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If you’re running a business, your commercial cleaning services and your carpets can be very good, useful business associates, major assets for productivity. The fact is that the business environment is a fundamental working part of the business performance. A good environment is productive; a lousy environment is usually a reason for mass departures and in some cases major health issues.
The business angles of carpets
The office is a true environment in its own right. The mix of people, particularly if there are a lot of people, creates a range of environmental issues.
For example:
•    The basic physical environment- The carpet is a comfort feature of the workplace, reducing noise and strain on legs. The carpet makes the workplace a more pleasant (some would say more civilized) environment.
•    Flu season- Nowhere is the environmental aspect of a workplace more visible, and in some cases more expensive.
•    Allergies- Some people have chronic issues with respiratory allergies. Carpets, unless well maintained, are the usual suspects in upsurges of incidents, because they hold a range of allergens.
•    Quality of life- The combination of these elements effectively creates the quality of life standards in the office. Many people leave unpleasant environments and are naturally attracted to better environments simply because of the net quality of life effect.
The business angles are quite unambiguous. A good environment is productive, efficient and the staff aren’t distracted by a tacky, depressing workplace.
Interestingly, it’s the carpet which really defines the condition of the workspace as a place of business. The carpet is the largest single surface in any office. A new or reconditioned carpet always looks good and the air isn’t musty with dust from it. An old impacted carpet creates a horrible environment of respiratory and other issues which literally cause massive absenteeism as a result.
Bear in mind that an old or neglected carpet and its underlay can literally contain kilos of fine dust, fungal spores, bacteria and viruses. You can see that the real problem is actually an OHS issue, not simply a matter of hiring someone to run a vacuum cleaner over it.
Getting your carpet on your side
The easy way to manage these situations is to make sure that you’re managing the office environment, particularly the carpet, according to best practice. This is actually a relatively simple process:
1.    Hire commercial cleaners who follow modern best practice operational guidelines.
These guidelines include:
a)    Regular full spectrum cleaning programs- These are literally scheduled cleaning operations, designed to achieve high levels of hygiene.
b)    Completely transparent work practices- These include supervisory oversight, log books, reporting procedures and a very strong emphasis on communications.
c)    Carpet specialists- Carpet specialists pay for themselves many times over in improved environmental conditions, drastically reduced absenteeism and staff retention.
2.    Use your audit stream for office fittings as a guide. If you’ve got an old carpet on the books, with signs of environmental stress, you can be sure you’ve got a problem.
3.    When you replace your carpet, get the new carpet tiles, not broadloom. These carpet tiles don’t use underlay, are extremely durable, and easy to maintain.
Business people may be interested to hear that this is actually the cheap option. The alternative is endless environmental complaints and problems. Makes sense to get your carpet onside, doesn’t it?