Offices are outsourcing commercial cleaning at a torrid pace.
If this trend continues, the commercial cleaning industry is expected to hit more than $468B in revenue by 2027. That’s a 51.67% increase over the market’s $308.7B value in 2020.
What’s behind this push by businesses to hire cleaning companies? Here are the top seven reasons:
- Emphasis on Health and Wellness. These days, commercial cleaning companies are highly trained in cleaning techniques that improve the healthiness of a work setting. Businesses want to be able to promise employees and customers that their facilities are sanitized and regularly disinfected, so they are safe from illnesses or outbreaks. Without this assurance, businesses may have difficulty recruiting and may see increased costs associated with healthcare and absences.
- Cost Cutting. With low unemployment, finding and hiring full-time cleaners is getting more expensive and more competitive for commercial businesses. Now, when companies factor in recruiting, training, supervision, wages and benefit costs, they find it is cheaper to hire outside cleaners than to have internal cleaning staff. Plus, smaller companies cannot justify full-time staff for what turns out to be part-time work.
- Ease of One-Stop Shopping. Businesses want a variety of cleaning skills that often can’t be found by hiring their own cleaning staff. That’s why commercial cleaning companies are adding services so that employers only need to outsource cleaning to one vendor. Walz Enterprises, for example, does commercial cleaning, janitorial work, carpet and floor cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, and other special projects.
- Concern for Less Business Disruption. Commercial office cleaners, unlike most employee cleaners, can be available after hours to lessen disruption among employees and customers. No employee or customer wants someone cleaning under their feet…nor do employees or customers want to see a “closed for cleaning” sign on a bathroom door.
- No Need to Pay Liability Insurance Costs. When offices and retail establishments hire outside cleaners, those cleaners are covered by liability insurance purchased by the commercial cleaning company.
- Reducing Cleaning Product Costs. Cleaning supplies can be expensive. Commercial cleaners purchase cleaning products in bulk and at reduced cost. They also invest in sometimes costly green cleaning solutions and processes that protect the clients from environmental liability. Professional cleaners can justify purchasing top-of-the-line cleaning equipment and supplies, the cost of which can be spread over multiple clients.
- Establishing Easily Enforceable Standards. Cleaning expectations can be spelled out in contracts with the cleaning company that are easy to enforce, compared to dealing with hired staff where disagreements could lead to arbitration.
For these reasons, the trend towards outsourcing office cleaning services will continue to grow, as companies seek to streamline their operations and reduce costs while still maintaining a high level of cleanliness and hygiene.