April 13, 2023
Commercial cleaning companies serve other businesses, so they’re often considered part of the janitorial services
industry.
How’s the cleaning industry doing, anyway? Find out with these commercial and residential cleaning
industry statistics:
– The cost of home services rose 9.4% in 2021. (Jobber)
– In 2021, 10% of all cleaning jobs were contracts rather than one-off work. (Jobber)
– Cleaning industry revenue grew 14% in 2021. (Jobber)
– The cleaning industry has grown 6.6% every year since 2011. (Brandon Gaille)
– The residential cleaning market is expected to be worth $40.38B by 2025. (Franchise Help)
– 80% of households are expected to use residential cleaning services by 2024. (OneDesk)
– The global commercial cleaning market could reach $468.2B in revenue by 2027. (Grandview Research)
– Residential cleaners’ hourly wages are $9.31–18.82 per hour, or $19,370–39,140 per year. (U.S. Bureau of Labor)
– Commercial cleaners’ hourly wages are $9.80–22.54 per hour, or $20,384–46,883.20 per year. (U.S. Bureau of Labor)
– There will be 236,500+ new janitorial jobs in the United States by 2023. (U.S. Bureau of Labor)
HOW NEW COMMERCIAL CLEANING TECHNOLOGY WILL POWER
THE FUTURE OF CLEANING
It’s clear — the cleaning industry requires a fundamental shift in the way it operates
to survive and thrive. Fortunately, automation enables that shift, and allows the
cleaning industry to augment the workforce to drive productivity and performance.
In many industries, automation has already proven itself to go further with existing
resources, collect and deliver performance data, standardize mundane and routine
tasks, create better jobs, and improve the lives of employees.
These are some of the latest commercial and residential cleaning trends you can expect to start or continue in 2022:
– COVID cleaning: cleaning business owners are continuing to offer certified sanitization and
disinfection services to keep clients safe and reduce the risk of illness or outbreak.
– Special services: More and more cleaning businesses are adding custom, specialized, or add-on
services like laundry and carpet cleaning to better meet their clients’ needs.
– Cost cutting: Business owners are trying to save money by buying items from their cleaning
business supplies list in bulk, or investing in higher-quality supplies that can be replaced less
often.
– Supply chain issues: cleaning businesses all over the world are dealing with rising prices and
having a harder time getting supplies and equipment. This is one of the more negative cleaning
business trends, and it’s hard to say when it might improve.
– Staffing issues: cleaning companies are turning down business, waitlisting new clients, or
canceling regular customers because they don’t have enough cleaners to meet demand. Some
businesses have an easier time hiring cleaners when they offer a higher cleaner salary.
In an industry that relies almost exclusively on labor, finding the areas where automation can bolster the existing workforce (rather than threaten it) is the opportunity. This asks technology companies to examine how automation can handle repeatable, routine, physical activities like floor care, window washing, or lawn mowing.
In this reimagined way of working, a cleaning company’s fleet is comprised of both people and devices. But it’s not one or the other — people make the difficult decisions; devices do the repetitive work. And data helps both sides improve.
With automation, tomorrow’s winning cleaning companies will be able to:
Automate manual, redundant work, freeing up staff to take on the more high-value work like high- dusting and windows
Create better jobs for Millennials that incorporate the use of technology, enabling on-the-job opportunities for advancement
Use data to standardize the cleaning process and show performance across properties
Gain competitive advantage by broadening the scope of work, increasing contract size, and winning new clients through proof of performance and innovation
– Price increases: Rates for cleaning services are rising to help offset extra costs like labor, overhead, fuel, and other expenses. It’s important to keep an eye on market costs, raise service rates accordingly, and communicate the price increase to customers.
– Online marketing: Many businesses are continuing to invest in cleaning ads on social media and search engines, including Google’s Local Services Ads.
– Sustainability: Trends in cleaning products are to reduce plastic waste, buy reusable products, or use supplies made from recycled materials. Cleaners are also using green cleaning products from brands like Seventh Generation, Grove, Juniperseed, and Branch Basics.
-Technology: Cleaning companies are exploring technology and automation like cleaning business software to help manage quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and client relationships.
– Employee care: Happy cleaners are loyal and productive cleaners—and they stick around. That’s why some cleaning businesses now offer paid vacation, health benefits, and other perks. They also focus on creating a positive experience and training cleaners so they’re more confident in their work.
Let’s start with some definitions – what is the difference between clean, sanitize, and disinfect?
Did you know that regular, consistent cleaning reduces germs in the home? Sanitizing is taking it one step further by removing any remaining germs left from cleaning and disinfecting kills any remaining germs/bacteria and viruses on surfaces. Generally speaking, cleaning is all that is necessary in an average home. It’s also helpful to recognize that some germs are okay – germs help to build up our immune systems. If we lived in homes that were germ, bacteria and virus free, once we were exposed to something we would get it because we hadn’t built up a healthy immune system. Once I realized this, I loosened my grip on disinfection in our home.
CLEAN: Removing dirt, stains and grime. Similar to how using soap and water and washing hands removes germs and washing them down the drain, spraying a surface with a cleaner and wiping it clean is cleaning it.
SANITIZE: Kills bacteria on surfaces.
DISINFECT: Kills bacteria and viruses on surfaces.
Bonus: Microfiber cleaning cloths can remove up to 99% of germs! They don’t spread germs around the way paper towels, cleaning wipes, and other materials do.
Threats to the cleaning industry
Consumers Expect Higher Service Levels At Lower Prices
Workforce problems aren’t the only issue facing commercial cleaning companies. Client expectations are increasing too. While this is a problem that many service-based industries are facing, the cleaning industry is feeling the pain in particular.
There’s no shortage of choices when it comes to selecting a commercial cleaning company, and with building owners and managers prioritizing tenant expectations above all, it only takes one mistake to lose a client.
Today, janitorial complaints are one of the top three issues cited by office workers. But with the top cleaning companies reporting 1.3 percent margins, and almost 40 percent of commercial cleaners reporting that bids are won on price, providers are expected to increase their service value while racing to the bottom on deals.
With the top priority of clients being an improved facility image followed by a reduction in cleaning costs, the pressure to deliver competitive pricing is at odds with the pressure to deliver a cleaner environment.
Not all office and house cleaning industry trends are positive. Watch out for these threats to the cleaning industry that might make trouble for your business:
– Rising costs: You’ve likely noticed overhead costs rising and delivery timelines getting longer, especially when it comes to supplies. One way to cut costs is to trim your list of cleaning supply vendors and try to get bundles or deals by switching to just one or two providers. Your supplies may not arrive faster, but they could be a lot cheaper.
– Stiff competition: There are plenty of other cleaning companies out there who offer the same services and benefits as you. Find a way to stand out and give your clients something extra that they can only get from you.
– Employee shortages: We’re in the middle of The Great Resignation, where workers everywhere are leaving their jobs for better ones. Keep up by offering great compensation and benefits, having a solid hiring process, and working hard to keep your employees satisfied.
– Personal safety: Your clients are worried about their safety, and they need reassurance that your work will help keep them from getting sick. Focus on improving sanitization and maintaining high indoor air quality—and tell your clients you’re doing it.
– Current events: It’s tough to keep up with changing worldwide regulations that affect your work.
That’s why it’s important to set flexible goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). And most importantly, remember that plans can change at any time—always be ready to pivot.
Whether it’s for homes or businesses, cleaning will always be a necessary service. There are always new trends in the cleaning industry, so you need to be ready.
And with this list of residential and commercial cleaning industry trends, you will be.
SITES: https://us.softbankrobotics.com/blog/the-future-of-commercial-cleaning-is-people-devices-and-
data
https://getjobber.com/