You might be opening a new office in a new branch, or your procurement team have told you it’s time to re-tender for your cleaning contract.

Or maybe your current cleaning company has gone AWOL and you’re on the hunt for a replacement as quickly as possible.

Whatever the reason, it’s a big deal to switch to a new commercial cleaning provider.
It’s not as easy as getting a new house cleaner in. Everything is bigger and more complicated in commercial facilities, and so naturally there’s a whole load of work involved in choosing and onboarding a new contractor.

At NOVA, we’ve made things as easy as we can with our 3-step process that can have a new provider in and started within 7 days. And our free site survey really helps to get a quote together quickly and efficiently.
But even then, it’s still a pain to search for and choose a provider. Making the wrong choice wastes time, costs a lot of money, and ultimately means your facility and people suffer during the upheaval.

So, to help you make the right choice, we’ve put together this list of things to consider and check when you’re vetting providers.

1. Check them out on Companies House

Quite basic really, but it’s really important that the first thing you do is make sure the company you’re dealing with is a legitimate and financially sound business.

Carrying out a search on Companies House will allow you to find out information about how long the company has been around, the names of their directors, and a little about their accounts and financial situation. A reliable company will have a good history and there should be no red flags crop up from this kind of search.

2. Are they willing to come and see you?

Before we start any new contract, we provide a free site survey at your premises. This not only helps us give an accurate quote, but gives a chance to meet you, understand your needs better, and get to know each other a little first. It’s a great way to make sure there’s a good fit and you both feel good about working together.

It’s also a chance for you to ask questions face to face, and get honest, upfront answers. Do use the time wisely, and make sure you feel confident and comfortable with the business you’re meeting.

3. Have they worked in similar situations?

It’s not always essential or possible to have precisely the same kind of clients, but we think a commercial cleaning company should specialise in commercial spaces. We specialise in a range of commercial sectors including Offices, Schools, Hotels, Restaurants and Bars, Student Accommodation and more. You can see the full list of sectors we work in here.

Ask the companies you’re considering to give examples of clients in similar locations to yours, and if they can’t provide anything even a little bit similar, then they may not have the experience required to do the right job.

4. How present is the company founder/director?

It shouldn’t be difficult to speak directly to the director of the company you’re doing business with. Sometimes that’s a downside of using a national chain. Our founder Mara is easily contactable by any of our clients, and is a regular presence on site with our team.

You can read about Mara’s Story and values and get a sense of the pride she has in her business, and the dedication she has to instilling her personal standards into each of our team members.

5. Can you speak to any current clients?

The company you’re considering should be able to provide a number of clients that you can speak to about their experience of working together. We’re happy to provide a number of references and contacts, but we like to be polite and get the clients permission before giving you their contact details.

When you speak to those clients, ask them questions about the service, standards, and team.

It’s also important to note you’re not looking for a perfect company. No company is perfect, and things do go wrong sometimes. What’s really important is to understand how the company responds to situations.

For example, if you hear that one morning a cleaner didn’t turn up. But what if the cleaning company already knew about the absence before you, and made arrangements to cover this shift before you even arrive for work. That’s a great service.

Nova works with a GPS System called Always On Time, where we can see in real time if staff doesn’t check in to their shift. We then make arrangements to have this shift covered. But better than that our staff respect our companies policies and values and will always let us know if they cannot attend giving us plenty of time to react.

6. Can they provide their compliance, insurance and legal documents?

Cleaning is a complex service and needs to be carried out safely and legally. Your potential providers should be able to provide information such as their Health and Safety Policy, which will include things like how they store and use hazardous chemicals, how they ensure safety of your employees and themselves during their work, and other information that shows they’ve carefully considered all aspects of the service.

If you work in a school, care home, or other facility with vulnerable people, your business may also require cleaners to have DBS checks prior to being on site. Make sure that this isn’t a problem with your team.

A reputable cleaning company should provide several compliance, insurance, and legal documents to clients to ensure transparency, safety, and adherence to regulations.

When choosing your cleaning company make sure they have the following:

Insurance Certificate
A general public liability: this will cover property damage and bodily injury caused by the cleaning company operations

COSHH and Safety Data Sheets
Provides information on the safe use, handling, and disposal of cleaning chemicals.

Cleaning Service Agreement/Contract
Clearly outlines the terms and conditions of the cleaning service, including scope of work, frequency, pricing, and any special conditions.

Quality Control and Inspection Procedures
Details on how the cleaning company maintains quality standards, including regular inspections and feedback mechanisms.

Health and Safety Policy
Outlines the cleaning company’s commitment to maintaining a safe working environment for its employees and clients.

Those are important compliances to make sure your site and everyone involved are safe and protected.

We’re proud of our reputation

When we ask our clients why they’ve stuck with us as their cleaning partners for as long as they have, there are always three top answers that stick out..

1. You’re reliable. I never have to worry that you won’t turn up or if there’s a problem, I know I can trust you to sort it and help out when needed.

2. Your standards are exceptional. Attention to detail is high and I’ve never had a complaint about the thoroughness of your work.

3. It’s a pleasure to work with you. The entire team of cleaning staff are pleasant and professional, and customer service from you and your office team is excellent.

4. Management is excellent. I can easily contact the management team, and they are regularly on site visiting us, checking in, and making sure everything is running smoothly.

Reliability, good standards, good people.

Those qualities should be straightforward to prove, if you do your homework and thoroughly consider the company you might choose as your commercial cleaning company.

If you’re interested in talking to us about what we can offer your business, we’d be delighted to offer you a free site survey to get the ball rolling.