Changing your cleaning company: plan an orderly handover.

Turn the reason for changing into specific requirements

“We are unhappy” describes the reason for changing, but not the future need. Record the areas concerned and what you observe. Is the problem recurring shortcomings, poor communication, inconvenient times or a scope that has changed?

Review the existing cleaning plan as well. Some expectations may not be documented or may no longer match current use. This review helps you avoid simply passing the same unclear brief to a new provider.

• What should continue unchanged?
• Which tasks or areas are currently missing?
• Which routines cause problems in daily operations?
• Which expectations should be expressly documented in future?

Clarify the new scope before commissioning

Give the new provider a clear description of the property, including location, room types, areas, usage times and required tasks. A site visit helps identify materials, access and specific requirements more precisely.

Compare quotations based on the same services. Make sure regular tasks, additional services and intervals are clearly distinguished. Also discuss service after the start: who is your contact, how is quality checked and how are changes handled?

A clear service plan ensures the change is more than replacing a company name. It describes how the working relationship should function in practice and forms the basis for training the team.

For a concrete quotation brief, adapt the completed sample specification and weekly schedule to your property. The 500 m² cost example shows which assumptions need to match when comparing prices.

Example handover for a three-day cleaning schedule: after the outgoing provider’s last agreed Friday visit, the new team starts on Monday, followed by Wednesday and Friday. Access and the scope are handed over beforehand. This is a planning example, not a statement about existing notice periods. Discuss the intended start of your office cleaning in advance.

Coordinate the end and start dates

Use your existing agreement to clarify the actual end date with the current provider. This date is an important basis for scheduling. Then agree a realistic start with the new provider.

Allow time for a site visit, quotation, commissioning and preparation. A preferred date is initially a planning target; it becomes binding through the corresponding agreement. Ask about availability early and explain any foreseeable operational restrictions.

If there may be a gap between the last and first cleaning visits, discuss how to handle it in good time. Any additional cleaning needed at the outset should also be expressly agreed. It is not automatically part of the regular scope.

Prepare the practical handover

The team needs more than an address to get started. Decide who grants access, which areas may be entered and whom staff can contact with questions. Sensitive documents, equipment and rooms should be clearly identified.

Responsibility for each task should be settled before the first visit. This avoids the cleaning team having to search, wait or make decisions that belong to the client.

Support the start deliberately

Use the first visits to check whether the plan matches daily operations. Give specific feedback about areas and tasks. If a previously unknown need emerges, assess it together and add it to the service plan where appropriate.

At CFS Cleanwerk24 Facility Services, we combine team induction with personal support, documented checks and conversations with the client. Tell us why you want to change and what matters most to you. This lets us tailor the takeover to your property and discuss expectations clearly from the start.