Cleaning can be particularly challenging for businesses that never close. Closing time is usually an opportunity to clean up from the previous day and prepare for the next one. How can you plan that in a 24-hour business? It’s all a matter of strategy and consistency. Check out these cleaning tips for 24-hour businesses that you can use to stay tidy.
Assign Cleaning Tasks for Every Shift
Your business is probably run in three 8-hour shifts or two 12-hour shifts. Regardless of the setup, you should assign cleaning tasks for each shift. These may be the exact same for each shift, or they may change based on the time of day. For instance, a restaurant that runs 24 hours may have a large rush at dinner. Thus the dinner crew may not have much time to devote to cleaning. Those tasks could be left for the overnight crew.
The cleaning tasks do not have to be extensive. You will most likely have a janitorial crew to do the deep cleaning. However, jobs like tidying up a work station or organizing the stock room could be delegated to members of each shift.
Establish a Clean-as-You-Go Mentality
Whether you’re cleaning a business or cleaning a home, it’s easy to do if you pick up as you go. Small cleaning tasks over time seem less daunting than a long list of chores. Encourage your employees to clean up as they progress through their shift. Give them cleaning tips to make this even easier, like taking out the trash in the break room or wiping down surfaces between client meetings. If workers get in the habit of keeping the space clean, it will always stay manageable.
Schedule Detailed Cleanings during Low-Traffic Hours
You’re going to need a detailed cleaning at some point in time, even if the business is still open. Try to plan this for the time when there is the least amount of traffic in the building. For most businesses, this is during the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning. You might have a slow spot in the middle of the day though. Talk to your office cleaning company about the ideal hours for them to work, and they can adjust their schedule to accommodate yours.
Don’t Slack on Routine Cleaning
When a business gets busy, it’s easy to push cleaning tasks to the backburner. Taking care of the guests is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, so cleaning seems secondary. However, you need to maintain a regular cleaning schedule regardless of business traffic. If you need to ramp up your outsourced cleaning tasks, do so. If workers need to stay after their shift to finish the job, budget accordingly. If you need to adjust your cleaning schedule to meet a new traffic trend, do that. As long as you keep up with the tasks and abide by the cleaning tips above, your business will stay looking its best.
