Your janitorial quality assurance program is the secret to customer satisfaction.

There’s a story in every experience. Imagine walking into a restaurant to pick up a takeout order. You pay, they hand you your food, you get home, and put the food out on the table. Everything you asked for is there, along with extra napkins, little containers of sauce, and utensils. Perfect. You don’t have to do anything except sit down and eat.

Then there’s the other experience: you walk in, pay, take your food home, and as soon as you open the bag, you know something’s wrong. Half of your meal is missing, and the last thing you want to do after a day at work is go back out to pick up the rest of your order.

That is where quality assurance comes in. The staff at both restaurants could be friendly, the food could be good, but that doesn’t change the fact that your expectations were exceeded in the first experience and sadly lacking in your other experience.

That same concept applies to your janitorial quality assurance program. You have the opportunity to boost your customer satisfaction, and as a result, your revenue, by implementing a robust review process for your work.

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How to improve your janitorial quality assurance program in 7 steps

Restaurants aside, what exactly is a janitorial quality assurance program? Quality assurance is, for any business, attention to detail in a product or service. In the case of a janitorial company, that could entail making sure your team follows any specified cleaning instructions in the contract, showing up ready to work, and getting the job done in a reasonable amount of time. In short, quality assurance is as simple as making sure the work you and your team do meets and exceeds your clients’ expectations. And it begins with your hiring and onboarding process.

1. Hire the best

If you want to give your clients the best service possible, you need to hire the best janitorial team. That doesn’t necessarily mean people with the most experience, either. Look for people who are friendly, reliable, and willing to learn. Just be prepared to treat them well. If you want to attract and retain high-quality employees, you’ll need to offer a competitive rate of pay, steady work, and benefits.

2. Expand your onboarding process

If your onboarding process is little more than filling out paperwork and sending a new employee on their way, it’s time to expand. Part of creating a robust janitorial quality assurance program is taking the time to fully integrate new employees into your team. Train them on your equipment, go over your expectations both for the level of work your team is known for and for their customer service. Have them shadow an experienced supervisor for a shift or two (or more, if you work with complex clients such as those in the health care industry).

3. Prepare your quote carefully

You probably have a generic estimate for potential clients. You perform X, Y, and Z tasks in a 2,500-square-foot office space for a certain amount. But to give an exact quote, you need to see the space. Is it mostly open and easy to access? Or will your team need special equipment to clean hard-to-reach areas? Does the client want to use green cleaning products exclusively? These are just some of the details you need to determine on your walk-through. It’s also the time to take plenty of notes, so when you generate a task list for the property, you can rest assured nothing will be overlooked.

4. Use a template for inspections

Once you have your quote and tasks confirmed, plug the information into your janitorial inspection template. Update your list to reflect the specific location and client preferences, then save it, so your team has a checklist to follow each time they clean.

5. Schedule regular inspections

Even when you hire the best, make a thorough list, and work diligently to ensure customer satisfaction, things can still get overlooked. Maybe there is confusion or miscommunication between you, and the client was unclear. Or maybe your team is doing a superb job. In either case, regularly scheduled, in-person inspections need to be part of your janitorial quality assurance program. It shows your client that you care about their experience with your business, and it shows your team that you are involved and interested in them. It’s also a fantastic way to take care of any potential issues before they get out of hand.

6. Make quality assurance easy

There’s no reason to make things more complicated than needed, right? That holds true for your janitorial quality assurance program, too. Use a janitorial inspection app (we happen to know of a good one!), so you and your team can stay on top of everything going on at a work site. Your team can reference a cleaning checklist right from their phones, you can get real-time updates on jobs, and inspectors can rate work and include images of the job site. And that’s all from one easy-to-use app.

7. Follow up with your client

If your clients aren’t happy, you might never know it until they drop you for a different commercial cleaning service. That’s just one reason follow-up is so important. Checking in with your clients early and often gives them, and you, the opportunity to deal with any gaps in communication or expectations. It also gives you a chance to upsell additional services. Above all, when you stay in touch with your clients, you send the message that their business is important to you. You want to make sure they are satisfied with the service they’re paying for. That’s just smart business.

Your janitorial quality assurance program doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. At the core, it’s just a matter of paying attention and focusing on customer service.

Make your business stand out with Janitorial Manager, software designed by janitors, for janitors. Contact us today for a free demo and learn about all the fantastic features!