Recap: Navigating Tariffs and Policy Changes in Facility Management and Cleaning Services
Purpose of Our White Paper
Dean Stanberry (Immediate Past-Chair, IFMA) and I recently published a white paper titled Policy and Tariff Impacts on the Cleaning and Facility Operations Industries/What Property Stakeholders Need to Know.
Our goal was to help facility managers and cleaning contractors better understand the risks that tariffs, and immigration policy changes, may pose to their businesses.
The White Paper encouraged stakeholders to take such steps as:
Assess current business operations and how they might be impacted by the tariffs.
Identify vulnerabilities that could negatively impact your businesses
Take steps to minimize those impacts and potential business harm
Be Proactive
We also recommend being proactive. In today's rapidly changing business environment staying one or more steps ahead of changes is essential.
An April 26, 2025, article in Wall Street Journal, America Inc. Slashes Spending as Tariff Uncertainty Swirls confirms our concerns. According to the article, CEOs around the country are:
Pausing all business travel
Delaying construction and expansion projects
Slowing hiring and leaving roles unfilled
Taking all steps possible to "control the uncontrollable."
While major layoffs aren't currently planned, fortunately, according to the Wall Street Journal article, companies such as Proctor & Gamble are preparing to "pull every lever in our arsenal to mitigate the impact of tariffs," according to CFO Andre Schulten.
Collaboration is Key
This business environment requires closer collaboration between facility operations and cleaning professionals than ever before to help:
Manage risk
Preserve building performance
Maintain occupant health and safety
We should also be including vendors in our planning discussions. These trusted service partners can help us anticipate disruptions, communicate transparently, and help develop contingency plans that are essential for facility resilience.
Key Recommendations
With this said, we also provide some strategic recommendations to help you travel through this challenging period:
1. Revise Budgets: Add a 10-20% contingency to janitorial and facility management operational lines. This includes having extra funds available to maintain building equipment, ensure tenant health and safety, and manage price increases by vendors.
2. Prioritize Critical Spaces: As to cleaning, we must focus resources on high-traffic areas such as entrances, elevators, restrooms, kitchens, breakrooms, and shared desks.
3. Maintain Health Standards: Treat cleanliness, air quality, and building appearance as non-negotiable priorities.
4. Vendor Relationships: Develop collaborative service level agreements with vendors to increase agility.
5. Monitor Policy Trends: Track tariff shifts, labor laws, and procurement rules to anticipate cost changes.
Finally, expectations should be formalized through service level agreements. These agreements should include key performance indicators and regularly requiring check-ins between cleaning contractors, managers, and vendors.
Working together effectively will not only help meet cleanliness, health, and sustainability goals, but will help discover new ways to maintain our facilities in a more cost-effective manner.
-Steve