It’s the curse of many cleaning business owners and managers: they spend too much time working in the business and not enough time working on the business.

If you run a commercial cleaning business, it can drain your time and energy to stay involved with day-to-day operations. From scheduling changes to supply issues, there are many moving parts to keep track of.

Fortunately, there are a few steps that you, as a cleaning company leader, can take so you’re working on your cleaning business, instead of getting pulled into everything that goes on inside of your business.

Running a Cleaning Business Tip # 1 - Set boundaries for better leadership.

To change how you spend your time on your business, you’ll need to start setting boundaries around the role that you play on the team.

“There are several important types of boundaries that leaders must set,” Dr. Henry Cloud told Forbes, and communication is critical for establishing those boundaries.

From your operational goals to customer service, cleaning company leaders need to clearly define the roles that they and their team members will play within the broader scope of the company. Establish boundaries that make that clear to your team, specifically those “that structure teams around well-defined purposes with values and behaviors which lead to high performance through defined roles, activities, and mutual accountability, along with the ability to diagnose, correct and fix what is not working quickly,” according to Dr. Cloud.

When you’re clear on your boundaries, you give your team a structure around how they can grow and find success in your cleaning company. They act as guideposts for how your team members interact with each other and how you handle customer service and establish more clearly defined business goals so everyone can achieve success.

Running a Cleaning Business Tip # 2 - Build accountability into your processes.

Once you establish consistent communication and set goals for progress with your team, you’ll need a system in place to track those goals and who is responsible for them. That means you’ll need to make accountability a part of your company ethos.

There are a few reasons to prioritize accountability within your team’s processes:

• Accountability for that progress will keep everyone on the same page with team and broader company goals.
• Making accountability a priority helps improve quality checks and customer service.
• Establishing automated systems for accountability, like cleaning inspection software, helps cleaning company leaders measure their team’s performance without having to be on the job site.

Running a Cleaning Business Tip # 3 - Adopt technology to stay ahead of your competition.

Many of today’s commercial cleaning firms have adopted technology platforms to manage teams, track project data, and encourage more efficient client communication.

“What does all this technology really mean for sales-to-client interaction? First, cloud services allow sales teams to leverage agile customer relationship management (CRM) tools . . .” —Doug Bonderud, contributor for Vonage

That kind of customer care is what will help you stand out from competitors, establish a rapport with clients, and retain your customers over the long run.

Running a Cleaning Business Tip # 4 - Invest time in your customer’s experience.

Working on your business means spending more time on your customers and their experience with your janitorial company. When you invest in technology that creates a more streamlined and pleasant experience for your customers, the ROI will reveal itself in a few ways:

• Instead of covering a shift for staff or scrambling to buy supplies, managers are empowered to be more effective leaders by building trust and improving communications with clients.
• Using tools for streamlining communication between you and clients keeps your customers informed and prevents mistakes on the job.
• Addressing any project issues early on makes you a reliable service; it establishes trust with your clients and can even lead to referrals.

Running a Cleaning Business Tip # 5 - Start Working on Your Business Now

“One of the best moments using Swept was when my staff connected the dots and started getting excited. They had the realization that this can work and was going to save them an immense amount of time,” says Jason with Inside Out Cleaning. “It was a game changer.”

Growing a commercial cleaning business during uncertain times takes the right strategy and a technology partner that supports your team. Janitorial service tools like Swept have that support and can save time for busy company leaders so they can work on (not in!) their commercial cleaning business.

Take a look at how Swept has helped these companies improve their commercial cleaning business!

Swept’s commercial cleaning software helps cleaning company owners build trust with clients and get ahead of the competition by giving them the tools they need to spend more time managing their business and less time working in it.