Why Choosing the Right Facility Cleaning Partner in New Zealand Matters
How often do business owners think about cleaning? Probably not often. Cleaning tends to be a floor maintenance-level priority. After all, renewing the printer lease and paying for electricity are just as important, but not exactly super fun to do. It’s simple enough to get a company to come and do the work. So, to them, job done.
But cleaning is a bit more complex than that.
If you’ve had your bathrooms cleaned and had someone complain about the chemicals used, you know what it is like to work with a company that does not care about your business and is just checking a task off their to-do list.
With the rapid growth of the cleaning industry in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton, it is becoming more important than ever to use an industry that cares about compliance, and more importantly, the health of your employees. Cleaning is not just about the appearance of your business. It can have a large impact on your client and your employees as well. Cleaning in commercial and industrial sectors remains a challenge for New Zealand.
This blog outlines the importance of choosing the right cleaning partner, what effective cleaning looks like, and how to relieve the most stress when it comes to cleaning. We offer real-world examples from Advanced Facility Care (AFC), which has built its entire business model around getting cleaning right.
1. The Real Cost of Getting Cleaning Wrong
Prior to talking about any of the solutions, it is essential to address the problem. The ramifications of inadequate cleaning of a facility are much more severe than what most would consider the problem – a dirty break-room.
The problem affects your people first.
New Zealand’s WorkSafe guidelines made it clear; it is the employer’s responsibility to take care of and protect their duty of care to the workers. An ill-kept facility with dirty air vents, dirty toilets, dusty surfaces, and the presence of mould can contribute to a myriad of health issues, including but not limited to respiratory issues, upper respiratory allergies, and increased sick leaves. If more and more of your employees are calling in sick, it’s not a new virus strain circulating in the office. It is very likely a result of the air quality at your workplace.
It sends a message to clients.
Take a moment and think about the last time you entered a dirty establishment. Would you want to give them your business? Probably not. First impressions are lasting. The medical practice you have in Wellington, the tech office in Auckland’s CBD, and the warehouses in Christchurch, all NZ companies, your brand includes the dirtiness of your workspace.
“Maintaining a clean environment is not an option. Those who do are more successful than others across the board.“
2. What ‘Proper Cleaning’ Actually Looks Like
There is a lot of confusion surrounding this. Cleaning can mean several things, and to the business owner, it may be getting the carpets vacuumed and the desks dusted. While this is what the task entails, cleaning a facility has a lot more to it.
Surface cleaning and deep cleaning
Example tasks of surface cleaning include taking out the trash, mopping, wiping down surfaces, and cleaning toilets. This is often not done daily, which is why deep cleaning tends to leave a space more hygienic and presentable. Surface cleaning, however, leaves behind grout lines, spaces behind and between appliances, inside ventilation systems, upholstery, ceiling corners, door hinges, elevator control panels, and light switch controls.
This is the reason why Advanced Facility Care structures cleaning service this way. With the AFC Tracker app, customers track deep cleaning alongside daily cleaning, which provides up-to-the-minute transparency and reporting about completed tasks. This is the definition of a serious cleaning operation. Choosing the right cleaning products
As New Zealand promotes the use of sustainable cleaning products, it is expected that your cleaning service provider is using products that comply with New Zealand’s cleaning guidelines while also keeping your people, space, and the environment safe.
AFC is among the very few cleaning service providers that use cleaning products that comply with and are harmless to humans and animals. Most cleaning products are very harmful and create a bad indoor climate, are allergy-inducing, and surface-damaging. This is an example of cleaning service providers doing their part in undertaking environmentally friendly cleaning while also being clean.
Infection control and contamination cleaning
Most cleaning service providers use colour-coded systems for their cleaning service to minimise the risk of cross-contamination of the cleaning equipment and instruments that are brought in and out of spaces. This includes red for cleaning sinks and toilets, blue for open spaces, and green for kitchens. If your cleaning service provider is cleaning the bathroom sink with the same rag that they use in the kitchen, this is unhygienic.
Specialist services for specialist needs
Cleaning is about more than just taking care of the basics; it’s about having the right services for each specific situation. Advanced Facility Care offers a truly integrated service that includes carpet cleaning, floor strip and polish, window cleaning, water blasting, exterior building wash, graffiti removal, pest control, grounds maintenance, flood restoration, and hospital-grade COVID-19 disinfection. With all of these services under one roof, you will never have to rush to find a specialised contractor if something out of the ordinary is required.
“Proper cleaning isn’t just about clean surfaces. It’s about understanding your facility, your risk profile, and your people — then applying the right systems to manage all three.”
3. How to Reduce the Stress of Managing Facility Cleaning
Few people understand the stress that comes with managing a cleaning contract. You have to manage scheduling, handle complaints, follow up on missing tasks, and assess the service performed when you aren’t there.
The best cleaning partners alleviate the stress of managing cleaning contracts. The best cleaning partners have built operational excellence around a few simple ideas.
Solution 1: Use Digital Reporting to Promote Transparency
The greatest source of stress with cleaning contracts is the uncertainty surrounding whether or not the work is done when you have many locations to oversee. That is the problem that the AFC Tracker app, built for sole use by Advanced Facility Care, is designed to alleviate.
The app creates a live report that shows all activity that has taken place for all sites, for daily, ad-hoc, and deep cleans. If a cleaner finds an issue, such as a leaky tap, broken dispenser, or graffiti, these issues are documented with photos and notes that are categorised as issues for the report. Issues can be viewed by clients anytime and anywhere without having to contact someone or wait for a report at the end of the week.
Solution 2. Geo-fenced time tracking allows for peace of mind.
You contracted a cleaning crew to be at your location from 6 pm to 9 pm. But were they? And for how long? In a standard cleaning contract, you usually have no means of answering this. Service inconsistency builds a trusting problem.
AFC have taken this issue on by using a site-specific geo-fenced clock-in/clock-out system. An employee must be at the site to clock in. The system then captures their in and out times. Clients know the staff are at the site delivering the contracted services, and the system provides evidence for any disputes or questions.
✔ Pro tip: The use of time-tracking technologies in the cleaning industry is still in its infancy. If a cleaning company does not offer time-tracking technology, consider how they provide accountability regarding employee site attendance. The answer, or lack of it, is telling.
Solution 3. Collaborate with a business that has health and safety certifications.
In New Zealand, health and safety compliance is a legal requirement. Therefore, the health and safety record of your cleaning contractor is your health and safety record. Advanced Facility Care has obtained Site Wise Gold and SHE-Prequal certifications, two of the most prominent health and safety qualifications in New Zealand’s facility services industry. It’s not a box-ticking exercise. It demonstrates that AFC’s procedures, equipment, personnel training, and incident reporting have undergone rigorous assessments by independent evaluators.
Your cleaning contractor’s credentials level up your reputation. It is of utmost importance to auditors, insurers, and regulators, and it should be to you.
Work with a cleaning contractor that demonstrates environmental responsibility. Perhaps even more than in other countries, the public, the regulators, the employees, and the clients of New Zealand businesses have come to expect environmental sustainability in business. Your cleaning contractor should not undermine your values in this area.
AFC shows real and tangible commitment towards sustainability by employing strategies such as the use of hybrid cars to cut down on fuel use, the use of battery-operated tools, and the use of digital systems to reduce printing. They also use environmentally safe and non-hazardous cleaning supplies, turn lights, AC and heater off after cleaning, and participate in the Trees That Count program to support the reforestation of native trees in New Zealand.
These go beyond just marketing. If sustainability is truly the main focus of your organisation, you are responsible for operational sustainability decisions to be made, and these are the types of decisions made by defined sustainability-focused organisations.
Solution 4: Consolidate all your facility services under one partner
Managing five contractors (separate contractors for cleaning, window washing, carpet, grounds, and pest control) is a headache. They each have different scheduling, invoicing, and contact personnel. When problems occur, the blame shifting that occurs results in delays in getting a resolution from contractors.
Advanced Facility Care simplifies this process because they are a true one-stop shop for facility maintenance. Clients get to work under one contract and one point of contact to get services that include maintenance of facilities in commercial and residential sectors, cleaning of public transport, carpet and window cleaning, water blasting, external cleaning, floor stripping and polishing, graffiti removal, maintenance of grounds, pest control, and flood restoration.
Not only does consolidation save administrative time, but it also means one company is responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance of the facility. With this method, there are no uncertainties or doubts about who is responsible for a particular task.
✔ Pro tip: If you anticipate your needs evolving in the future, it is best to choose a provider who can accommodate that growth, rather than having to find new contractors with each change.
Solution 5: Schedule your deep cleaning cycles in advance
A creeping accumulation of dirt is something all facility managers notice. Carpets lose their colour, tile grout becomes dark, and kitchen appliances begin to emit unpleasant odours. Facilities tend to rely on surface cleaning while neglecting the necessity of deep cleaning on a regular basis, leading to the accumulation of dirt and grime.
Setting a deep cleaning schedule for your type of facility, whether that is every 3 months or every 6 months, will ensure that you will not have a crisis on your hands. The app used by Advanced Facility Care provides every user with a complete history of deep cleanings done at the facility, allowing you to plan for and schedule the next upcoming deep cleaning. Advanced Facility Care is a clean that is always a reactive clean that will always cost more and create more disruption than anyone could have anticipated.
✔ Pro tip: Corridor deep cleaning is a line item that should be placed into your facility’s annual budget, not as a discretionary cost. It will save you money in the long run, as well as ensure the safety of your staff and the facility’s liability compliance.
Solution 6: Collaborate with a business that has been certified in health and safety.
In New Zealand, the law requires health and safety compliance, and the H&S record of your cleaning provider reflects the contracting company. Advanced Facility Care has SiteWise Gold and SHE-Prequal certifications, which are among the most prestigious certifications for health and safety in New Zealand facility services. This is not just a precedent. This means that processes, equipment, and staff training, as well as incident reporting, all comply with stringent external standards.
When your cleaning contractor is this certified, you gain that credibility. This is valid for auditors, insurance companies, andcompliance bodies.
Solution 7: Work with a partner who truly cares for the environment.
Your cleaning partner should not contradict your values in this area. Sustainability and the focus on the environment are increasingly important for assessing New Zealand businesses, and this includes clients, employees, the general public, and regulators.
AFC’s sustainability commitments are actionable. To demonstrate their commitment, they use hybrid cars to lessen their carbon footprint, use battery-operated tools when possible, go paperless when possible, use green, non-contaminating chemicals, and conserve energy by turning off lights, a/c, and heat after cleaning. Also, they are involved with New Zealand’s native reforestation project, Trees That Count.
These are operational examples beyond marketing. These are decisions that a true sustainability-conscious organisation makes daily — and they are important when environmental accountability is a value of your organisation.
4. Industries That NEED To Get This Right
Every business enjoys the benefits of having a reliable cleaning partner. But for some industries, the risk is greater when their cleaning partner fails to meet cleaning standards. Advanced Facility Care has developed specialised expertise for the following industries, as each has specific needs that a cleaning company generalist cannot meet:
• Medical & Healthcare — In the healthcare industry, infection control, clinical hygiene, and compliance with health authority standards are a given. AFC is designed to clean healthcare facilities to provide utmost hygiene and care to detect the presence of infection within those facilities, as they are a very high-risk environment.
• Retirement Villages & Social Housing — Vulnerable residents need cleaning that is unobtrusive and respectful, providing a safe and aesthetically pleasing living space. AFC appreciates the sensitivity needed in these environments.
• Education — Schools & educational facilities require cleaning that is reliable, consistent and thorough, to ensure the health of all students and educators and to otherwise ensure a Non-disruptive environment.
• Offices & Corporate Spaces — Tactical cleaning provides a high degree of value to business operations, and the work, space and business needs to be cleaned without disruption.
• Manufacturing & Industrial — The high level of cleanliness in these environments is directly related to safety, the effective functioning of equipment and compliance with the law. • Hotels & Leisure – Guests assess hotel cleanliness more quickly than any other metric. AFC hotel cleaning services uphold the consistent, inviting standard that keeps guests coming back.
• Retail & Showrooms– A clean retail space is a selling space. AFC cleaning services instil a ready, inviting, and presentable space on a daily basis.
• Public Transport – Transit cleaning requires quick re-cleans, consistent cleanliness in high-traffic vehicles and stations, and fast response for on-the-spot cleaning.
If your business is in any of these industries and you do not have an industry cleaning specialist as a business partner, you need to evaluate your cleaning services.
5. Actual Feedback from Clients
Describing an ideal cleaning partner is great in theory. However, nothing beats hearing it from those who have actually experienced it. In regard to their experience, these are the words from Advanced Facility Care’s clients:
“For me, it is extremely important to know contractors that I can rely on. Dealing with Advanced Facility Care is always great. They even allow for ongoing issues to be corrected, and provide work in a reasonable timeframe. Their employees are very kind and polite.”
– Shopping Centre Manager, Auckland
“Eight months ago, we had our first engagement with Advanced Facility Care. From then on, we have experienced great service and quality workmanship.”
– School Property Manager, Auckland
“Advanced Facility Care provide cleaning services. I practically use their services and recommend them for reliable and affordable cleaning. However, there is nothing to be saved on quality”.
– Commercial Business Manager, Palmerston North
“A great system is demonstrated to prepare for cleaning, meetings, and record-keeping. Associates who are responsible for cleanliness are also active participants.”
“They also extend custodial services to our fleets, office spaces, and garden maintenance.”
– Public Transport General Manager Operations, Auckland
The most notable aspect of these testimonials, and in fact, the most consistent, is the focus on reliability, responsiveness, and professionalism. That is not an accident. It is the result of a cleaning company that has integrated and operationalised those values from the very beginning.
Final Thoughts: This is more than cleaning; this is a partnership
On the first day of your contract, it is hard to see the difference between an average cleaning company and an exceptional one. All companies send the same team to clean and send the same monthly invoices. So what is the difference? As time goes by, the differences become more pronounced, and your partnership develops. It could be the real-time cleaning app that lets you see what was done on a daily basis before you even have the chance to ask. It could be a photo taken by your cleaner of a leaking tap that needs attention. It could be Health and Safety cleaning systems that protect your team, your building and your environment. It could be your caring supervisor who wants to do things right in your building. This is where our partnership begins.
Advanced Facility Care stemmed from the idea of being a partner to New Zealand businesses, rather than just being a cleaning contract for them. Their vision to lead the industry with quality service and innovative and sustainable solutions is not only on their website, but is also visible on their application, certified processes, trained personnel, client portal, and client reviews.
Don’t automatically roll over your cleaning contract when it’s due. Consider asking your cleaning contractor the following questions. Check the scope of works, the health and safety credentials, their incident reporting process, their response to issues, and whether they offer specialist cleaning services for your facility.
The ideal partner for your facility cleaning is not just about maintaining a clean workplace. More importantly, it enables your staff to focus on other tasks.
In today’s world, being a facility cleaning partners is very valuable.