What Do Your Clients Think Of Your Business Impression?

First impressions count. This applies to businesses as well as to individuals. If your offices welcome clients regularly you need to be sure your business looks as good as possible at all times.

This means they need to look fresh and invigorated. A clean and sparkling office assaults the senses in all the right ways. Compare that to an office which is dusty, grubby and untidy. You can see the difference, even in your mind’s eye!
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Is Your Current Cleaning Company Really Cleaning Your Office?

How does your office make you feel? Are you glad to be there? Does it feel refreshing and uplifting? Or can you see dirt and grime wherever you look?

An office is a busy place. Even if just one person works there it still requires freshening up and dusting down regularly to keep it at its best. Take a look around now and see what you think. Does it look at its best?
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Why Is End Of Lease Office Cleaning So Important?

The lifecycle of many businesses demand the need to move premises from time to time. Larger offices are a sign that business is good. With it there are new needs and requirements for cleaning. But first you have to ensure you leave your old offices looking as good as the day you first turned up.

End of lease cleaning is an essential part of moving that many businesses do not consider. Yet it is one of the most important aspects of the whole process. This is the case regardless of how many people or how much equipment is being moved.

Why clean up when you move out?

Firstly it is often a requirement. Some businesses take this task on themselves. But it is the last thing you have time for on moving day. Your focus is on packing and moving your own equipment and paperwork.

Furthermore hiring a professional team to take on this task will produce far better results. They can ensure you leave refreshed, revitalised premises behind, ready for the next client.

A sparkling office – or offices – also means you won’t be likely to forget anything. Nothing will be left behind or remain unseen because the room won’t be cluttered or untidy with rubbish. Fulfilling the task of that final spring clean means everything will be done as it should be.

Leaving behind a good impression

Everyone knows bad news travels faster than good news. You are drawing a line under the old premises by leaving them. But if you leave them untidy you can be sure someone will find out.

A company’s history follows it round whether it likes it or not. You want your last day in your old premises to be a good one. If it looks better when you move out than it did when you moved in, you will know that opting for end of lease cleaning was a good decision.

And of course if your company moves again in the future, they will be welcomed back to the original commercial estate agent who handled them.

Leaving an important task to someone else

Office moves always need good organisation. If that falls to you, the last thing you will want to think about is sprucing up the premises once everyone is out. End of lease cleaners can take on that task and make sure you comply with every term in the original lease.

You may have staff to organise as you make sure the move goes smoothly. If you hire the best cleaning team with the right cleaning solution for the task, you can leave them to it. There won’t be any worries over whether they have the right expertise to finish the job or not.

Ask yourself if your regular office cleaners also provide end of lease cleaning. If the answer is no, be sure to find an experienced all round company that does. The search will be worth it when you leave your old but sparkling and fresh premises behind and move on with confidence into the future.

Instead Of Spring Cleaning Your Home, Why Not Spring Clean Your Business Instead?

Spring cleaning your home is a common activity that many people get stuck into in order to enjoy a good clear out. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of freshening the place up a bit.

But have you ever considered giving the same treatment to your business?

Unusually most people don’t even consider this, and yet it is one of the most rewarding experiences you could indulge in. In fact, there are a lot of benefits attached to it too. For example, many people agree that by having a tidy office you are going to be more efficient at work. If you spend half the day hunting for something that you need and you cannot find it, then that equates to a lot of wasted time. But if your office is very neat and tidy you will be able to find what you need straightaway and you can get more work done as a result.

So how would you go about spring cleaning?

The first and most obvious point is that it isn’t a good idea to try and do it during work hours. You will no doubt have clients to see, jobs to do and a schedule to keep to. Trying to have a clear out at the same time is a recipe for disaster!

The easiest way to arrange it is to allocate a weekend – or perhaps even a single day, depending on the size of your office – to get the job done. It might mean going into work for that extra bit of time, but the results will be worth it in saved time during the week.

If you have commercial cleaners that you already use, it would be an excellent idea to get them involved as well. You would need to be sure of exactly what you need done, so that everyone knows what to expect on the day. For example, your job may be to go through all your paperwork and make sure it is properly filed away. You may want to get new filing cabinets for this purpose too.

While you are doing that part, the cleaners can come in and make sure the whole office is spring cleaned from top to bottom. All the furniture would be moved to enable them to clean behind it, before being repositioned in the same place. It could also be moved to accommodate a new floor plan if you wish. If you want to try this, it’s a good idea to know where you want everything beforehand and have a drawing to follow.

Many people think of office cleaning services as being limited to weekly or daily cleaning. But many of them offer plenty of other services, and spring cleaning is just one of them. Once you have gone through this process you will be amazed at the difference it makes to the look and feel of your business.

You might even enjoy going to the office a lot more as a result!

Why Cutting Corners With Your Cleaning Service Could Cost You Dearly

If you have a business that requires its own premises to trade from – no matter whether those premises are offices or warehouses – the chances are very high that you pay for a commercial cleaning company to come in and make sure they are kept to a high standard of cleanliness every day.

But are you paying for the right amount of services?

It’s true that everyone is responsible for how their working area looks, and if there is rubbish lying on the floor you should pick it up yourself rather than waiting for a cleaner to come and do it, purely because it’s ‘their job’. But that same kind of thinking shouldn’t underlie your approach to what cleaning services you need to have, because not every employee will have that same pro-active approach to their work space.

The basic kind of cleaning tasks you could have would probably be to make sure the floors and the toilets are cleaned at the end of every day, but there may well be other services that would make a huge difference to the work environment that you and your employees are walking into every day.

For example, if you only have a small office and half a dozen employees then enlisting the services of a cleaning team for an hour or so every night would probably be enough to meet your needs. But if your offices are spread over two or three floors and you have well over a hundred employees then those same services are clearly not going to be enough.

As such, it is vital to keep a close eye on your office cleaning services as your company expands and grows over time, because if you try to cut corners by not making changes to your requirements then it could cost you in more ways than one over the long term.

It’s tempting to try and save money in an area like this when you are expanding your business, but if your clients regularly come to see you they will judge your business on more than just the service you offer. If your housekeeping standards are not impeccably high then it is reasonable to assume that those same lax standards will apply to all the areas of your business – even if that actually isn’t true.

As you can see, as far as cleaning is concerned trying to keep your costs down can actually be a false economy, since the results you get from hiring a responsible and dedicated cleaning company are there for everyone to see, and if those results are good ones then they reflect well on the rest of your business.

It’s also obvious that you need to make sure you employ a top quality cleaning team to ensure that all your needs are met without any problems at all. The best team will also be able to advise you on aspects of cleaning that you may not have thought about, giving you an even better end result in the process.

Put Yourself In Your Customer’s Shoes – What Do They Think Of Your Company’s Appearance?

When you go into a building, an office or another workplace owned by another company, how do you view it? Do you appreciate the efficient and tidy atmosphere and surroundings, or do you wonder how on earth they manage to get anything done because it is so untidy?

One thing is certain – we all judge the places we go to (whether we realise it or not) according to how clean and tidy they look. But the one thing we tend to forget is that other people will also be judging our own businesses according to what they see, and that can lead to problems if you don’t keep an eye on how things look to outsiders.

Not all businesses are in direct contact with customers or clients but many are, and if your business falls into that category you need to think about whether you are giving your clients the right impression when they walk into your building.

The best way to do this is to put your premises to the test by looking at them as closely as a client would if they were coming to meet you. Walk through all the areas that they would see and look at them as if you were seeing them for the first time.

How do they look? Do they look clean, tidy and well cared for? Or are the bins overflowing and the carpet dirty? What about the offices themselves? Are they well organised or are there stacks of boxes and papers sitting on the floor that could provide a tripping hazard if someone didn’t see them? What about the toilets and other facilities? Are they spotless and hygienic? Or do they look as though they haven’t been cleaned in a week?

Performing this exercise can either be a shock or a confidence booster, but whatever you find the main thing is to react to it in the right way. If you have found problem areas make a note of them and take steps to combat them straightaway. If you currently use a commercial cleaning company and they should be doing things that don’t appear to have been done, make sure you speak to them and hire a new team or company if necessary.

Alternatively it may be that you have uncovered problems that you didn’t even realise were there previously. Many businesses find the interior of their premises looks great, but the outside leaves a lot to be desired. If this sounds like you, why not think about hiring a commercial cleaning service to take care of your exterior cleaning and tidying up for you as well? The impression it will have on your business might be bigger than you think.

In the end a regular check of this nature will protect your business by alerting you to problems as soon as they occur. By doing this you will be well on the road to making sure your visitors always get the best impression – even if they drop in unannounced.

Can A Clean Office Really Help You Work More Efficiently?

When you think of an office the first things that usually come to mind are desks, computers and paperwork. Depending on the nature of the business there may be plenty of other items of equipment as well, but even though a lot of files and important documents can be kept on a computer nowadays, keeping on top of the paper can still be a real chore.

It’s small wonder then that so many offices can be untidy with desks piled high with jobs to do, paperwork to file and lots of other things besides. Some workers will naturally be tidier than others but with a heavy workload they will still often find it a challenge to keep their workspace neat and tidy.

That’s a shame because there are plenty of benefits to having a clean office. If you have clients and visitors coming to your office building from time to time then you will certainly want to give the right impression, and a tidy office looks a lot more efficient than a messy one!

Making sure everything is in its place also helps to improve productivity. We’ve all had days when we spent ages looking for a missing file or some important piece of information we know we wrote down on that scrap of paper somewhere… and that can amount to a lot of lost time that could have been better spent doing something else instead.

That’s why office cleaning is so important – not just for visitors but for the people who work there as well. You will always be able to work more efficiently in a tidy office because you won’t have to struggle to get everything organised before you can even start work for the day.

But there is the question of hygiene too. Untidy offices tend to be less hygienic than tidy ones, purely because it is less easy to see potential hazards or discarded coffee cups, items of food and many other items among the clutter. That’s why a professional office cleaning service can really pay dividends and make your office a pleasant and even enjoyable place to work in.

Employees who are habitually untidy may take a while to come round to the new way of working, but with a cleaning company taking the lead and making sure the workspaces look as good as possible they will soon enjoy the new atmosphere. If your desk is untidy and you don’t know where anything is that can be a great source of stress, and if your workload is already quite heavy you don’t need any more pressure to add to what you already have.

Many companies find that when they enlist the services of an office cleaning company they end up wishing they had done so sooner. The beauty of a service like this is that you get to decide what needs doing and when, so you will always have total control over the effects – and your staff will thank you for it too.

After Construction And Before Moving In – What To Do When New Premises Beckon

It’s always an exciting time if you have reached that stage where your existing business premises are too small and you need to expand. Careful consideration and forward planning is required if the move is to go smoothly; what’s more it’s not like moving home as your business will still be ‘open’ to some extent while the move takes place.

The worst part of any moving process is all the packing materials and other items of rubbish that end up coming with you. It’s obvious that you need to get rid of all those before your business can really get up and running in your new premises, so it’s worth thinking about how you will cope with that before you move in.

This applies regardless of whether or not your new premises is rented, or has been designed and built especially for you. The moving process is still the same and that means you need to think about coping with the aftermath of that process as well as moving day itself.

The best way to do this is to hire a professional office building cleaning company to do the hardest bit for you. Although your business will be disrupted to some extent during the moving process you will want to be back on your feet, speaking to clients and working towards serving their needs as soon after moving in as possible. If you have to get rid of all your own rubbish or ask a couple of employees to do it for you, then you won’t be working at full speed.

An office cleaning service can also get the building ready for you in other ways. Regardless of whether the building work has just been finished or another company has just vacated the offices you are moving into, the chances are reasonably high that the premises aren’t going to be looking their best. By hiring a cleaning team to come in and clean them thoroughly from top to bottom you will have the perfect new space to move into. And once all your rubbish has been cleared as well, you will feel ready to start a new phase in your business life.

Many businesses move premises on a Friday as it gives them two clear days before the next business week starts. This is a big advantage for any business but it is especially advantageous for the larger ones, as they can hire a cleaning crew to come in over the weekend, get rid of all the rubbish and clean the whole building if necessary while the employees are enjoying a well earned weekend off.

Some office moves are bigger and more complex than others, but it’s clear that whatever the size they could all do with a helping hand before the next stage of their business life begins. Up until this point you may just have thought of a cleaning company as a crew that comes in to do daily chores, but in fact it goes a lot further than that, so bear it in mind the next time you have an office move coming up.

Moving Offices? It Can Be Easier Than You Think

There are plenty of different reasons why businesses move offices or premises from time to time. They may be upgrading from buildings that no longer meet their requirements; they could be moving into more modern buildings designed especially for their needs; or they may be moving to a completely different area.

Whatever the reason for the move, moving a whole business can often be even more difficult than moving your own home.

But there is help at hand. There are companies who can make sure that the whole process of moving is made much easier for you. Whatever type of buildings you are moving into there is every chance of you arriving on the premises to find that they are less than satisfactory to move straight into. This can set you back for days as you will need to make sure everything is clean and tidy before moving equipment, desks and everything else you need into your new space.

That’s why it will pay you to get a professional cleaning company in first to make sure that everything will be clean, fresh, hygienic and ready to use as soon as you arrive. What’s more they will also be able to get rid of all the packaging materials you use in the process of moving, which can clutter your workspace and make everything look instantly untidy and also dangerous if it isn’t dealt with quickly.

It’s obvious that any business will lose money during the process of a move. Even if some of their work can be outsourced or handled by another office there is no reasonable way that you would be able to continue handling the usual workload while you are moving premises.

It stands to reason then that the quicker you can complete the move and the more you can plan to take care of in advance, the better your chances are of getting back to normal as soon as possible.

That’s why these companies are well worth looking into, because while you will obviously pay out for their services, the time they will save you in getting back into business again will more than pay for the fee incurred.

When you are looking for such a service, look locally first and see whether there is anyone in your immediate vicinity who provides this kind of service. Ask local businesses as well if they have used a similar service to get them moving in the past. When you find a suitable company to take the work on for you make sure you know exactly what will need doing, so that you can get a good idea of how long it will take to do what’s needed.

You can then plan the move with much more accuracy, since you will know exactly when the cleaning team will need to access the premises to start work, and roughly when they will be finished. Depending on the size of the task, they may need anything between a few hours and a few days to complete the job you have set for them.

How Good Does Your Business Look?

While there are many different aspects that go to make up a great business, appearance is the one that can sometimes get less attention than it deserves.

Yet it is also one of the most important. It doesn’t matter whether the business is situated in a warehouse or in one of the most modern office blocks in the area, appearances do matter and if you don’t pay enough attention to it your business will suffer as a result.

If you have ever visited the offices, warehouses, studios or shops owned by another company and they have been less than impressive when it comes to appearance, you will know how that makes you feel. The business itself could be one of the nicest and most efficient ones in town but if that doesn’t extend to the tidiness (and worse, the cleanliness) of the premises, then it doesn’t exactly make you feel good about doing business with them.

But it is completely different when you enter a building owned by a company that does all it can to look after its clients and customers. The feeling of cleanliness is evident from the moment you walk through the door and it conveys a feeling of care and attention. Any company which puts this much effort into how it looks is obviously going to be paying attention to every detail of their work too.

In this sense, the way you present your business to your clients is an extension of the way you actually do business with them. If you take care and pride in your appearance then people will naturally assume this extends to everything you do.

And in turn, if you don’t make any effort to keep your buildings looking fresh, clean and tidy, that doesn’t project a very good image to your clients. You’ve probably been into an office which has looked disorganised and untidy and it doesn’t exactly make you feel relaxed and comfortable. What’s more, if your office looks like this it is much harder to clean and more dangerous to work in anyway. Just imagine tripping over that huge stack of paper you keep hidden behind your desk, for example.

But it’s not just the interior of your buildings that needs attention. Don’t forget that people will see the exterior long before they even reach the front door, so it’s just as important to keep that looking just as good. Regular window cleaning, good exterior maintenance and perhaps even planting and greenery if your building has the grounds for it can all help to convey a positive image that draws people in and makes them feel confident that you can do a good job.

It’s unfortunate that some people are so focused on doing their jobs and driving their business forward that they miss the little things that can make all the difference to everyone else. And they will improve your own view of the business you have worked so hard to build as well, which is never a bad thing.