Cleaning Hygiene Today Cleaning Hygiene Magazine
By Stuart Conroy, Commercial Director at Peartree Cleaning
Earlier this year, Amazon announced that starting in January 2025, all employees will be required to work five days a week in the office. And so began the ‘return to office’ trend, with many organisations following suit, citing reasons such as a desire to foster better collaboration, enhance company culture, and potentially improve productivity. Some companies have emphasised the importance of in-person training and mentoring, particularly for junior employees, and others have said they need to maximise the use of their office spaces and equipment.
With approximately 40 per cent of UK companies mandating a return to a five-day, in-office work week, this trend indicates a shift away from hybrid or remote working models that became popular during the pandemic. However, this transition hasn’t necessarily been reflected in operational budgets, and many organisations are expecting their cleaning partners, and other associated services, to accommodate the change without reducing standards. So, how are commercial cleaners expected to cover the occupancy rise and deliver the same service levels, with the same resources?
An agile, data driven service
When hybrid working became the norm many companies were forced to reduce their facilities budgets, adapting their cleaning service to only clean certain parts of the building or only on certain days. Today however, many of our clients are embracing the back to the office trend but like many other firms, need to flex budgets to cover the required five days cleaning service. In order to accommodate this latest shift Peartree has adapted our service using technology to help us deliver an agile, data driven service.
Data is transforming how cleaning services are delivered. Advanced software platforms allow organisations to optimise cleaning schedules, monitor performance metrics, track employee productivity and provide clients with predictive insights. By leveraging real time data cleaning companies can better understand a sites usage, and build a service that aligns to the building, flexing the service around the flow of staff – ultimately creating a better outcome from the same resource!
Peartree 360 QR Code Technology
As part of our wider strategy to deliver smarter, tech-enabled cleaning, Peartree has implemented QR code scanning across key areas of client sites. This simple but effective solution enables real-time tracking of task completion, helping us gather meaningful data to inform service delivery.
Each time an operative scans a QR code, the system records when and where cleaning tasks have been completed. This insight allows managers to build a live picture of usage patterns across a site, identifying high-traffic areas that require more frequent attention. Resources can then be allocated dynamically, improving both operational efficiency and service quality. The QR codes are fully integrated with Peartree 360, our central contract management platform and client dashboard, providing live reporting and service visibility to both our teams and clients. Clients can log into the Peartree 360 app to view task histories, cleaning frequencies, and performance metrics in real time.
In addition to internal monitoring, the system also empowers building users. Occupiers and visitors can scan QR codes to submit quick feedback via an online satisfaction form, which is fed directly into Peartree 360. This feedback loop further refines our understanding of site requirements, ensuring cleaning efforts are aligned with actual needs. The result is a shift away from fixed-schedule cleaning to a responsive, demand-led model, helping our clients maintain high standards while optimising budget spend.
Conclusion
Embracing technology and innovative cleaning solutions that help to deliver efficiencies will be key for commercial cleaners in 2025 and will enable us to adapt our service (again) to accommodate the ‘back to the office’ trend without an increased spend for our clients.
