Why Outsource?

Purpose

As a building owner or manager you realize the need for a building to operate at peak efficiency to meet the needs of your employees or tenants. Not only must you be concerned with the aspects of complete building occupancy and the maintenance of the equipment and structure of the building -you are also expected to keep the building at a high appearance level at all times. How many hats can you wear and wear well? You are expected to be the rental agent, landlord, diplomat, repairman, decorator, exterminator, groundskeeper, janitor, trash collector... Are you an expert in all of these fields? Is anyone? You wouldn't think twice about hiring outside firms to maintain the physical plant and for structural repairs. Why? Because they are the experts. Building service contractors are experts. They are the professionals with the proper tools and equipment needed to do the job well. They have well trained personnel and capable managers.


Why Contract For Building Services?

You have two possible alternatives when considering the cleaning of your building -you can hire your own cleaning staff or contract for those services. In choosing between these alternatives, consider the time element involved. Does building maintenance merit your time and thought or is your time better spent on the many other matters that require your attention? Cleaning represents one-fourth to one- third or more of the operating cost of an office building and is a highly specialized field, best performed by professionals able to get the job done as efficiently and economically as modern technology will allow.

Cleaning should be set apart from your more profitable and professional operations. Comprehensive Maintenance In previous years most building service contractors provided primarily cleaning services; however, you would be surprised at how many building service contractors have expanded their operations so that now they can supply comprehensive maintenance and operation of buildings and plants.


Reduce Problems and Increase Cost Effectiveness

When you, as a building owner or manager, contract for cleaning services, you should consider two basics -the elimination of problems and cost effective- ness. A good building service contracting firm has trained personnel to handle emergencies as well as daily services. A qualified contractor can work with you to provide the highest level of service in the most cost effective manner. A good con- tractor can help you optimize your building services within your budget. Today's successful building service contracting firm is an organization of professionals -business persons with knowledge, skill, and experience in the building service industry. Many have earned the Certified Building Service Executive or Registered Building Service Manager designations. They are professionals who are skilled in recruiting, training, and developing service personnel. They relieve you, the facility owner or manager, of the people problems associated with employing your own building service personnel. Building owners and managers who carefully evaluate their service quality and budgets will most likely find that contract- ing for building services will eliminate most problems associated with in-house operations, provide cost controls, and render optimum service value.


Labor Costs

In considering their in-house staff, most building owners or managers include labor and supervision in their cost estimates. They also generally count vacations, holidays, unemployment compensation rates, social security, and liability. Few, however, consider the cost of vacation replacements and payroll administration. Since in-house staffs often have a high rate of turnover, the administrative cost of adding and dropping employees can be sizable. Remember, too, that your best management is employed during the daytime, but cleaning takes place at night. You must pay your top managers more to manage cleaning crews and risk losing them; hire lesser quality managers to supervise cleaning crews and quality suffers as a result; or contract out and let the contractor put his expert management team to work supervising the cleaning of your building.

A cost-saving feature of contract maintenance is the absorption of paper- work. All records on employees and services are maintained by the contractor. This represents a time and money-saving advantage to clients who would have considerable paperwork if they were using in-house employees. The organization contracting for services has none of the employee-related expenses. A planned housekeeping program will also payoff in a reduction of labor costs. Cleaning contractors recognize this and concentrate their efforts on time-and- motion studies and engineering their cleaning operations. The contractor who services many buildings can aggregate the tasks into full-time assignments for his work force and perform them much more efficiently than could the one or two "handy-man" type maintenance employees which some firms might employ.


Supplies and Equipment

The purchase of supplies and equipment can also result in hidden costs. First, there is a need to have an adequate inventory of supplies on hand and the cost of storage space for these is a frequently overlooked item. Additionally, both supplies and equipment must be stored under the proper conditions. Secondly, the per-unit cost of supplies and equipment is often much higher when small purchases are made than it is for large volume purchases. Many buildings simply do not have enough storage space to allow the building owner or manager to take advantage of large-volume discounts. Contractors may enjoy discounts and other favorable purchasing techniques which lower costs for materials, tools, and equipment. Due to the volume of his orders, the contractor can get higher quality supplies and equipment at much better prices. He can afford to test and change equipment and supplies, spreading the costs over the gamut of his operations. Another area where costs can escalate without your immediate knowledge is in the area of the use of supplies and equipment. Often a supervisor orders chemicals and other supplies and equipment without complete knowledge of how they will be used. These materials, in untrained hands, can damage and even ruin building surfaces. Carpet cleaning chemicals and equipment can seriously damage carpeting. A gritty cleaner can damage a marble floor or porcelain surface. Costly practices may go unnoticed with an in-house staff and costs gradually increase while the quality of service and appearance of the facility decrease. Unexpected overtime or replacement of carpets, floors, or other furnishings can put you way over your planned budget. Maintenance of equipment and the costs of supplies take a heavy toll from the budgets of building owners and managers using in-house maintenance. The contractor may use tools and equipment on more than one job. He is able to invest in specialized equipment and absorb the cost through using it in all of his operations, distributing the expense of both purchase and maintenance, and, therefore, lowering the cost of the contract.

Finally, he earns his profit by employing methods and techniques which he develops under the best of all known incentives -the profit motive -which he may be sharing down the line with the employees who make it work. The con- tractor devotes 100% of his time to cleaning and he knows the current "state- of-the-art" better than a no contractor. This professionalism enables him to operate at a considerable savings that he can pass on to the building owner and manager.


Administration Time

Owners of buildings and the executives responsible for effective facility management have found that it is not cost effective for them to spend time dealing directly with the day-to-day problems associated with building services, particularly clean- ing services. The greatest, yet the most frequently overlooked, in-house cleaning cost is management time. Large buildings which have required their manager to keep track of the hours spent hiring and firing, seeing supply and equipment salesmen, finding replacements for sick or no-show help, and sending equipment out for repair have been surprised at the portion of executive salary consumed by custodial problems. Not only does this time factor cost money, but it also consumes time that could be devoted to other duties. Time is a precious commodity to any busy administrator and, by hiring outside maintenance, you can relieve yourself of considerable supervisory detail. This, of course, allows for a more efficient application of time so that your many other responsibilities may be better met. Contracting for building services reduces administrative headaches and permits costs to be determined and fixed for the quality level of service desired. Building administrators may purchase prestige, adequate, or minimal service according to current needs. When budgets must be reduced, services may be adjusted with the contractor and the building manager is not faced with laying off in- house personnel. Under contract, you would be rid of the administrative problems related to cleaning, payroll, hiring, firing, unions, training and personnel problems.


Emergencies and Increased Service Demands

No organization is immune to emergency situations. Generally, these situations require immediate action from competent personnel. A company with in- house maintenance faces a dilemma in the event of such emergencies. In-house help must be solicited, often at overtime rates, or outside services must be utilized to find adequate help. Building service contractors have trained personnel, on call, ready to move in when extra help is needed. They often have a pool of qualified personnel and draw from them for seasonal cleaning, or for extra service when there is a temporary increase in tenant occupancy, production census, or employee levels. Labor Unions Labor Unions can be a problem for a building owner or manager, but not if you hire an outside contractor. Although labor relations in the contract cleaning industry have been excellent, when labor unions are required, the contractor conducts all of the negotiations. The contractor is familiar and can deal with problems that may develop with cases involving the Equal Employment opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This protection afforded you by, the contractor saves you not only time and aggravation, but also money.


Keeping Abreast of Technological Advances

In-house operations are handicapped when it comes to taking advantage of the savings possible through technological advances. The building owner or manager doesn't have the time to keep up with continually changing cleaning supply formulas and the introduction of new machines and techniques. To do that, he would have to neglect his other duties. Staying abreast of the latest products and methods is a full-time occupation, and a top priority in a professional building service contracting firm. A building manager devoting only partial time to cleaning can only do an inadequate job of staying abreast of technological changes. A good building service contractor continually keeps himself informed about new techniques, new machines, and improved cleaning supplies. He makes it his business to keep abreast of new products and more efficient methods.


Training of Personnel

Good contractors have ongoing training programs designed to keep their workers at the peak of efficiency. The contractor also knows how to get the most from his employees. He has performed time-and-motion studies for cleaning tasks and he has learned how to schedule and workload his employees to get the job done easier, faster, and better. A hidden, but expensive, item is the decreased efficiency of casually trained personnel. If an operation has high turn- over, new people must continually be trained and acquainted with their duties. Not only do trainees cover fewer square feet in a shift, they are more likely to damage equipment and waste supplies. Well-planned training programs prepare employees for the duties they will perform. This permits quality levels of services to be maintained while holding costs to a minimum. Seminars and re- fresher courses keep employees abreast of improvements, methods, and policy changes, and prepare them for possible advancement.


Maintaining Quality Control

The contractor assures quality cleaning by utilizing skilled workers and backing them up with thorough supervision and inspection. The supervisor is charged with conscientiousness regarding materials, absenteeism, scheduling, and the quality of the work accomplished. It is up to him to see that the work is satisfactory. With the assistance of various evaluation forms developed by contractors for their supervisors' use, potential problems can be prevented and additional comments by the supervisor can be solicited. For example, if there were a safety hazard in the building, the supervisor would note it on the form. In addition, maintenance firms constantly check their supervisors and have trained relief supervision available for vacations and emergencies.


A Contractor Can Do It Better - And Save You Money!

The advantages provided by a good building service contractor include:
  • A ready supply of skilled maintenance craftsmen, trained before coming into your building
  • Sufficient staff to define, program, monitor, and improve planned maintenance
  • Guaranteed appearance level
  • Sufficient capital to invest in tools and equipment for maintenance work, , including circumstances which are not routine, but necessary on a one-time or irregular basis
  • Release from the problems associated with personnel, payroll, equipment breakdown and replacement, labor unions, and more.
  • A predetermined cost per month
  • Quality control
  • Plenty of executive time to manage the maintenance activities.



How To Select A Building Service Contractor

Members of Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) are professionals - dedicated to providing quality work, and proficient in handling the many types of problems encountered in the cleaning and maintenance of buildings and their surroundings. The better building service contractors utilize the education and training programs of the BSCAI. These programs keep their managers and supervisors current on the latest improvements in equipment, chemicals, and supplies, as well as provide them with up-to-date management information to strengthen their supervisory and managerial skills. BSCAI has been in existence since 1965 and has devoted its efforts to improving the professionalism of the building service contractor. The Association provides resources for the education of its member firms and their personnel in good management practices and technological advances. The Certified Building Service Executive and Registered Building Service Manager programs developed by the BSCAI test the expertise of building service contractors and their employees as well as require them to continue to participate in educational programs in order to be recertified and reregistered. In summary, because the contractor must keep to his contract price, he is continually looking for better methods, and more economical buying practices to hold the price in line. In this motivation to earn a profit, the contract cleaner is moved to investigate and take advantage of the technology of sanitation and housekeeping which provides greater efficiency; to participate in seminars and other activities that improve his knowledge; to benefit from the experiences and specialized training of consultants and other experts; and to research and test possibilities which may bring improvements. These factors result in reduced costs for maintaining the highest appearance level for your building -savings that are passed on to you.