How Cleaning Departments Deliver Value

Key Takeaways:
• Environmental services should be positioned as a strategic investment.
• Commercial cleaning performance metrics can build a data-driven business case.
• Facility cleaning managers can optimize staffing and cleaning technology around service expectations.

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For decades, cleaning departments have often been viewed as cost centers—necessary but largely invisible. Budgets shrank, staffing declined, and requests for new equipment faced intense scrutiny. That perception no longer reflects reality.

Today, it’s more widely known that environmental services (EVS) and facility cleaning teams protect occupant health, extend the life of building assets, and enhance the experience of every person who walks through the door. Yet, despite their growing responsibilities, many cleaning managers continue to struggle securing the staffing, equipment, and funding needed to meet rising expectations.

When making their case for cleaning to higher ups, facility cleaning managers can start with strategic messaging. Rather than asking leadership for "more people" or "better equipment," industry experts recommend demonstrating how investments in their departments support broader organizational goals—from infection prevention and sustainability to occupant satisfaction and operational efficiency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reinforces this approach. In its "Building a Business Case for Infection Prevention," the CDC recognizes that money, time, and people are limited. Instead of requesting additional resources, the CDC recommends framing discussions around organizational value and tying EVS or facility cleaning investments to patient/occupant safety.

A Strategic Investment

The pandemic changed how the public views cleaning. Occupants are more aware than ever of the role environmental hygiene plays in health and safety, and executives increasingly recognize that cleaning contributes far more than appearance.

"Infection prevention, the spread of germs, and protecting your stakeholders—your occupants, tenants, or patients—is really the foundation," says David Green, Founder of Rediscover Clean. "We're in a different mindset after COVID-19. People expect safe environments."

That responsibility extends into all facility types. Cleaning creates healthier indoor environments, reduces wear on building assets, and supports sustainable initiatives. This is the message facility cleaning managers should bring to executives when promoting cleaning initiatives and budgets.

Ron Segura, President of Segura & Associates, believes cleaning departments need to see themselves as strategic business partners rather than support services.

"We're not just a maintenance operation," he shares. "We're contributors to efficiency, indoor air quality (IAQ), and sustainability. But if you don't wave your flag, nobody will do it for you."

Perhaps the biggest mistake commercial cleaning managers make when advocating for additional resources is assuming leadership knows what it takes to maintain a facility. Experts encourage them to build requests around measurable business outcomes—number of restrooms, cleaning frequencies, infection statistics, attendance rates, etc.—that impact the bottom line.

"The most effective approach clearly demonstrates how cleaning contributes to the organization's broader mission," says Michael Madigan, Division President for Environmental Services and Ancillary Services at TouchPoint Support Services. "In healthcare, that means emphasizing patient safety, patient satisfaction, and the support EVS provides to clinical teams."

In hospitals, cleaning performance is connected to metrics executives already monitor, including Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient satisfaction scores, room turnaround times, hospital acquired infection (HAI) rates, and patient flow. Faster room turnover allows patients waiting in emergency departments to be admitted sooner, improving both care delivery and operational performance.

Outside healthcare, the metrics may differ, but the principle remains the same: Customer satisfaction, safety, asset preservation, and occupant experience. These facets represent measurable outcomes that facility cleaning departments influence every day.

Green recommends framing every budget request as a business case rather than a list of departmental needs. Facility cleaning managers should explain the level of cleanliness leadership expects, the cleaning frequencies and labor hours required, staffing or equipment gaps, benefits to funding a request, and consequences of reducing resources.

"Instead of saying 'quality will decline,' explain that a proposed reduction will decrease restroom cleaning from three times per day to once per day. It will also delay periodic floor care, eliminate a supervisor position, or reduce inspection frequency," Green advises.

Measure What Matters

No doubt, meaningful performance metrics are among the most powerful tools available to facility cleaning managers who are advocating for their departments.

"I'm all about data," says Green. "What gets measured gets improved."

While many organizations benchmark cleanable square footage per productive labor hour to measure labor productivity, this metric only provides a partial picture of cleaning performance. It measures efficiency, but doesn’t consider the cost, quality, or outcomes. Facility cleaning managers should also track financial metrics, such as cost per cleanable square foot and supply costs, alongside quality indicators, such as inspection scores, customer complaints, and response times.

Workforce measures—including training completion, overtime, and employee turnover—help identify staffing and operational challenges. Facility cleaning managers should also monitor occupant satisfaction and—where applicable—infection trends to better understand the broader impact of cleaning performance.

Madigan recommends using cost per square foot as a foundational financial metric because facility size remains relatively stable over time, making year-to-year comparisons meaningful. Healthcare organizations also monitor room turnaround time, with TouchPoint targeting less than 60 minutes from patient discharge to room readiness.

A growing number of facilities rely on verification tools to evaluate cleaning. For example, ATP testing is commonly used to measure contamination after cleaning, while fluorescent marking systems supplement visual inspections by verifying that high-touch surfaces have been cleaned. Indeed, the value of these metrics isn't simply in collecting numbers.

"When you get all that data in one place, you can identify trends and find root causes," Green explains. "If repeated inspection failures reveal missed high dusting, for example, managers may discover employees lack the proper tools—not that they aren't performing their jobs." 

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How Data Determines Cleaning's Value