Before a cleaning company starts, you hand over the two things that protect your office: the keys and the alarm codes. Vetting them properly means asking how they’ll guard both, and what happens the day a cleaner leaves.
The questions that matter come in three parts. Ask who they hire and how they screen them, meaning criminal background checks on everyone with access, not just the supervisor. Ask how they control your keys, meaning a signed custody log, keys stored locked at their office, and returned when someone leaves. And ask how they handle your alarm code, meaning an individual code per cleaner you can switch off on its own, never one shared code taped to a clipboard.
A company that runs security well answers all three without stalling, and can usually show you the paperwork. There’s also one thing on a spare key that quietly tells a stranger exactly which building it opens, and plenty of companies still write it right there.
Start with background checks on the crew
The crew in your building at 9 p.m. is the whole ballgame, so start with how the company chooses and checks them.
Ask these plainly:
- Do you run criminal background checks on every cleaner, or just supervisors? The answer you want is everyone who will have access to the building. A clean check on the manager means nothing if the person holding your key was never screened.
- How recent are the checks, and do you rerun them? People get hired over years, and a check from four years ago isn’t the same as a current one. Good companies rescreen on a schedule.
- Are the cleaners your employees or subcontractors? A company controls how it screens and trains its own staff. Subcontracted crews are screened by someone else, to a standard you can’t see, so it’s fair to ask who actually shows up and whether the crew is named in your contract.
You’re not hunting for a spotless record on every worker. You’re looking for a company that screens on purpose and can tell you how, instead of one that shrugs.
You’ll find the rest of the vetting questions, plus what should end up in the contract, in our office cleaning guide for business owners.
How they control your keys
A key is only as safe as the system around it. Ask how they track yours from the moment you hand it over.
A real key control program has a few pieces:
- A key log. A dated record of which cleaner took which key, for which visit. If a company can’t tell you who had your key last Tuesday, it doesn’t have control of it.
- Secure storage. Keys held overnight belong in a locked cabinet at the company’s office, never in a cleaner’s car or a kitchen drawer at home.
- A return and rekey rule. When a cleaner leaves, the key comes back that day, and if it can’t be accounted for, your locks get rekeyed. Ask who pays for that, and get the answer in the contract.
The test is simple. Ask, “If one of your cleaners quit tomorrow, walk me through what happens to my key.” A company with a real system answers in about ten seconds. A company without one starts improvising on the spot.
The one thing that should never be on your key
Now the key itself. A spare office key usually gets a tag so nobody mixes it up, and the lazy version of that tag is your business name or your street address. A key labeled that way is a gift to whoever finds it dropped in a parking lot. It says exactly which door it opens and where to go.
A company that takes key security seriously never marks a key with anything that identifies your building. Your key gets a meaningless code, and that code maps to your account only in their log, back at their office. Lose the key and it’s just a key, useless to a stranger.
So ask to see how they tag keys. It’s a small thing, and it tells you whether the rest of their system is real or just for show.
Alarm codes, and why one shared code is a problem
Handing over an alarm code feels routine, until you think about the day a cleaner quits. If your whole crew shares one code, you can’t shut off that one person’s access without recoding the panel and handing a new code to everyone else. So most offices don’t bother, and the former employee’s code keeps working for months.
The fix is an individual alarm code for each cleaner. Most modern panels allow it, and it changes what the code can do for you:
- You can revoke one person’s code the day they leave, and nobody else is affected.
- The panel logs which code armed and disarmed the system, so you can see who was in the building and when.
- If something goes missing, you’re not guessing among a crew of six. You have a time stamp and a code.
Ask whether the company will set up an individual code per cleaner on your system, and don’t accept “we’ll just share the one.” While you’re there, ask where they keep your code. “In a spreadsheet the office staff can open” is the wrong answer. A code is confidential, and it should sit with as few people as possible.
Knowing the building was left secure
Cleaning happens when the building is empty, so the last question is how you’ll know the work happened and the doors were locked behind them.
Ask how cleaners check in and out. Disciplined companies log arrival and departure, some with a phone check-in that stamps the time and place, so there’s a record that the crew came, did the work, and locked up. That same log is your answer if an alarm trips at 2 a.m., because you can see whether anyone was supposed to be there.
Ask who supervises, too. A lead who spot checks the building and the crew is the difference between a company that manages its people and one that drops them at your door and hopes for the best.
What a good answer sounds like
Put the questions together and you have a fast read on any cleaning company’s security:
- Background checks on everyone with access, rerun over time.
- A key custody log, secure storage, and a written rekey rule.
- An individual, revocable alarm code per cleaner, with your code kept confidential.
The companies worth hiring answer all three without flinching, and most will offer to show you the log or the written policy. That willingness is the real signal. A janitorial bond pays you back after a theft, but these controls are what keep the theft from happening in the first place, and what end the mystery about who was in your building last night.
If a company gets vague, changes the subject, or acts like basic security questions are an insult, you have your answer. That’s one of the clearer warning signs when hiring a cleaner. The company you want is the one that already runs this and is glad you asked.
Frequently asked questions
Do commercial cleaning companies run background checks on their cleaners?
Reputable ones do, but it isn’t universal, so you have to ask. A good company runs criminal background checks on every employee who will have access to your building, not just supervisors, and reruns them periodically. If cleaners are subcontractors rather than employees, the screening is done by someone else to a standard you can’t verify, which is worth knowing before you hire.
Should I give my cleaning company a key or an alarm code?
Usually both, since the crew works after hours, but only to a company that can show you how it protects them. That means a documented key log, secure storage of keys at their office, and an individual alarm code per cleaner rather than one shared code. If a company wants your access but has no system for guarding it, that’s a reason to keep looking.
What happens to my key if a cleaner quits?
With a real key control program, the key is returned the same day and logged back in. If it can’t be accounted for, your locks should be rekeyed, and a well written contract says who pays for that. Ask the company to walk you through this before you sign, because the answer tells you whether they actually track their keys or just hand them out.
Is it safe to give a cleaning company my alarm code?
It’s safe when the code is handled properly. Ask for an individual code for each cleaner so you can revoke one without recoding the whole panel, ask that the panel log who armed and disarmed the system, and ask that your code be kept confidential rather than sitting in a shared spreadsheet. A company that does all three is treating your access the way it should.
Should each cleaner have their own alarm code?
Yes, whenever your panel supports it. Individual codes let you turn off one person’s access the day they leave, show you who was in the building and when, and give you a time stamp if anything ever goes wrong. One shared code does none of that, and it keeps working for anyone who has ever left the crew.
How do cleaning companies keep building keys secure?
The good ones tag each key with a meaningless code rather than your name or address, store keys overnight in a locked cabinet at their office, and keep a dated log of which cleaner had which key on which night. Keys are never left in vehicles or taken home. Ask to see how they tag and store keys; the answer separates a real security program from a company that just hopes nothing goes wrong.