little equipment and only a small selection of cleaning products.
A larger or more complex environment may require considerably more.
When cleaning is outsourced, these operational requirements can usually be managed by the cleaning contractor as part of delivering the agreed service.
Training and Health & Safety
The type of premises can also influence the amount of training required.
Some straightforward office environments may require relatively simple cleaning procedures.
Other workplaces can present additional requirements relating to cleaning chemicals, equipment, infection control, workplace hazards or the way particular areas must be cleaned.
If you're employing cleaners directly, your organisation needs to make sure they're appropriately trained for the work they're expected to undertake.
When outsourcing, the cleaning contractor should take responsibility for ensuring its cleaners have the appropriate training for the service they're providing.
This is another area where businesses should look beyond the hourly cost and consider the responsibilities associated with each option.
The Cost of In-House Cleaning vs Outsourcing
It can be tempting to compare the hourly wage of an employed cleaner directly with the hourly rate charged by a cleaning company.
That isn't necessarily a like-for-like comparison.
An employee's hourly wage is only one part of the cost of employing them.
A business may also need to account for:
Employer National Insurance
Holiday pay
Pension contributions
Recruitment
Training
Uniform
Equipment
Cleaning products
Sickness cover
Management time
An outsourced cleaning quotation incorporates a different set of costs because the contractor is taking responsibility for delivering the service.
That doesn't automatically mean outsourcing will always be cheaper.
The important question is:
Which approach provides the best overall solution for your particular business?
When Might an In-House Cleaner Be the Better Choice?
There are circumstances where employing someone directly can make perfect sense.
A good example is a business with a very small cleaning requirement.
If the premises have:
A small amount of floor space
Straightforward cleaning requirements
Very few cleaning chemicals
Little equipment
No requirement for specialist cleaning training
then managing the cleaning internally may be relatively simple.
In those circumstances, the additional benefits of outsourcing may be less significant.
The important point is that businesses shouldn't outsource simply because outsourcing is available.
The cleaning arrangement should fit the premises.
When Does Outsourcing Become More Attractive?
As the cleaning requirement becomes larger or more complex, outsourcing can become increasingly attractive.
For example, a business may value having a contractor responsible for:
Recruiting cleaners
Providing holiday and sickness cover
Training
Cleaning equipment
Cleaning products
Managing cleaning staff
Maintaining cleaning standards
Responding to problems
Instead of managing each of those elements separately, the business has one cleaning service and one point of contact.
For many organisations, the biggest benefit can be summarised very simply:
Less hassle. Everything is taken care of for you.
Don't Compare on Price Alone
Whether you're considering bringing your cleaning in-house or outsourcing it for the first time, price shouldn't be considered in isolation.
Think about what your organisation will actually be responsible for under each arrangement.
An apparently inexpensive in-house option may involve additional employment and management costs.
Equally, a very small and straightforward cleaning requirement may not need the infrastructure of an outsourced cleaning service.
Look at the complete requirement rather than one hourly figure.
How Jmr Cleaning Ltd Can Help
At Jmr Cleaning Ltd, we provide regular commercial cleaning services for businesses across Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Abergele, St Asaph and Bodelwyddan.
We begin with a site survey so we can understand how your premises are used, the cleaning required and the standard you expect.
From there, we can develop an appropriate cleaning specification and provide a quotation based on your actual requirements.
If you're currently employing cleaning staff directly and considering outsourcing, we're also happy to discuss your existing arrangements and the practical implications of moving to a contracted service.
Our aim isn't to tell every business that outsourcing is automatically the right answer.
It's to help establish whether it provides the right solution for your premises.
Stay Connected
We regularly share practical advice, industry insights and guidance to help businesses make informed decisions about their cleaning arrangements.
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Looking for a Commercial Cleaning Contractor?
If you're considering outsourcing your cleaning or reviewing your current cleaning arrangements, we'd be happy to have an informal discussion about your requirements.
We provide professional commercial cleaning services across Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Abergele, St Asaph and Bodelwyddan.
👉 Find out more about our commercial cleaning services: https://www.jmrcleaning.co.uk/commercial-cleaning
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