Knowing Which Contractors To Work With

Cleaning is one of the most basic functions at a hospital. Many hospitals deal with these needs in-house. However, some may find they need to work with third-party hospital janitorial services providers. Look for these four signs it's time to look outside for help if you're thinking about entering into a contract.

Paying Lots of Overtime

Especially in a tough hiring environment, many hospitals elect to fork over the money and pay many in-house employees overtime. A lot of hospitals do this when illness rates lead to numerous call-offs.

This can prove costly, particularly if a hospital is substituting overtime pay to cover a large percentage of its regular cleaning hours. Working with a hospital cleaning services company can curb or eliminate overtime outlays, allowing a hospital to avoid problems during times of high illness rates.

Skill Shortfall

Hospital-grade cleaning work often requires specific skills in working with chemicals, using machines, and maintaining standards. Your facility may find enough potential workers without finding enough of them with the right skills. Fortunately, a hospital janitorial services firm keeps regular training standards. It also maintains supplies and equipment consistent with the needs of hospital environments. You can rest assured all janitors from a third party will have the skills and tools required to do the job well.

Unable to Fill Jobs

Sometimes the workforce isn't sufficient to supply enough janitors no matter how much overtime you're willing to pay. People have limits, and competitive job markets can draw candidates elsewhere.

If you need stability in your janitorial workforce, it may be time to lock in those numbers by signing a contract with a third party. A hospital cleaning services contract will assure you that X janitors will be available each day and at specified hours. If you use a mixed model with in-house and third-party janitors, you can also ask for emergency availability in the contract to ensure your staff will be sufficient.

Rising Costs

The overall cost of running a hospital cleaning services staff tends to go up over time, and it can go up a lot during economic periods of high inflation. Entering into a contract, though, will allow you to lock in your costs.

Cost control can be especially helpful because it creates a stable line item in the budget. You won't have to worry about many unexpected increases in cleaning costs because the contract will control that figure. Lock in your contract for multiple years to achieve greater long-term control.