Imagine the scenario where your office employees reach the premises at 8 AM on a Monday morning, with the same cluttered desk they left it on Friday evening, a dustier keyboard and phone, and their place of sanctity – the coffee break area, covered in footmarks. Now imagine that you are the head of office administration, and you need to oversee this entire mess and face the glances that bore deep into your eyes with the same question on everyone’s mind, “Why?”
If the scenario is gruesome enough, either as an employee or as an office admin for you, then we pity you. Nearly all of us, at some point of time, have been at the receiving end of facing a mess of an office which merely reduces the comfort and concentration levels as far as work goes. In order to reduce that, we need to keep a certain few things in mind that should be discussed with the janitorial staff in order to minimize such issues from happening. We got in touch with Picture Perfect Cleaning Services who created a small checklist for the things we should look out for while asking the cleaning staff to work on the office premises:
- Organize the paperwork on the desks- A cluttered desk is usually the very first thing that the employee lays his eyes upon. The desk is his sacred workstation that offers steadfast support for 8+ hours a day. To ensure that it doesn’t seem cluttered, the paperwork that is littering around can be organized into neat stacks, and in case there is a clear indication of the different kinds of documents present, they can be arranged into the stacks they belong to.
- Clean up the electronics- Another crucial component which occupies most of the time and touch of the employee are the electronics including either the desktop or the laptop, and the office phone. From the perspective of either the desktop or the laptop, a duster or a soft rag should be used to clean out the screen due to sensitivity issues. Also, while cleaning the telephone, some disinfectant should be used, as they accumulate a lot of germs on the receiver.
- Take out the rubbish from underneath the desks- Most of our desks have a dustbin right underneath them, which is either our own, or we would be sharing them with a colleague. In any case, by the time the day ends, they are filled with empty potato chips packets and soft drink cans that we promised ourselves in the morning we won’t be consuming. It becomes imperative that the next day when we arrive, we find them as empty as Grand Canyon’s base, and therefore the trash should be taken out either during the night or during the early morning hours.
- Clean and cozy up the break room- Let’s be honest, no Manager can expect us to work for 4-5 hours at a stretch without taking a break (Yes Karen, we are talking about you!) That being said, the break room or in certain places the coffee and break area becomes the refuge where everyone goes to recharge a bit by hanging out with friends, or in certain cases, quietly pondering over the best solutions for the problems we are immersed with. This place, therefore, needs to be thoroughly cleaned up every couple of hours, because not a day goes by when someone accidentally doesn’t spill their coffee.
- Use biodegradable cleaning solutions in the kitchen- The kitchen is one of the most sensitive areas to clean in the office. Not only hygiene becomes an issue if the area is unclean, but it can potentially be harmful to an employee’s health. Therefore, the microwave, microwave’s plate, the sink, and the table should be cleaned regularly, especially during the lunch hours which are similar for most of the people and therefore can cause a lot of spillage and hygiene issues if left unchecked.
Bonus tip: Create a cleaning checklist that is maintained every few hours- This not only helps in maintaining the standards of the entire workplace but also helps in ensuring that none of the items discussed above are left out.
We now hope that from here on, you won’t be facing any issues when it comes to maintaining an impeccable office, and an even better impression in front of your superiors and colleagues. Or if you are a regular Joe like most of us, won’t be bothered by the sight of a revolting desk or a dirty cafeteria.
Thanks for your article. Starting out with a new commercial cleaning company can be challenging. It is different to cleaning a residential home and trust is very important. Once you have established yourself in a company and provide a great service you will be surprised at the word-of-mouth referrals.
While I agree with most of the information in this article, the one thing that I don’t agree with is organizing the paperwork on someone’s desk. I have worked both behind the desk and cleaning offices throughout my adult life. I would not have been happy if a cleaning person came into my office and moved stuff around on my desk. I always had a method to how a staked paperwork to know what needed to be worked on first. If someone came in and moved my files I would have to spend part of the morning reorganizing my work.