We currently employee two people as custodians. One full time and one part-time. However, there are MANY things not getting done and we are considering outsourcing the cleaning of the bank. Obviously I need to make sure the cleaning agency is reputable, but just how to I verify that information. Is it better to outsource to an agency or individuals. Our institution is not excessively large. The custodians usually only spend about 2 hours a day actually working. What other things do I need to consider?

Be sure to check there reference and also see if they have a license by the state your in, And also ask them how they hire there people. i/e background checks etc..

Be sure they are licensed. Check references. Also, make certain that your contract with them contains a Privacy Clause.

We outsourced to Jani-King two years ago. Licensed, bonded, reputable company, and have done an excellent job.

While some of this sounds great, it may not be practical. I know when I was involved in this we wanted to know that the janitorial service was doing background checks, etc. and I was laughed at. The folks who want to empty the trash are not subjected to this in a strenuous manner or nobody would be hired. There were no criminal histories in the staff (that we knew of), but that was about it. If you want detailed histories, the burden may be on your shoulders to pay for this and the turnover could be a nightmare.

I think you ask for what you can, you hope for the best, and you decide if they do "the bank" or if trash from sensitive areas is placed outside the locked doors. Otherwise, have an employee present when they are in these areas.

Andy , Yes you are right but Background checks are realy not what people think they are. you can only go back so far in the checks i/e credit law enforcemnt .. this can get expensive very fast but on to a point and kinda sily if you are worried about Security stuff just teach the people to be carefull like you said lock the senstive room up and put out the trash.

but i dont think a little branch in the sticks is going to need the extreame to clean a toliet .

Background checks on cleaning personnel might also not be run because they could show that employees of the cleaning company are in fact, illegal aliens who do not have permission to be working in the US.

I rather go to an outside service , Cheeper and i rather deal with the little proplems like the Mirdle bitching about her trash can left on the wrong side of her desk rather than paying inhouse for there Insurence ,sick days etc.. hell if i could i would outsource the tellers too.. just get back in and run your bank .

If you're looking to outsource, consider finding an agency that employs individuals with developmental disabilities or mental/physical disabilities. There are many of these types of organizations who provide employment to these people, and do contractural services in their community.

The services are normally performed in a very routine manner. Sally's trash can is put back exactly where it belongs, because these folks are trained to do it that way. They don't get lazy and move things to make it easier, routine is the basis of a comfortable job for them. The work performed is normally exactly to specfication. They are supervised and their hours are prorated based on their skill level (say it takes one person one hour to clean X room, but it takes a person with diminished skills two hours, you pay them for the one hour a non diminished person would do the work).

This provides employment to a segment of your community that has great difficulty in finding work. The agencies they work for are always insured. The employees are very unlikely to have criminal histories, in fact they most likely can't read what you've left out on your desk, and the bank can take both CRA credit for the employment, and in many cases a tax credit if you contract direct for a specific employee.

I've been at three banks that have used these services. The cleaning work has always been superior to what we've seen from other agencies. The last location at a large bank I worked at had a sexual predator working as a janitor! When complaints were lodged by staff a background check turned out to be inaccurate because the guy had fake documentation. You don't find that stuff with these type of programs normally.

It's really a great public relations effort as well. Win/Win for all!

My husband's company did what Dawnie was suggesting. The only problem they had was they couldn't leave any sweets out as they seemed to disappear overnight!

LOL Funny, that's the opposite of what happened to me. I left our janitorial staff a holiday treat with a card. They wouldn't take it I had to stay late one night and give it to the supervisor to be sure it made it out of the building

I would agree with Dawnies post. We have a number of challenged individuals here, including an intern program for challenged high school students. While they may take a little longer to teach, once trained, they are extremely consistent. In most case though, if you change something in the environment, like re-arranging the furniture, they may require retraining.

If I could lift this topic again. I'm in a very small office with no cleaning service and am just now getting quotes and calling references.

My concern is that, while we have some locked file cabinets, we have a rather large storage area of customer information that cannot be locked down cannot be secured.

What are my options, other than making sure a confidentiality agreement is in place, and the company is bonded, do I need to go to the extreme of making sure I have the cleaning done on a working day to ensure someone from our bank is here?

Folks,

Dawnie has an outstanding suggestion -- and your local community college may offer such a program that's affiliated with a "work experience" program.

When you look deeply into this janitorial issue, you have to look at what you have to lose if sensitive information falls into the wrong hands. Janitors work in "stealth" mode -- as long as they are where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to be doing -- they pass under our radar. They become invisible. Take a look at your video if you want to know what they are really doing while they are supposed to be working . . .

Janitors often work in this position because their criminal records won't allow them to be employed elsewhere. Janitorial jobs are favored placements for probationers and parolees. A janitor doesn't show up for work and family members and "friends" are pressed into service. I've seen SOOOOOO many instances where janitors has a free run of the premises with little or no company control. Janitors and temporary employees are THE biggest demonstrated threat to information and premises security. Period. Much of what I learned early on about premises security I learned from janitors during the interrogation process -- just before I took them to jail.

While you may not be able to run background checks on every janitor, you can define what information you want to validate and verify -- and require the janitorial company to run those checks to your specifications and certify that the company won't place any person on your premises who hasn't passed the investigation.

So -- who works for you, anyway?