CHARLOTTE, N.C. — To improve their relationship with cleaning service contractors, facility managers must be clear about their needs during the RFP process, establish regular communication and not be afraid to ask questions, according to one consultant speaking at NFMT East 2026.
“Ask what their service framework is,” Jeff Carmon, manager of member services at consulting company Elite BSC, said during a conference session this week. “What is your plan for making sure the work gets done every day? What’s your plan [for] when we have requests? How often will we meet? Who is going to be responsible for your account, and what’s their frequency of visits?”
Examine what the onboarding process looks like for cleaning contractors, especially the first 90 to 120 days of the contract, Carmon said. “You’re putting your neck out there by selecting a vendor, and [you] better make sure the first 120 days come off really well, or it’s going to reflect on your decision-making,” he said.
The best way to build a relationship, or mend it, is by setting regular meetings, said Carmon. “At least once a month, [set] what we call a partnership meeting, where [the contract cleaner] brings an agenda in and there are items [to discuss] that make sense,” he said.
That practice can make conversations easier when a tough situation arises, like a stolen item or trash that isn’t being emptied at night, Carmon said. “Not that they’re not touchy, but I think it makes sense to say, ‘Hey, I have an issue. I need to talk with you about some missing items. We think your team member did it because we’ve got [it on] camera. How are we going to resolve that?’”
If you’re too busy to set such a meeting, ask the contractor to provide a report on a regular basis so that the flow of communication continues, he said.
Communications and a good relationship can help if your budget goes down, Carmon said. You can ask the contractor to point out areas where cleaning does not need to occur on a regular schedule.
Face-to-face meetings are a great time to let those conversations bubble up, he said. “And nine times out of 10, we’re able to [have those meetings],” he said.
