Most office cleaning scopes are written as a list of rooms, which is why they fail. A list of rooms does not tell anybody how often the microwave gets cleaned, and "the breakroom" is technically covered whether it took forty minutes or four.
A scope that works is organized by frequency, not by geography. This is that list. Use it to write one from scratch, or to audit the arrangement you already have. The gaps usually show up in the third column.
Every visit, without exception
These are the tasks that define whether a workplace feels cleaned. If a visit runs short, none of these is the flexible part, and a supplier who shortens them is the wrong supplier.
- Restrooms cleaned in full: sanitaryware inside and out, including the base and fixings
- Restroom touchpoints disinfected: flush handles, locks, cubicle catches, faucets
- Sinks, mirrors and backsplashes cleaned and dried so they do not spot
- Consumables checked and restocked from your stock
- All waste emptied and bins relined, including under-desk bins
- Breakroom counters, sink and tables cleaned; appliance exteriors wiped
- Circulation and entrance floors vacuumed or mopped
- High-touch points: door handles, push plates, light switches, elevator buttons
- Reception surfaces and entrance glass at reach height
Weekly, or on a short rotation
Tasks that do not need doing at every attendance but degrade visibly within a week or two. On a twice-weekly schedule these usually land on one nominated visit.
- Full floor coverage rather than circulation only — under desks, into corners, along edges
- Desk surfaces where they are clear, monitor stands and desk dividers
- Meeting room tables buffed free of rings and fingerprints; chairs wiped
- Internal glass and partitions at reach height
- Microwave interior and appliance handles
- Cabinet fronts in the breakroom, particularly around the coffee maker and microwave
- Baseboards and sills along the floor perimeter
- Entrance matting lifted and cleaned underneath
Monthly or on a longer cycle
The detail work that nobody notices being done and everybody notices being skipped for a year. This is the column most scopes leave out entirely, and the one worth checking in a proposal.
- Vents, diffusers and extract grilles dusted
- Light fittings and high ledges
- Chair fabric vacuumed; castors and bases cleaned
- Fridge interior cleaned out, with an agreed policy on what gets thrown away
- Dishwasher and coffee machine descaled if in scope
- Door frames, tops of doors and closers
- Under and behind moveable furniture
- Waste bin bodies washed rather than relined
What should not be on the list
A scope is also defined by what it excludes, and being explicit prevents the most common disputes.
- Moving papers, files or personal items to clean underneath them
- Tidying desks or handling documents
- Washing up left in the sink, unless you have specifically asked for it
- IT equipment beyond agreed external touchpoints — screens, cables and server areas
- Exterior glass above ground level, or anything needing access equipment
- Clinical waste, sharps and anything requiring a healthcare protocol
How to use this to audit what you already have
Take your current arrangement and try to place each task in one of the three columns above. Two things usually surface immediately.
The first is an empty monthly column. Nobody ever agreed it, so nobody does it, and the vents have been gray for two years. The second is that the every-visit column contains something that is not actually happening every visit, which is worth raising while it is still a conversation rather than a complaint.
