Key takeaways
- Cleaners work in your building after hours, so confidentiality has to be a written rule, not an assumption.
- Ask about background checks, confidentiality terms, key and alarm-code control, and what crews may touch.
- Reduce risk on your side too: lock records away and set clear no-touch zones.
Cleaning crews often work when no one else is in the building. That access is a trust issue, especially in medical offices, law offices, accounting firms and daycares. A good company has a clear, written way of handling it.
What a company should have in place
- Screened staff. Background checks for anyone with access. See cleaning company background checks for what to require.
- Written confidentiality terms. An agreement, in the contract or signed by each worker, that they will not read, copy, photograph or discuss anything they see.
- Key, fob and alarm-code control. Codes are never shared, written down where others can see them, or lent to a coworker. Lost keys are reported right away.
- A no-touch rule. Crews do not read papers on desks, look at screens, or open drawers, files and cabinets unless they are part of the task.
- Training that repeats the rules. New staff learn these rules before their first shift, and supervisors check them.
Ask these questions
- Do you run background checks on every person who will enter our building?
- Will your workers sign a confidentiality agreement, and can we see it?
- Who holds our keys and alarm code, and what happens if one is lost?
- What are the crew's rules about papers, screens, phones and photos?
- How do you handle a worker who breaks those rules?
What you can do on your side
Good vendor habits help, but your own controls matter most. Lock away records, close computers, and tell the company which rooms are off limits.
- Lock sensitive files, charts and cash before the crew arrives.
- Log out of or lock computers, and lower or turn off screens.
- Mark any room the crew should not enter, or give them a short written list of rooms.
- Put the rules in the contract so everyone is working from the same page.
A note on medical and legal offices
Rules about patient and client records depend on your profession and your attorney's advice. Some practices ask vendors to sign a confidentiality agreement; others use stricter terms. Check with your own attorney or compliance officer about what your office needs.
Also see how to verify a commercial cleaning company's credentials before you give anyone a key.