What sets the frequency
- Headcount: more people in the space means more use of restrooms, desks and shared surfaces.
- Visitors: a reception that clients walk through needs to be right every morning.
- Restrooms: they are the first thing to show a gap in a schedule.
- The kitchen or breakroom: food and drink need regular attention to stay hygienic.
- Floor type: carpet, hard floor and special finishes each have their own rhythm.
- What the building does: common areas may be handled by the building and not by you.
A starting point
| Kind of office | A common starting point |
|---|---|
| Small office, few visitors, light restroom use | Two or three visits a week |
| Mid-size office, regular visitors, shared kitchen | Three to five visits a week |
| Large or busy office, reception, several restrooms | Nightly, five or more visits a week |
| Office with very few people on site | Weekly, with restrooms and kitchen checked more often |
These are starting points to adjust, not rules. A walkthrough of the actual space changes them, and so does the first round of inspections.
Tasks by frequency
| How often | Typical tasks |
|---|---|
| Every visit | Restrooms cleaned and restocked, kitchen surfaces, trash and recycling, floors in traffic areas, entrance and reception |
| Weekly | Dusting of ledges and partitions, full vacuuming, edges and corners, interior glass spot-cleaning |
| Monthly | Detail dusting at height, kitchen appliance fronts, baseboards, detailed glass |
| Quarterly or yearly | Carpet extraction, hard-floor machine scrub, refrigerator clean-out |
What changes in a multi-tenant Manhattan building
In a large building, the common areas and the floor you rent are often cleaned by different companies. Ask which restrooms, corridors and elevator lobbies are yours and which belong to the building, and write that into your scope. Entry hours and elevator rules also set when visits can happen, which can matter more to the schedule than the number of visits.
Check the frequency against the results
The right frequency is the one that holds up in an inspection. If restrooms score well but the kitchen keeps slipping, add kitchen attention rather than more visits across the board. Review the schedule after the first month and again each quarter.