How to switch janitorial companies without a gap in service

Most facility managers put off changing cleaning companies for the same reason: the fear that the building will be worse for a month while the new crew learns it. Done properly, the handover takes one week and your tenants never notice. This guide walks through the sequence that works in Lower Mainland buildings, from reading your current contract to the first 30 days with the new provider.

Signs it is time

A single bad night is not a reason to switch. A pattern is. These are the ones that rarely correct themselves.

• The same items are missed repeatedly after you have reported them: washroom floors, kitchen counters, boardroom tables
• Your complaints go to a call centre or a voicemail, and nobody owns the answer
• Crew turnover: a new face every week, with the training happening on your site at your expense
• Supplies run out on Friday afternoons, or paper and soap appear on the invoice at prices you did not agree to
• The scope has quietly shrunk: tasks that were nightly are now weekly, and nobody told you
• No inspections, no reports, no walkthroughs, so the only quality system is your tenants' emails
• Insurance certificates or WorkSafeBC clearance letters are not produced when you ask

If three or more of these describe your building, start the process below. It costs nothing to collect quotes while you decide.

Review your current contract and notice period

Pull the signed agreement and read three clauses: term, termination and automatic renewal. Many janitorial contracts renew automatically for a further term unless written notice is given inside a window, commonly 30 to 90 days before the anniversary date. Missing that window can mean another year.

• Note the exact notice period and the method of notice required, such as registered mail or email to a named address
• Check for early termination fees or a requirement to pay out the remaining term
• Check who owns the equipment on site, including dispensers, floor machines and any supply stock
• Check for a clause about hiring the incumbent's staff
• Confirm whether specialty work (floor care, windows, carpet) sits on a separate schedule or agreement

Give notice in writing, in the required form, and keep proof of delivery. Do not give notice until you have a signed agreement and a confirmed start date with the new provider, so the two contracts overlap by at least a few days.

Write the scope before you ask for quotes

The reason quotes are hard to compare is that each contractor prices their own idea of what your building needs. Write the scope first, and make every bidder price the same document.

• List every room type and its floor finish: open office, private offices, boardrooms, washrooms (count the fixtures), kitchens, lobby, stairwells, elevators, loading areas and parkade entrances
• Set a frequency for each task: nightly, three times a week, weekly, monthly or quarterly
• State the service window and any security constraints: after 6 pm, alarm set by 11 pm, badge access only
• Include consumables: who supplies paper, soap, liners and sanitizer, and whether it is bundled or itemized
• Include specialty work with its own frequency: strip and wax, carpet extraction, interior and exterior glass, pressure washing of entrances
• Add your quality requirements: a named account manager, inspection frequency, response expectations for missed items, and a guarantee

Attach the floor plans and your current list of complaints. A good contractor will walk the building and challenge your scope where it is wrong, which is useful information before you sign.

The site walkthrough

Insist that every serious bidder walks the building with you, ideally during the service window so they see it as the crew will. Watch the questions they ask. A contractor who asks about the floor finish in the lobby, the number of washroom fixtures per floor, where the janitor closet and slop sink are, how waste is handled and where the alarm panel sits is building a real labour estimate. A contractor who walks through in ten minutes and quotes from the lobby is guessing.

Use the walkthrough to agree on condition at handover. If the carpets have not been extracted in two years or the washroom grout is black, agree on an initial deep clean, priced separately, so the recurring price starts from a fair baseline.

Transition week

Plan the overlap so the outgoing company's last service and the incoming company's first service happen within the same week, with no night unserved.

• Day 1 to 2: the new provider's account manager and crew lead walk the building with you, floor by floor, and photograph the baseline condition
• Day 2 to 3: keys, fobs and alarm codes issued to the new provider; janitor closets inventoried; dispensers checked for compatibility with the new supplies program
• Day 3: the outgoing provider's final service. Collect all keys and fobs and confirm their alarm codes are deleted that night
• Day 4: the new provider's first service, with the crew lead on site and a supervisor inspecting at the end of the shift
• Day 5: walkthrough with you the next morning, and the scope adjusted wherever the first night showed a gap
• Day 7: second inspection, and the nightly checklist signed off as the working document

Tell your tenants or staff the changeover date and give them one email address for feedback during the first month. Most issues in week one are about where things are kept or how a particular room is used, not about the quality of the work, and they disappear once the crew knows the building.

Keys, alarm codes and supplies

Security is the part of a handover that gets forgotten until something goes wrong.

• Issue new keys or reprogram fobs for the incoming crew rather than reusing the outgoing set
• Create unique alarm codes for the new provider and delete the old codes the night the outgoing contractor finishes
• Record which individuals hold access, and require the contractor to notify you the same day when a crew member changes
• For medical, legal and financial tenants, confirm the contractor's staff are background-checked and that confidentiality terms are in the agreement
• Agree on the after-hours protocol for an alarm fault, a leak or a door found unlocked, and who the contractor calls

Dispensers are the practical snag in most switches. Paper and soap systems are often proprietary, and the outgoing company may own the dispensers. Settle in advance whether the new provider will adopt the existing dispensers, replace them, or supply compatible product. Count the stock on hand, agree on what transfers, and schedule the first delivery of the new supplies program for the week before the start date so nothing runs out on night one.

The first 30 days

The first month decides whether the switch worked. Build the checks into the calendar rather than waiting for complaints.

• Week 1: a daily morning walk by you or a delegate, with issues reported to the account manager the same day
• Week 2: a joint walkthrough with the account manager to confirm the checklist matches what is being done
• Week 3: review consumable usage and confirm the supplies program is at the right level
• Week 4: the first documented inspection report delivered and reviewed together, with any scope changes agreed in writing
• At 30 days: confirm the certificate of insurance names your company, the WorkSafeBC clearance letter is current, and the invoicing matches the quote

Keep the baseline photos from day one. They make the 30-day conversation specific instead of impressionistic.

Next step

If the pattern in the first section sounds like your building, the switch is less disruptive than another year of the same. CedarPact transitions new sites on a written scope and checklist agreed before the first visit, with a dedicated account manager and documented inspections. Request a quote and we will start with the walkthrough.