Your contractor sends reports. Do you need independent checks?
Open your latest contractor report. Can you tell what was checked, where, when, and what changed since the previous review? If not, ask for that detail first. Consider independent checks when you need a separate record of agreed surfaces to discuss alongside the contractor’s reports.
Hygiene Intelligence provides that monthly record: evidence from agreed surfaces, a private brief before your cleaning meeting, and the history kept together in the platform.
Contractor report or independent cleaning audit: what is the scope?
An independent cleaning audit may assess methods, staffing and contract delivery, depending on its scope. Our selected-surface checks are narrower. Ask what the assessment covers before comparing its findings with the provider’s report.
| Source | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Contractor reports | The provider’s account of delivery, checks and exceptions. Ask which locations, dates and supporting records sit behind the score. |
| Your inspections | What your team observed at the time of its check; this may cover a different scope from the contractor’s report. |
| Independent checks | Findings gathered separately from the cleaning provider, covering agreed surfaces at a recorded time. |
They can work together. For example, the City of London’s Barbican Estate monitoring approach uses KPIs, cleaning schedules, complaints, spot checks and joint inspections.
When an independent perspective may help
If the report leaves your main concern unanswered, more of the same information may not resolve the uncertainty. A separate perspective can be useful when its scope fits the question you need to discuss.
That does not mean the contractor’s report is unreliable. It means different evidence can answer different questions. Read why KPIs and complaints can disagree or why a recurring concern needs attention.
For value-for-money questions, see the service you pay for. To understand the scope of a check, read the audit checklist guide.
Our evidence covers the agreed surfaces at the visit time. It is not a whole-building score or a health and safety assessment. Discussion and decisions stay with your facilities team.
A completed-task log needs a different reading from a condition check. Bring both to the meeting with the free monthly review pack.
See what the monthly service includes
Source: City of London monitoring guidance, updated 11 January 2023.