Most facilities managers in Hopkins who call us are already with another contractor. The question isn't whether to switch — they've already decided — it's how to do it without leaving a gap in service or inheriting a mess from the transition.
Step 1: Review Your Current Contract
Before you do anything else, read your existing cleaning contract. Specifically look for the notice period — the number of days you're required to give before terminating. Thirty days is the industry standard. Sixty days is not unusual for larger contracts. If you terminate without honoring the notice period, you may owe a termination fee or be liable for the remainder of the contract term.
If your contract has no written notice provision, your default in Minnesota is typically 30 days unless the contract specifies otherwise. Check with your attorney if the contract terms are unclear.
Step 2: Get a New Quote Before You Give Notice
Do the walkthrough with a prospective new contractor before you terminate the existing one. You need to know the new contractor can start on the date your current contract ends. A three-week gap between contractors is an avoidable problem — and it's common because facilities managers give notice before they've confirmed the replacement.
The walkthrough, scope document and quote typically take one to two weeks from initial contact to a signed agreement. Factor that into your timeline so the start date aligns with your termination date.
Step 3: Document the State of Your Facility Before the Transition
Before the last clean by your current contractor, do a walkthrough with your facilities contact and document what you see — floor finish condition, restroom fixture condition, any existing damage. Photos are useful. This documentation protects you if your new contractor is later blamed for a condition that predated them, or if your old contractor makes a claim about the facility condition.
Hopkins buildings that have been on the same cleaning contractor for several years sometimes have floor finishes that have degraded significantly. The new contractor should not inherit responsibility for a condition they didn't create. The transition documentation is your evidence.
Step 4: Brief the New Contractor on Building-Specific Details
Every building has details that aren't in the scope document: which tenant is particular about desk-area access, where the alarm panel is, which loading dock is used after hours, whether the building manager checks in on Friday evenings. These details are not in any scope document — they come from the people who know the building.
Before the first clean by the new contractor, spend 20 to 30 minutes walking the building with the new crew lead. Introduce them to your building contact. Show them the mechanical room, the cleaning supply storage, the after-hours access procedure. That briefing saves a week of avoidable early-service issues.
Step 5: Be Available After the First Three Cleans
The first clean is a learning experience for any new crew. They're working from the scope document and their notes from the walkthrough — but they haven't yet learned the building's rhythms. The second and third cleans are where the scope starts to feel natural. Be available to take a quick call after each of the first three cleans so any adjustments can be made immediately rather than accumulating into a complaint.
What a Good Transition Looks Like
A clean transition is: notice given with the required lead time, new contractor scoped and quoted before notice is given, facility documented before the last clean, crew briefed before the first clean, and a 30-day check-in scheduled. That sequence produces a transition that most facilities managers never feel — the cleaning just happens, and it's better than what it was.
We handle switchovers routinely for Hopkins and West Metro facilities. Call (866) 958-8773 to discuss your transition timeline.