With custodial hiring and retention on a decline, the costs of cleaning rising, and higher expectations with cleaning in a post-pandemic world, ensuring your cleaning operations are effective is integral. Whether in an educational environment, corporate workplace, or manufacturing space, how you marry costs (and potential cost saving efficiencies) with day-to-day quality of cleaning operations will determine the quality and impact of your space on driving learning or business outcomes.

This blog post will share how dynamic cleaning is different from daily cleaning, how to implement it with technology, the potential benefits of this approach and the environments where it can yield positive results.

How Do We Clean in a Hybrid Office Environment?

With the influx of hybrid work schedules, many organizations have been increasingly reviewing their occupancy, space usage, and badge scanning data to understand office usage throughout the week to inform office leasing and just as important, soft services spend. From amenities to cleaning services, organizations are looking for ways to serve this hybrid employee while optimizing budgets throughout the work week

One of the most costly soft services for real estate leaders is daily office cleaning. While cleaning traditionally has been done every day in every location for most office environments, many are questioning industry norms around how often and when and where cleaning needs to be done.

What if we can clean only the spaces that have been used by occupants on a given day? How could this improve cleaning efficiency and drive down cleaning costs?

This is where dynamic cleaning comes in.

What is Dynamic Cleaning?

Dynamic cleaning, sometimes referred to as occupancy-based cleaning, is a technology-driven approach to deploying cleaning personnel to only when and where cleaning is required based on occupancy and space usage data of the space every day.

This method relies on three important data points and technologies to drive value:

1. Usage and Occupancy Data by Space: First, organizations need usage/occupancy data from each space they clean to determine spaces that need cleaning. This can be provided by sensors, desk/room booking software, calendar scheduling (Outlook), badge scanning and/or QR code check-in. These solutions are integrated with cleaning scheduling and validation software to inform on what spaces need cleaning.
2. Responsive Scheduling: Once a space is used, cleaning schedules are adapted on-the-go based on current needs rather than predetermined times and days. Cleaning scheduling and validation software delivers cleaning teams the spaces that need cleaning (and ones that don’t) for that day.
3. Feedback Integration: Custodian and employee feedback can help improve cleaning processes and identify areas that need immediate cleaning attention. This can include alerts in the cleaning software to kick off ad-hoc cleaning requests throughout the day.

Why Use Dynamic Cleaning?

Dynamic cleaning can offer several benefits that go beyond simply maintaining a healthy and productive workplace. Working with your cleaning vendors to properly staff the space and train on using dynamic cleaning models each day can yield significant time and cost savings.

Benefits can include:

1. Cost-Effectiveness: Dynamic cleaning is all about improving efficiency to drive down operational costs. It minimizes waste and maximizes productivity, which enables smaller but more efficient teams.
2. Increased Efficiency: By focusing resources where they are most needed, dynamic cleaning reduces unnecessary cleaning in low-use areas. This not only saves time but also optimizes the use of employees and supplies.
3. Enhanced Hygiene and Safety: By focusing only on areas that have been used, cleaning teams are able to spend more time on crucial high-traffic areas such as restrooms, kitchens, and meeting rooms.This typically improves cleaning quality which reduces the risk of germ spread and contributes to a healthier work environment.
4. Improved Employee Satisfaction and Productivity: A cleaner workspace enhances employee and other occupants' well-being, satisfaction and productivity. Knowing that their feedback directly impacts the cleanliness of their environment can boost morale and foster a sense of community as well.

Common Use Cases for Dynamic Cleaning

Dynamic cleaning is best utilized in environments that are typically cleaned on a scheduled basis but only need to be cleaned after they’ve been occupied. Here are some ideal situations that you can utilize dynamic cleaning in:

1. Conference Rooms: Conference rooms are often cleaned on a fixed schedule, which can be redundant if these spaces aren’t frequently utilized. Cleaning them only after they’ve been used can reduce lost resources and help you reallocate labor where it’s needed in your office. Some organizations even shut down conference rooms if they are not being used frequently enough.
2. Office Desks: In a hybrid work model, many members of your team will only be in the office for part of the week, making it redundant to clean their desks on a daily basis. Scheduling desk cleaning in accordance with when employees are in the office is a great way to ensure you’re not overcleaning.
3. Bathrooms: Bathrooms are areas that can vary significantly in usage throughout the day. Traditional cleaning schedules might not align with actual usage patterns, making dynamic cleaning a perfect solution by leveraging occupancy data to monitor cleanliness levels in real time. Organizations can leverage day porters to clean and/or check restrooms after specific occupancy thresholds are met vs. at set schedules. Additionally, some paper towel dispensers have technology that can inform facility managers when they’re empty, helping keep bathrooms stocked at all times and reducing waste.

Hybrid work schedules are changing the nature of work with the “always on” office being lost in the process. As organizations try to match our soft services spend with our office occupancy, we need to look at better approaches to ensure quality work while reducing overall spend. Implementing dynamic cleaning can make our cleaning strategies more cost effective, efficient, and enjoyable for everyone.

By using technology to embrace this approach to cleaning, you can ensure that your cleaning efforts are always targeted, effective, and responsive to the needs of your space and its occupants.