It can be difficult to know what to look for when assessing office cleaners. Melbourne alone is home to countless commercial cleaning companies, and it can be overwhelming to narrow down your search for a new cleaning partner.
This simple guide will help you cut through the noise and choose the right commercial cleaner for your business.
In Victoria, commercial cleaning is defined as a labour hire service. Any legitimate office cleaning company must hold a valid Labour Hire Licence.
When engaging a new office cleaner, you should ask to see a copy of their licence. This is required by law.
Penalties apply not just to the employer, but also to host companies who knowingly (or unknowingly) engage unlicensed labour hire services. If a commercial cleaning company can’t produce a labour hire licence, that’s a huge red flag.
Subcontracting is common in the cleaning industry in Melbourne, but it often hides unfair and unlawful employment practices.
Many businesses subcontract to avoid paying staff proper award wages. Sham contracting arrangements can put your business at risk of significant fines, even if you're not aware they're happening.
While it can be normal for office cleaners to subcontract specialist services (like floor strip and seal, or carpet restoration), if they’re subcontracting your core office cleaning, you haven’t hired a cleaning company – you’ve hired a middleman.
Subcontracting also makes it harder for cleaners to maintain quality in their cleaning services.
At Workspace Cleaners, all of our team members are employees. We never subcontract your work. Fair employment is the foundation of consistent, high-quality cleaning.
The best office cleaners in Melbourne will have clear, documented quality assurance processes. This should include activities:
At Workspace Cleaners, we run random inspections, use Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a key customer feedback benchmark, and we have clear processes to resolve any issues quickly.
Every now and then, issues can cropup. What matters the most is how they’re resolved. A good issue resolution process should:
A resolution plan might be as simple as scheduling a reminder to the cleaner for a missed task, or it could include requiring photo verification of completed work in the case qualiy issues. A strong system must also track repeat issues and ensures they’re escalated properly.
If an office cleaner can’t explain their issue resolution process in detail, they might just not have one!
Any professional commercial cleaning company will be appropriately insured. We're in industry where we have access to dozens of customer sites, and customers can have extremely valuable equipment stored on site. As part of your selection process, you should ask for:
This protects both you and your business in case of accidents.
Cleaning prices can vary, but there are some key realities:
For us, a small office of abot 200-250m2 often takes about 2 hours to clean. If an office cleaner is charging you a suspiciously low rate, it can be an indication of something dubious happening. It may mean:
A good office cleaner will be transparent in how they arrive at your price. At Workspace Cleaners, we quote transparently and honestly. All of our quotes come with an estimate of the man-hours required to complete the job. Our cleaners also check in and out of customer office locations using a GPS-enabled timesheet app, so you can be confident they are spending the required time at your office.
Finally, ask for a customer reference. A good office cleaner will have happy customers, and a quick call to another business can tell you everything you need to know. Good questions include:
Workspace Cleaners is proud to be one of Melbourne’s most trusted office cleaning companies. We employ our team directly, pay fairly, use eco-friendly cleaning products, and back everything with strong quality systems.
If you’re looking for reliable, professional, and ethical office cleaners in Melbourne, get in touch today!
