57. Operational Insight: How to Mobilise an Office Cleaning Contract (5 Key Elements)
Including a mobilisation checklist
ANNOUNCEMENT
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned launching The Cleaning + Property Maintenance Community.
Our launch date is Wednesday 4th October at 7pm.
We’re hosting a webinar with guest speakers, networking and free giveaways.
The webinar will include talks on sales, marketing, finance, operations and staff.
Spots are limited 100 sign ups and we have 30 spots left. If you want to be part of the launch, sign up here.
Winning a new cleaning contract is an exciting time.
All of your hard work prospecting, bidding and negotiating has paid off.
Now the real work start.
You need to mobilise the contract and get it right from day one.
In today’s email:
TUPE
Operational set up
Health + Safety
Staffing
Management
👇🏾 Listen: Boost your growth with the Business Jet Engine
THE BIG IDEA
I remember setting up my first contract.
I had no idea what to do on the site visit. I didn’t price the job right.
On the first day of the contract the cleaner was late. I had the wrong equipment and carried out limited site induction.
The clean was a disaster.
So much so that 10 minutes after it finished I had the shouting at me on the phone. I had to change the cleaner immediately or they’d cancel.
Fuck.
Less than 24 hours to find a new cleaner or my first contract would go up in flames.
That was my introduction to commercial cleaning.
Over time, I learned steps to set up and mobilise a contract.
The bottom line?
Preparation is key.
Once you have agreed terms and a start date with the client, the mobilisation process begins.
Staff numbers, weekly hours, pay rates and cleaning specifications all feed into your mobilisation plan.
TUPE
TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
These regulations protect employees when a contract transfers from one employer to another.
Employees enjoy continuity of service and protected terms from the transfer date.
The TUPE process begins after contract terms are agreed and the existing contractor has been notified.
The existing contract needs to provide employee details. These include name and address, hourly rate and benefits, job title and working hours.
TUPE transfers an be unsettling for staff. It’s important that this part of starting a new contract is handled well.
Operational set up
A mobilisation plan consists of operational tasks that vary depending on the contract.
These include:
Creating new schedules and route plans based on specification
Ordering equipment and materials
Organising extra services (e.g. washroom or pest control)
Setting up an online janitorial template for ordering
Recruiting extra staff
Payroll set up of new staff, and creation of timesheets
Ordering staff uniform
Health & Safety
After conducting a site audit, health and safety documentation needs preparing. This includes:
Site induction – signing in arrangements, fire evacuation, expected conduct on site, reporting of incidents or accidents and other H&S matters
Contract files with all COSHH and MSDS
Full RAMS documentation (Risk Assessments and Method Statement)
Training requirements
Staffing
Staff checks for all new employees include:
Right to work, including visas and biometric residence permits (BRP)
Identity documentation verification
DBS if required
Copies need to be taken and held on file.
Management
Management information to monitor performance of the contract includes:
KPI and SLA documentation
Quality auditing schedules based on frequency agreed in contract
On accounting system, as per agreed invoice price
Regular updates of these documents ensure clients have accurate and timely information on the performance of their contract.
Having a robust mobilisation plan and executing that plan well sets a good first impression with your new client.
It’s about putting systems and processes in place to manage the contract effectively during its term.
And avoiding an angry client on the phone after your first clean.
I’ve created a cleaning contract mobilisation checklist that you can snag here.
Content to check out
In this week’s episode of The Growth Lab podcast, I have a chat with Martin Riley about the Business Jet Engine model to grow your cleaning business. Listen here.
Prefer watching over listening? Check out The Growth Lab podcast on YouTube.
Need More Help?
Want to 3x revenue growth for your cleaning business in the next 12 months? Book a call.
Email me with the growth strategy for your cleaning business. The more details you provide, the more personal I can make my response.
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Thanks for reading!
Matt @ The Growth Lab
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