In the midst of the current fragile economic climate, it’s not just homeowners and families who are feeling the pinch and looking for ways to save money, wherever they can. Hundreds of thousands of companies across the world are skirting the fine line between profit and loss, and doing whatever they can to stay out of the red – without having to make redundancies or even folding.

And although a clean, clutter-free and well-kept workplace is absolutely vital to keep staff happy and productive, it’s also very fair to say that cleaning an office – whether it’s a small home office or a workplace with hundreds of staff – can sometimes cost a fair bit of money. And just like when it galls to spend personal money on cleaning products rather than food or treats, many business owners aren’t happy when they’re forced to spend a portion of their hard-earned turnover on cleaning products.

So how can a business save money through cleaning? Is it possible to have an enjoyable, profitable office that’s kept clean on a shoestring?

Do it yourself

Perhaps the first money-saving tip, that many businesses are loathe to take, is to do it yourself. Many businesses find themselves paying for outside help on a small scale that they actually could very well do themselves. Could your office cleaning be done with a spare hour in your day? It needn’t take long to go round the office with a hoover and ensure that it stays relatively well kept.

If you’ve a large office, and it’s not possible to keep your office spick and span without some professional, outside help, then that’s fine, but the key theme of budgeting it to look at your outgoing costs and see if they could be internalised at greatly reduced cost.

Incentivise staff

One of the best ways for an office to stay clean, however, is to encourage staff to be responsible for their personal working areas. By doing so, you’ll find that a huge portion of the office remains clean for much longer without having to shell out of expensive cleaning products or time-consuming practices.

If you’ve got a social office, then consider turning it into a competition: organise a vote system where workers get to nominate the cleanest desk or office in the company, and reward them with a small prize. Not only will this see your office become cleaner and more hospitable, but you’ll increase a positive atmosphere across the company which can only be a good thing.

Simplify your supplies

If you give groups of staff a huge amount of choice for the cleaning products to use day-in-day out, then chances are they’ll be used much more heavily than if you just had one set of cleaning products. Many cleaners can be trusted to clean desks, walls and floors, for instance, so look out for that ‘one size fits all’ approach – you’ll be surprised just how successful it is.

Don’t be afraid to go professional

If you run a bigger enterprise, there’s no doubt that employing a professional cleaning company may be necessary – and one that you’ll see great rewards from, if you choose the right one. Although it may cost a little more than if you did it yourself, the benefits of letting someone else do it can be exponential, giving your company a good name and helping your staff reach great levels they never have before. Many cleaning companies are flexible, and willing to do as much or as little as necessary, so for instance if you need a specific client-sided area cleaned to the utmost detail, while leaving the rest to your staff, then that’s possible. With a professional cleaning company, the world’s your oyster and you can give your business a real boost.