Advantages of Residential Team Cleaning

Many residential cleaning companies start out as a one-person operation. But as their cleaning company grows and more employees are hired, they soon face the dilemma of whether to send a single person to clean the home or a team. What's the best answer?

Advantages of residential team cleaning

Some cleaners may prefer to work alone, but is that in the best interest of your cleaning company? It's about providing quality work while maintaining a fair profit. The team cleaning concept does just that!

Residential Team Cleaning has its advantages

One person can generally clean two to three houses a day on average, depending on the size, tasks, and driving distance. Cleaning teams, which can consist of two to four people, can clean up to seven houses a day. And regardless if paying mileage or providing a company car, it just costs more to have single cleaner traveling rather than using the team cleaning concept. Teams can pair up in a single vehicle, cutting down on the cost of mileage to and from each job.

Also, in situations where an employee is sick for the day, instead of having to reschedule or place someone in the home that is unfamiliar with the layout and required tasks, there are already team members who know the home and can cover the tasks of someone who is out.

Some companies have “floaters”, or employees who work where they're needed – most times filling in for absent employees. Floaters work great for filling in because the other team members can give them direction on what they need to do and fill them in on anything out of the ordinary they need to pay attention to. This is more difficult when replacing a solo cleaner because the floater may not know the home and risk missing important tasks or special touches the client will be looking for.

All members of the cleaning team have specific cleaning assignments

Team cleaning should also include a team leader. They can have additional duties such as quality inspection work and engaging with the home owner. Team cleaning members are cross-trained and tasks can be rotated to cut down on employee burnout and reduce boredom and repetition.

Another advantage of team cleaning is that employees have co-workers to interact with during breaks, lunch and drive time. This allows employees to get to know each other and builds team morale.

What size team should you use? Most residential team cleaning crews consist of two people. However, some cleaning businesses have found that three or four person teams are more effective when cleaning larger homes.

How do you break down team tasks?

This depends on the size of the team. With a two-person team, the work is generally divided between wet and dry work. Wet work refers to procedures used in bathrooms, kitchens and utility areas, using cleaning chemicals. Dry work includes emptying trash, dusting and vacuuming. The person assigned to the dry work will start in the back of the house (second floor if there is one) and work their way forward towards the front door. Or, if there is a downstairs, they will work their way up to the front door.

With larger teams, there can be more variation in the way the tasks are broken down. With a three-person team, one person can start on wet work, another begins the dusting and the third begins the trashing and vacuuming. Another way of breaking it down between three people is to have one person start on the kitchen, one in the bathrooms and the third does the dry work.

The added advantages of team cleaning

Below are some additional advantages to team cleaning:

• Higher productivity because the cleaner is focused on fewer tasks at a time and are not concerned with cleaning the entire home.
• Less time is wasted switching tools and equipment.
• Employees can help each other when there are tough or unusual cleaning situations, or if one finishes their tasks before another member of the team is finished.
• Your cleaning clients want to see the same faces in their home every visit. Having a dedicated team of two to more people means that even if someone is out for the day, there will still be a familiar face in the home.
• Team cleaning usually equals higher productivity and less driving “downtime.”

Using the team cleaning concept allows the team to travel together and work together to achieve a certain goal; cleaning fast yet efficient. Team cleaning allows each cleaner to focus on a specific task and it develops team working skills and camaraderie. This means a more satisfied team of employees, which of course, leads to less turnover and higher profit for your cleaning company.

Residential "Cleaning to Perfection" Training Program (PDF Download) In addition to using the Team Cleaning concept, MyHouseCleaningBiz.com has a variety of training programs available for your residential cleaning business. The Residential Cleaning to Perfection Training Program (PDF Download) is a 99 page document that gives you proven systems to make your cleaning staff more productive and efficient. Results come through proper training, which the manual guides you through, step-by-step.