They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This holds true with the strangers you meet on the street as well as the people who first set put in your place of business.
First Impressions Really Do Matter Most
Of course, most commercial properties and offices have a lobby, waiting room, or reception area for visiting clients, customers, and even potential investors to momentarily wait for an appointment. This is often the first thing they see when they visit your business, and every second they spend in your reception area is another moment to either impress them with your professionalism or put them off with an unkempt business environment.
This means that if you don’t want your business to be judged poorly, then you need to keep the reception area immaculately clean and meticulously well-maintained. This comes with several benefits to your business, sales, and employees such as:
Creating A Welcoming Atmosphere
A business lobby or reception area that looks well-kept and tidy gives a strong first impression on the people who visit your business. This includes clients, customers, investors, and stakeholders as well as the employees who work for you. When you make the effort to properly maintain a clean, organized, and professional-looking reception area, it makes a statement that everyone notices in their own way.
Demonstrating Professionalism & Compassion
Your reception area can also show your interest in environmental issues. Many people feel that taking the time to maintain a clean reception area also shows that your company cares about the environment.
With the popularity of “Going Green” on the rise, a clean reception area means that your company is more likely to be perceived as being compassionate by your visitors. Especially if your lobby has been cleaned with organic all-natural cleaning products that leave a fresh aroma in the air, rather than the fume of toxic chemical cleaning agents.
Showing Pride In Professionalism
Just like when you visit someone’s home, you see signs of pride of ownership. By the same token, a well-kept and neatly cleaned reception area also demonstrates a certain pride in professionalism for your company. It tells visitors that you are the kind of business that minds the little details and that you appreciate the perception of others in everything that you do.
Promotes Safely, Health & Well-Being Of Employees
OSHA provides basic health and safety guidelines that every commercial property must adhere to. Yet going the extra mile to maintain a clean reception area, as well as other communal areas in your company also helps employees feel safe and respected. If you truly want your employees to feel at home at work, which will ensure that they are more productive and happier, you will have to keep the office clean.
Reducing Employee Sick Days
For a lot of businesses, the reception area is where most employees enter and exit the building. It’s also a place that sees a lot of foot traffic from guests and delivery personnel. By cleaning, maintaining, and disinfecting your reception area, and other communal employee areas throughout your business, you also help to reduce the presence of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogenic microbes that can make employees ill.
This in turn will go a long way toward reducing the number of employee sick days. It’s especially handy in the winter when cold & flu season is at its worst.
Promotes A Sense Of Happiness & Purpose
A well-kept, and tidy reception area, with fresh clean smells, is more likely to make a good first impression on the people who visit your business. This means that a clean professional space can go a long way toward helping improve your business’s image.
Reducing Liability Risk
Commercial properties and professional spaces are held to a higher standard when it comes to health and safety. A clean and properly disinfected reception area will also go a long way toward reducing your company’s liability risk.
Ways To Clean & Maintain Your Reception Area
There are a few different ways to properly clean and maintain your company’s reception area. The one that is best for you will depend on the size of the lobby, the volume of foot traffic it sees in any given day, as well as the staff you have available to help maintain it.
Having Employees Clean The Reception Area
If you have a relatively small business with a modest-sized professional space, then chances are your reception area isn’t very large. In a scenario like this, it might be feasible to train your receptionist or other public relations personnel on how to use cleaning products effectively. Then keeping those cleaning supplies accessible and readily at hand gives them the opportunity to tidy up during slow times.
The potential problem here is that things can get out of hand during a busy workday, and your receptionist is better served to help clients and guests, than sweeping and lugging mop buckets. At the same time, a lot of the cleaning supplies available at the consumer level are only modestly effective. Many leave behind a harsh toxic odor of chemical fumes that your guests might find off-putting.
Hiring A Commercial Cleaning Company
A lot of medium and most large-scale companies will hire a commercial cleaning company like Building Services to maintain their reception area, lobby, bathrooms, and other professional spaces. This comes with the peace of mind in knowing that highly trained professionals are bringing state-of-the-art cleaning products and equipment to bear.
We are also proud to offer a lineup of Green Cleaning products that are specially formulated with all-natural ingredients. They leave behind a refreshing natural aroma that your guests will appreciate, rather than toxic chemical fumes.
Building Services also offers day porter or day matron services. This is a highly trained attendant who can maintain your reception area as well as other professional spaces during your normal hours of operation. This frees up your receptionist and other employees to stay focused on business matters, while you leave the cleaning in the capable hands of the professionals.
