With the recession or credit crunch or any name you want to give to the current economic issues we all face today I have come across a number of people who tell me they are cutting back on business costs.

One option being considered is to end the contract with the professional office cleaning in Aberdeen and do it all in-house using existing office staff. But does that actually save money in- practice?

For example if you wanted to clean your office you would need to buy a number of different cleaning products and equipment. Someone will need to go out and buy these from the store. This is a time and cost expense in itself.The professional cleaning service in Aberdeen will already have a stock of their own professional grade cleaning products that are used for a number of jobs.

If you are not going to hire an extra person to do the work then it is likely you will be utilising one of your existing admin staff members taking them away from their regular duties. This could have an extra cost effect on your business if their normal work is not being done effectively and on time.

The job may even need doing twice if the person is not shown exactly the right way to do the task. You also need to consider whether using an existing staff member is the best use of their time. They definitely will not be using the expertise that caused you to initially select them at the interview or spent time since developing their new skills for the job. How much did it cost you to train that person in real terms not just the cost of the training programme?

In addition the potential for damage to your office interiors increases as the person does not understand the use of some materials and the surfaces being cleaned. I recall going into one office complex and seeing that the cleaner (also employed as a book-keeper) had squirted some strong bleach on a floor and it had burnt the floor almost beyond economic repair. Are you aware of the dangers of mixing cleaning chemicals (even household strength cleaning products)? Did you know mixing some toilet cleaners together can give off poisonous Chlorine gas?

• Do you have full access to all the relevant Health and Safety procedures for all the cleaning jobs to be carried out?
• Do you know enough about the role to do a professional Risk Assessment as required by law?
• Do you have copies of the COSHH data sheets for every single cleaning product your staff purchase in the event of an incident? Your local superstore will not supply them for the general household products they sell!| Can you be certain that you have the required COSSH safety data sheets for every single cleaning product your staff purchase? Your local supermarket or corner store will not be able to supply these legal documents and you will need them on site in case of an safety incident.}

At the end of the day the main questions you need to ask yourself is

• ” Will I lose more money by taking staff away from the main business focus than I pay to use a professional cleaning company”

• “What is the cost of not doing the job properly and having to repeat the work, do expensive repairs or facing legal issues over health and safety? ”

Given the option of mistakes it certainly can work out cheaper to employ good professional cleaning company in Coatbridge in the long run.