Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, increased emphasis has been placed on the employer to sufficiently clean their office spaces to ensure that they are providing a safe and COVID-19 free environment for their staff to work in. This increased level of scrutiny has changed office cleaning as we knew it, making it evolve to give additional peace of mind and safety to all those occupying offices.
So, with office cleaning evolving, what does the new normal look like? Although many elements remain the same as before the pandemic, there are additional safety precautions and cleaning solutions being adopted regularly by office spaces. These include:
- Risk mitigation
- Emergence and utilisation of modern cleaning techniques
- Deep cleans
- Periodic and daily cleaning
- Increase in consumables and PPE
- Window cleaning
- Preventative measures to support cleaning
- Education into cleaning solutions being used
In this article, we explore what the new normal looks like for office cleaning since the Coronavirus.
What is the new normal?
Risk mitigation
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, companies have increased the risk mitigation process around the cleanliness of their offices. The increase in the risk management process hopefully puts office spaces in a better position to identify threats and combat the virus spreading.
During the risk assessment, companies have begun to identify additional and different risks from before the outbreak. As well as hazardous waste and toilet areas which are commonly considered a threat to hygiene, additional risks such as group communal areas and high traffic touch points on doors are being taken into consideration.
Through identifying these additional risks, the cleaning needs and schedule can be adjusted to ensure that all areas that pose a threat to staff well-being are being dealt with.
Emergence and utilisation of modern cleaning techniques
The cleaning industry is forever evolving as technology advances. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 this has never been truer. With the need to provide cleaning solutions that kill and prevent the spread of the virus, some traditional methods have fallen short of the public’s expectation. This is partly down to the practicality of cleaning surfaces on a regular enough basis.
This has seen the enhancement and rise in the desire for an innovative cleaning technique know as electrostatic sanitisation. Electrostatic sanitisation works not only as an effective sanitiser, but also a preventative for harmful viruses and germs.
This technique to clean office spaces has proven so popular due to its speed and non-intrusive manner. A technician simply sprays a mist of positively charged cleaning solutions within the office space. It is then disinfected and ready for use within 15 minutes.
If you are interested in reading more about what electrostatic sanitisation is, check out our blog.
Deep cleans
A deep clean is a thorough, complete clean of a space. Many offices are opting for a deep clean service before staff return from furlough and then on a regular basis moving forwards, usually 2 weeks or a month apart. A deep clean is different from a regular cleaning schedule and is usually used to supplement other cleaning efforts in between each deep clean.
This part of office cleaning has seen a drastic change since the outbreak of COVID-19. Employees are much more concerned with comprehensively killing any threats to their staff with the office space. A deep clean is an excellent way to help create peace of mind for the employees and for the employer to actively be seen to increasing cleaning to fight the virus.
It is important to note that since the Coronavirus, deep cleans have usually included some form of electrostatic sanitisation. As mentioned above, the electrostatic is a proven way to confidently kill any virus’, germs or bacteria within an office and then prevent harmful microorganism from sitting on the surface moving forwards.
Periodic and daily cleaning
Periodic cleaning and daily cleaning are commonly considered the most traditional forms of cleaning solutions provided for office spaces. They are performed by cleaners and are often created bespoke for the needs of the office.
Both daily cleaning and periodic cleaning can include:
- Cleaning and sanitising individual workstations
- Dusting and wiping computer monitors and keyboards
- CleanIng and sanitising office phones
- Cleaning and sanitising light switches, handles and doorknobs
- Removing cobwebs and dusting light fixtures
- Cleaning windows, glass, and any painted surfaces
- Cleaning and sanitising all hard surfaces
- Vacuuming or mopping floors
- Cleaning general areas including reception, meeting rooms
- Cleaning and sanitising kitchen, sinks and food preparation areas
- WashIng hand towels and tea towels
- Cleaning and sanitising bathrooms and toilets
- Emptying waste and recycling bins, cleaning and disinfecting where necessary
So, how have the changed to help shape the new normal of office cleaning? For both services, we have seen an increase in individual requirements needed and frequency of cleaning. If a client has been deploying periodic cleaning twice a week, this may be increased to three days or to a daily cleaning service. If a client has been performing daily cleaning across their offices, they may increase the amount of cleaning requirements within the solution to ensure maximise cleanliness.
Window cleaning
Included in the new office cleaning normal is the need for employers to clean their windows on frequent basis. Although this can be considered a service within daily and periodic cleaning, if you have a high traffic area with a lot of windows, it may be unfair asking your cleaning company to take on that responsibility. High traffic areas include:
- Glass doors to enter a building
- A reception
- A breakout area
- A canteen
As the Coronavirus can remain on surfaces and infect people through touch, the need to clean your windows has become a necessity. Any easily accessible windows at hand height need additional attention. By utilising a professional window cleaning professional, you can ask for antibacterial cleaning to be performed as part of the service.
Increase in consumables and PPE
In the new normal for office cleaning, we have seen a major increase in demand for both cleaning consumables and PPE across offices.
The increase for cleaning consumables such as hand sanitiser and antibacterial spray is natural giving the increased desire to regularly clean the office space.
The increase in need for PPE is related to creating an environment within which employees and visitors feel safe and comfortable. By supplying PPE, employers can increase employee morale and productivity.
If you have any consumables or PPE needs check out our brochure below:
Preventative measures to support cleaning
Since the outbreak of the virus, we have seen numerous preventative measures put in place by offices to assist with their cleaning routine. Although, they are not strictly a cleaning solution, they help reduce either the need to clean or assist in killing the virus on a person.
Some preventative measures include the installation of a CAFM system or a digital Health Passport. These revolutionary systems help track potential infected individuals, control the flow of traffic in your building and remove the need to physically interact with items around the premises.
Another example of preventative measures comes in the form of sanitisation stations. These often host antibacterial spray and hand sanitiser. These stations can kill harmful virus’ on a person preventing their spread throughout the building, therefore reducing the need to clean as often.
Education into cleaning solutions being used
The last addition to the new normal for office cleaning comes in the form of educating and informing staff of the cleaning precautions that have been taken to ensure they are in a safe environment. This additional step has been vital in improving the mental health of many employees, subsequently allowing them to return to work without worry or anxiety.
Office cleaning – The new normal
As you can see, office cleaning has evolved to include additional elements since the Coronavirus outbreak. These additional elements include deep cleaning and staff education, which can be coupled with the standard daily/periodic cleaning techniques to create a new, fully encompassing cleaning solution that gives you the confidence that your staff are safe and able to work in your office space.