Struggling with operational chaos in your cleaning business? Tackle it head-on with our practical tips to streamline workflows and boost efficiency.
Table of contents
- 1. Centralize Team Communication
- 2. Use Scheduling Software
- 3. Standardize Your Operating Procedures
- 4. Use Mobile Checklists
- 5. Implement Digital Task Management
- 6. Enhance Training
- 7. Enable Real-Time Reporting and Feedback
- 8. Track Time Digitally
- 9. Use Geolocation Tracking for Efficient Route Planning
- 10. Use Performance Metrics and Incentives
- Streamline Your Cleaning Business With Connecteam
Running a cleaning business involves quality control, staff management, and customer relations.
Disorganized processes and procedures for handling these responsibilities can disrupt your service quality, frustrate your clients, and worse. In this article, we provide 10 practical tips to help you gain control of your cleaning operations.
Key Takeaways
- Avoid operational chaos with a centralized communication platform, scheduling software, standardized operating procedures, and mobile checklists.
- Digital task management and training is also great—and so is real-time reporting.
- Time and geolocation tracking can also help, as can clear performance metrics.
1. Centralize Team Communication
Challenge
In the cleaning business, communication breakdowns can lead to missed tasks and other serious errors. And without a centralized communication system, messages are often lost and miscommunications are common.
Solution
Establish a shared communication system where you and your team can share updates, instructions, and feedback in one place. You could implement a mobile platform where you broadcast messages to everyone or to specific groups. This ensures all your team members have access to the same information and can respond in real time.
💡 Pro Tip:
Use Connecteam’s online team chat to create dedicated channels for different teams for focused discussions.
2. Use Scheduling Software
Challenge
Manual scheduling often leads to overlapping shifts, missed appointments, and other scheduling nightmares—resulting in disruptions and lost revenue.
Solution
With the right scheduling software, you can easily manage jobs and shifts and avoid conflicts like double bookings. You can also empower your employees to view their schedules in advance. This way, they can request changes or swap shifts if needed.
🧠 Did You Know?
The Connecteam scheduling app includes the above features and more. For instance, you can auto-schedule your workers with 1 click and enable real-time updates with push notifications.
3. Standardize Your Operating Procedures
Challenge
A lack of clear guidelines creates a confusing environment where employees are uncertain about expectations. This leads to inconsistent service quality.
Solution
Develop comprehensive standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for every aspect of your service—from performing basic cleaning tasks to handling special materials and equipment to dealing with client-specific requests. These procedures should be as detailed as possible, outlining:
- What to do.
- How to do it.
- Which tools and cleaning agents to use.
Use our SOP template to get started.
💡 Pro Tip:
Make these SOPs—and other relevant manuals—accessible to cleaning teams on the go with Connecteam’s company knowledge base.
4. Use Mobile Checklists
Challenge
Without a structured system for proof of work, you may face disputes over service completion that can negatively impact your reputation.
Solution
Mobile checklists and forms can transform how you document your services. Your cleaners can use their mobile devices to access checklists tailored to each job. For example, a bathroom cleaning checklist might include cleaning mirrors and sinks, wiping down all surfaces, and mopping the floor. Cleaners can check items off lists to show they completed them.
🧠 Did You Know?
With Connecteam’s digital forms, cleaners can check off items, document their work with before-and-after photos and e-signatures, and submit these directly to clients or supervisors.
5. Implement Digital Task Management
Challenge
Relying on paper-based task lists or verbal instructions inevitably leads to missed tasks and inconsistent service quality.
Solution
Digital task management tools enable you to assign tasks directly to your employees—who can access these via their smartphones. You can include detailed instructions, checklists, required timeframes, and priority levels for each task. Your employees can update the statuses of their tasks in real time.
🧠 Did You Know?
The Connecteam task management app lets you assign your cleaning crew 1-time or recurring tasks. Plus, it sends you automatic progress updates.
6. Enhance Training
Challenge
Ensuring your staff are proficient with the latest cleaning techniques and safety protocols is essential. However, organizing traditional training sessions is logistically chaotic.
Solution
Implement digital training programs that your employees can access anytime, anywhere. Create modules covering everything from “Advanced Window Cleaning Techniques” to “Customer Service Best Practices.”
💡 Pro Tip:
Use Connecteam’s employee training software to create training modules with videos, quizzes, and documents.
7. Enable Real-Time Reporting and Feedback
Challenge
In your cleaning business, operational hiccups should be resolved swiftly. However, without a system for immediate feedback, unreported and unresolved problems can escalate.
Solution
A system for real-time reporting—like digital incident report forms—enables your employees to instantly report any issues they encounter on the job. You can then take swift action to resolve them.
For example, suppose one of your team members discovers a malfunctioning piece of equipment or encounters an unexpected cleaning challenge at a client’s site. They can immediately report it—and you can quickly deploy solutions, such as sending replacement equipment.
8. Track Time Digitally
Challenge
Manual timekeeping methods in your cleaning business are prone to errors and time theft. This can lead to payroll discrepancies and increased labor costs that challenge your financial management.
Solution
With GPS-enabled mobile time tracking, your employees can clock in and out from their mobile phones, and their geographic locations are recorded. This helps you ensure your employees are at the correct locations when they’re clocking in and out. Some time tracking software even tracks their GPS locations as they’re performing work. This helps you ensure their time records are accurate.
💡 Pro Tip:
Connecteam’s geofence time clock does more than just track time and GPS locations. It can prevent employees from tracking time outside designated work areas using virtual “fences.”
9. Use Geolocation Tracking for Efficient Route Planning
Challenge
Inefficient route planning wastes time and causes cleaners to arrive late to job sites, frustrating clients.
Solution
Use geolocation tracking to monitor your crew’s driving routes and ensure your cleaners take the most efficient routes to and between job sites. If you find they’re taking longer routes than they should be, you can ask them to take different routes. This helps you minimize travel costs and maximize productivity.
🧠 Did You Know?
With Connecteam’s breadcrumbs technology, you can visualize your cleaners’ routes using a handy map view.
10. Use Performance Metrics and Incentives
Challenge
Without clear performance metrics, it’s difficult to measure your employees’ effectiveness or foster improvement in your cleaning business. This might mean your cleaning business underperforms.
Solution
Develop clear, measurable performance metrics that align with your business goals. You might track metrics like client satisfaction ratings, task completion times, and adherence to cleaning standards and SOPs.
You could implement a points-based system where your employees earn rewards for consistently high performance, such as bonuses. This can encourage them to consistently achieve high standards.
🧠 Did You Know?
Connecteam lets you track employees’ performance through task tracking, digital checklists, and more. Plus, you can use the rewards and recognition feature to reward strong performances.
Streamline Your Cleaning Business With Connecteam
Eliminate disorder in your cleaning business by using a strong communication platform, scheduling software, SOPs, mobile checklists, and more.
Connecteam is a cleaning service app with tons of features that can help you implement these tips.