Keys, alarm codes and off-limits rooms need a written plan with your cleaning company

The safest way to give a cleaning company access is to hand over only what the crew needs, record who holds each key, card and code, and put the off-limits rooms in writing. Server rooms, IT closets and areas with confidential files should be locked and listed as excluded from the scope. That way the crew knows exactly where to go and where not to, and you can trace access if anything is ever questioned.

Keep a simple key and card log

Before the first night, write down every physical key, key card or fob given to the cleaning company, with the date and the name of the person who received it. Note which doors each one opens. Ask the company to tell you who on its side holds them and where they are kept when not in use. When keys come back, record that too. This takes a few minutes and settles most future questions.

Where possible, use electronic cards or fobs rather than metal keys. A lost card can be turned off immediately, and many systems record each entry. A lost key may mean changing a lock.

Give the crew its own alarm code

Many alarm systems allow separate user codes. Give the cleaning company a code of its own instead of sharing the office code. Arming and disarming then show up under that code in the system's history, which tells you when the crew arrived and left. If the cleaning arrangement ends, you delete one code without changing everyone else's.

Walk the crew through the alarm procedure during setup. Show where the panel is, which zones should be armed, what to do if a door sensor will not close, and who to call if the alarm goes off by mistake. Write the instructions down and keep them somewhere the crew can find them.

Define off-limits rooms in writing

Some rooms should not be entered at all, and some should be entered only for limited tasks. A server room or network closet is the clearest example: heat, dust and an accidental bump of a cable can cause real problems, and cleaning products near equipment are a risk. Executive offices with confidential papers, HR file rooms, legal storage and safes belong on the same list.

Put these rooms in the written scope as excluded, and lock them. A verbal request made during the walkthrough is easy to forget months later when a different person is on the crew. If a restricted room does need occasional attention, such as vacuuming the floor of an IT room, schedule it during the day with someone from the office present.

Protect confidential paper

Cleaning crews wipe desks, empty bins and move items to vacuum. Documents left out are exposed to that, even when everyone acts in good faith. A clean desk habit, where sensitive papers are locked in drawers at the end of the day, protects the office better than any instruction to the crew. Use locked shredding bins for confidential waste so it never mixes with regular trash. Tell the cleaning company not to empty or move those bins.

Agree on what the crew does if something looks wrong

Decide in advance what happens if the crew finds a door open that should be locked, an alarm that will not arm, or a window left unlatched. The usual answer is to leave the area as found, secure what can be secured, and contact a named person on your side. Put that person's contact details and a backup in the written instructions.

Review access whenever something changes

Recover keys and change codes when the cleaning arrangement ends, and review access when the company tells you the regular crew is changing. A quick check every few months, comparing the key log with what is actually out there, catches gaps before they matter. A1 Commercial Cleaning records key and code arrangements in the written scope and updates them in writing when anything changes, and its crews complete safety and responsibility training before they start.