Guide
Moving a Fairfield building to a new cleaning crew: the changeover plan
Changing cleaning companies is mostly a handover exercise: an agreement to close out, access to collect and pass on, and a closet of supplies to sort. Taken in order, the change stays a quiet one for the people working in the building.
Start with the agreement you already have
Before setting any dates, pull the current cleaning agreement and read three parts closely: the notice period, the end date or renewal term, and anything it says about supplies and equipment. Plenty of agreements ask for notice a set number of days ahead, and some renew on their own unless notice arrives before a deadline.
Send notice in the form the agreement asks for, keep a copy and note the last night of service. If the agreement is unclear about who owns the dispensers, mats or stored supplies, settle that with the outgoing company now rather than on the final night.
Choosing the first night of new service
The tidiest handover puts the new company’s first visit on the night after the outgoing crew’s last one. Pick a start that lands on an ordinary weekday, not the night before a big event, a board meeting or a visit from your head office.
Hold the walkthrough with the new company ahead of that date. Each quote here comes with one, and that visit is when the scope, access and supply plan get settled, so the first night starts from a known list. For a Fairfield plant or warehouse running shifts, line the start up with a lighter production day so support spaces are easier to reach. If the new company is not yet chosen, the guide to hiring a janitorial company covers the bids and the walkthrough questions first.
Keys, alarm codes and badges
Access is the step most likely to stall a changeover, so list it out. Collect every key, fob and badge issued to the outgoing company and check them against your records. Retire the outgoing company’s alarm user codes after their last night and set up new codes for the incoming crew under your own security procedures.
Give the new company one sheet covering the doors the crew uses, the alarm arming and disarming steps, rooms that stay locked and any spaces your facility controls. In a Vallejo multi-tenant building, add each tenant suite’s entry details and hours; in a government office, follow the facility’s own process for issuing badges.
Supplies, storage and the janitor closet
Walk the janitor closet with your facility contact before the switch. Count paper products, soap and liners, sort what belongs to your building from what belongs to the outgoing company, and clear out anything unlabeled. Vacuums, carts and machines normally leave with the company that owns them, so confirm the list before the last night.
Then agree who stocks what going forward. If restocking is part of the new service, the incoming company needs the dispenser types and the backstock location. If your team orders supplies, the crew needs to know the reorder point and who to tell, which keeps restrooms supplied through the first week.
The first week and telling people
During the first week, walk the building each morning or ask a team lead to. Compare what you see with the scope, jot down anything missed and pass the notes to one contact at the new company. Early notes are normal and useful; they show the crew where your building’s real priorities sit.
At the end of the week, sit down with the new company’s contact and go through the notes together. Move any task that slipped into the right frequency, confirm the supply routine is working and agree on when the first periodic job, such as carpet extraction or a floor recoat, goes on the calendar.
Staff and tenants should hear about the switch ahead of the first new night. A short note covering the start date, the cleaning window and who to contact about a missed task heads off confusion when new faces arrive in the evening. The janitorial services page outlines how the recurring plan is organized once the changeover settles, and a switch is also a good moment to tighten the scope of work before the new crew settles in.
A few useful answers
Quick answers.
How much notice does my current cleaning company need?
Your agreement sets it, along with any renewal deadline. Send notice in the form it asks for and keep a copy.
Is it worth having the outgoing and incoming crews overlap for a night?
A clean break works better: the outgoing crew finishes its last night and the new company starts the next. That keeps keys, codes and responsibility clear.
What happens to supplies the old company leaves behind?
Count the closet and sort what your building owns from what the outgoing company owns. Your items stay for the new crew, and theirs go back.
When should Fairfield staff and tenants hear about the new cleaning company?
Before the first night of new service, with the start date, the cleaning window and a contact for questions.
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