Standard Daily Procedures | How to Start/Run a Successful Commercial RealEstate/Construction Business

Standard Daily Procedures

Standard Daily Procedures (or SDP) are key elements in a comprehensive business program. They are the fundamental expectations you have of each employee on each job. You should have some of these procedures together when you start your building cleaning business, and use them when you bid. SDPs should be outlined in a step-by-step manner, explaining how various tasks or duties should be performed. Having an SDP setting out what you expect, from whom, and when, will help you set up bids and be sure you are covering all your costs. A bid should include labor, time, money and supplies needed for the job. Your SDP will help you calculate your costs for supplies, labor, and time needed to complete a job. The key is to keep things simple, up- to-date, and accurate. A new employee should be able to read the SDP and do an acceptable job with little guidance. A supervisor should also be able to make a decision about a bid and any cost with ease if you are not around to give your bid input.

One Standard Daily Procedure I use is that my night supervisor prepares for the next day of business at the end of each night shift. By setting up the cleaning carts and getting the van/truck stocked to perform jobs the following day, I save time and money and keep within the limits of the original bids. Your budget and their time are very important for the day workers. If they have to spend two hours setting up as well as making a long drive, you won’t make much profit because the crew is losing two hours setting up in the early morning hours, plus drive time. Setting up the night before will save time and money and keep your costs within the amount you figured on when you made the bid. This type of preparation will also enable you to be prepared for any surprise visits from the property manager if he or she shows up, because you will look organized, and like your workers hit the ground running, instead of wasting time each day.

The best person to create an SDP is the one who is in charge of doing the daily tasks, based on their experience and your bid amounts for the project. This requires a supervisor or an assistant supervisor to observe the task performed while writing down the key steps in the process and making sure that everything is being completed within the limits of your bid price. To test an SDP, each month see whether an employee can adequately perform the task simply by following it as it’s written in the SDP. For example, here is the SDP we have for cleaning an office: Empty all trash cans replace liners if needed, dust desk tops remove spills, polish furniture if needed, sweep floors, mop floors, buff floors if due, clean and polish drinking fountains, high and low dusting, clean all entrance door glass, clean rest rooms, vacuum and spot clean carpets. After all this cleaning is done, turn off lights, and lock office doors.” If, when the employee follows your SDP, the job is done well and within the time limit you used in your bid estimate, you have a good SDP which will be useful to new employees and to you when you start any new contract.

Your SDP may not work well the first time, but this is to be expected. To work along with your bid price, the SDP development process may require several versions before being finalized. To avoid confusion on this SDP and all other documentation, put the date and page number at the bottom of each sheet (for example, “RV 7/7/09, 1 of 4 pages”). It is also a good idea to come up with a standard format that is used for all standard daily procedures in most of your cleaning and contracted buildings. Provide uniformity if possible, so that when you can take employees from one building to another, they will find it easy to understand, adjust and meet your expectations.

Once your SDPs are finalized, they should be posted in all employee assignment areas, attached to schedules and/or cleaning carts, and posted in the appropriate work areas for easy reference (for example, in all cleaning stock closets). File the master copy in your “Building Cleaning Operations” manual or desk files. Be sure to update all of the copies when changes are made or related to other buildings.

Keep in mind that you are standardizing a procedure that will be followed by all employees who perform the same task. This will allow you to make cost estimates that will yield a good profit on your bids/contracts. Once your SDP is finalized and perfected, it should be followed until you decide to improve it. Any change should be analyzed to be sure it will still work with your existing contracts and bids; you don’t want to add new work time to a standard procedure, that will make you lose money. It should also be approved by the working supervisor/manager or an assistant supervisor who understands the working conditions, your bid price, and the type of profit you are trying to make each month. Of course, you want to make changes without compromising the quality of the cleaning service expected from you, your staff, and your customer.

In some cases, a job opportunity might require you and your crew to travel. If you will make plenty of money by doing the traveling, take the job. However, I would not recommend too much traveling when you first start your building cleaning business.