Guide
Moving your Gilroy building to a new cleaning company: a calm changeover plan
Switching cleaning companies is mostly a matter of timing and handover. With the notice period, the keys and the supply closet sorted ahead of time, the new crew’s first night feels like a continuation rather than a restart.
Read the current agreement first
Before you set any dates, pull out the agreement with your current cleaning company and find the notice terms. Look for the notice period and the way notice has to be given, often in writing to a named contact. That date tells you the last night the outgoing crew is responsible for.
Check the details around the edges as well: who owns the dispensers on the walls, whether the supplies in the closet belong to you or to the outgoing company, and when keys and access cards have to come back. Sorting these early heads off a scramble in the final week.
Send your notice the way the agreement specifies, and file a copy with your building records. A clear, courteous handover makes for an easy return of keys and a tidy last visit.
Picking the start date
Choose a start night right after the outgoing company’s last night, so the building keeps its cleaning rhythm through the change. A start early in the week gives the new crew several nights in a row to learn the building before the weekend.
Steer clear of the middle of a busy stretch when the calendar allows. A Gilroy food facility at harvest peak, a store in its holiday rush or a school in its first week of term is better served by a changeover a little before or after.
Before the start date, we tour the building with you, as we do for every quote, and set the recurring janitorial routine room by room. That visit confirms the rooms and the nights and records the access details, so the first night begins with a plan already in hand.
Keys, alarm codes and access
Access is the part of a changeover most worth planning. Decide how the new crew will get in: a key, a card, a lockbox or a door someone opens. If the building has an alarm, arrange a code for the cleaning crew and walk us through how the panel arms and disarms.
When the outgoing company hands back its keys and cards, check them against your list. Changing alarm codes and retiring old access cards at the handover is sound practice, so access matches the people now working in the building.
Tell us which rooms stay locked and which doors the crew should use. Our cleaners are background-checked, and clear access notes keep the route inside the spaces you want cleaned.
Supplies, storage and the first week
Take stock of the supply closet before the switch. Count the paper, soap and liners on hand and check that they fit your dispensers. If the outgoing company stocked the closet, settle whether those supplies stay or go. We refill paper, soap and liners as part of the routine, so knowing the starting stock keeps the restrooms full from night one.
Set aside a spot for the new crew’s cart and equipment, ideally near a sink and close to the rooms cleaned most often. A small closet with a mop sink saves time on every visit.
Plan a walk of the building after the first night and again at the end of the first week. Look at restrooms, kitchens and entry floors first, and share what you see. Early notes let us tune the route while the details are fresh.
Telling staff and tenants
A short note to staff before the first night avoids surprises. Tell them the cleaning company is changing, when the new crew starts and anything they should do differently, such as clearing the desks they want wiped or leaving the kitchen sink empty.
In a multi-tenant building, let tenants know which common areas the new routine covers and who to contact about cleaning. Where tenants look after their own suites, make the line between common areas and suites plain on both sides.
Give people one way to share feedback during the first weeks, such as a single contact who gathers notes. Those comments help us settle the routine quickly, and they often point to work worth adding, such as a day porter for a busy lobby or a carpet extraction cycle for worn walkways.
A few useful answers
Quick answers.
How far ahead should we tell our outgoing cleaning provider?
Follow the notice period your current agreement names, delivered the way it specifies. Count back from your planned start night so the two schedules meet without a gap.
Should we change the alarm code when cleaning companies change?
Yes. Issuing a fresh code to the new crew and retiring the old one keeps building access current.
What happens on the new crew’s first night?
The crew follows the route set on the walkthrough, room by room, with your access notes and locked rooms already on the plan. A walk of the building the next morning is the best way to share early feedback.
Who keeps the cleaning supplies already in our closet?
Check the current agreement. Supplies you bought stay with you, and the new routine picks up refills of paper, soap and liners from there.
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