Keeping your office or business property clean and well-maintained not only helps your business make a good impression on potential customers and employees, it also ensures the overall health and well-being of your staff members. Concierge and concierge services help create an efficient work environment in which employees can reach their highest levels of productivity and success. As such, keeping a commercial or business space clean makes it a suitable environment for conducting regular office work, holding meetings, and presenting to clients.
Many business owners turn to professional escrow or janitorial companies for office cleaning and maintenance. In fact, there is a wide range of services available from these professional teams, and while there are a lot of overlaps between janitors and custodians, there are also differences between these positions. First, let’s talk about the similarities. Mainly, janitors and custodians are hired as permanent employees or part-time employees by the management of a company. Likewise, many companies choose to outsource this work to professional janitorial and custodial organizations that act as employers for cleaners, janitors, and custodians. Outside cleaning reduces the burden on your company managers, as the cleaning company pays, schedules, and disciplines cleaning staff.
Still, while we can see that there are some similarities between janitors and custodians, there are also several differences. In many cases, people incorrectly use the terms “concierge” and “custodian” interchangeably, despite the significant differences between concierge and custodial services. In a nutshell, janitorial services generally refer to those jobs that are more basic housekeeping or maintenance jobs; while custodial services refer to those positions where an individual has control over the cleanliness and upkeep of a property. The distinction is subtle but important.
Janitors and janitorial service companies focus on keeping a business or workplace clean. The service contract with a cleaning organization will likely include an extensive list of indoor and outdoor cleaning activities, along with some maintenance tasks. Cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming floors, washing windows, wiping down tables and desks, and emptying recycling and trash are just a few of the tasks you can expect a janitor to do.
Alternatively, custodial services may include but are not limited to these basic cleaning tasks. Instead, custodians can also provide light or heavy maintenance, as well as facilities management. Periodic repairs, equipment replacement, emergency maintenance, and other higher-level tasks would fall under the custodian category. Additionally, janitorial services may also include deep cleaning, painting, light fixture replacement, plumbing maintenance, and other activities that ensure the smooth running of your office facilities.
So while you may see custodial and janitorial services as similar, you really need to understand the roles and responsibilities of each of these professionals before you’re ready to hire a custodian or concierge for your business.