In the competitive landscape of commercial cleaning, growth doesn't happen by accident. Companies that successfully scale their operations understand that deliberate infrastructure must be established before expansion can occur.
Steven Harper, President and CEO of Spectrum Building Services of America Inc., has guided his company through impressive growth, preparing for a 300% expansion in just 120 days. This remarkable achievement didn't come from aggressive marketing or drastically cutting prices.
→ It stemmed from creating systems that deliver such consistent quality that existing clients actively seek to expand their relationship.
"If you become a process-driven organization, you're going to outperform your peers," Harper explains. "If you can consistently execute day in and day out, customers are willing to pay for that, and they'll stick with you."
Whether you're aiming to double your business or grow tenfold, Harper identifies three essential building blocks that create a foundation for sustainable scaling.
1: Assemble the Right Team
The journey to scale begins with people. As Harper discovered through his experience at Spectrum Building Services, CEOs often become the limiting factor in growth when they try to maintain control of every aspect of the business.
"You have to have a team of people that are self-motivated, that are self-directed, that can work autonomously without you," Harper advises. "The number one thing is that CEOs tend to be the limiting factor when they're running companies."
This means moving beyond simply hiring workers to fill roles. Scaling requires thoughtfully building a leadership team that can:
Make decisions independently using sound judgment
Motivate others to perform at high standards
Take ownership of their areas of responsibility
Operate effectively without constant oversight
When evaluating potential team members, look beyond technical skills to character traits like initiative, responsibility, and problem-solving abilities. Ask yourself: "Could this person handle increasing responsibility as we grow?"
For Spectrum, this approach allowed Harper to focus on strategic initiatives while his team managed daily operations. Without this delegation, the company's growth would have been constrained by Harper's personal capacity.
2: Develop Systems and Processes
Even the most talented team needs structure to deliver consistent results. This is where documented processes become essential.
"Make sure that you're putting in good processes and structure and develop playbooks and all the things that you need to run the company," Harper recommends. "Make sure that's well documented and create a culture of people following those processes."
Effective process documentation:
Creates consistency in service delivery
Reduces dependency on specific individuals
Simplifies training for new team members
Allows for quality control across multiple locations
Enables easier identification of improvement opportunities
What does this look like in practice? At Spectrum, they developed comprehensive playbooks for every significant function. These aren't theoretical documents that sit on a shelf—they're practical guides that team members reference daily.
"We had to take it to another level and develop playbooks so we could have interchangeability if someone's not around or someone new comes aboard," Harper explains. "What we found is that standardizing our processes and having standard playbooks was a huge thing for us."
The key insight here isn't just creating documentation—it's establishing a culture where following these processes becomes second nature. This cultural element ensures that, as you scale, new team members naturally adopt your standards rather than creating their own methods.
3: Implement the Right Technology
The third critical building block involves leveraging technology that provides visibility, accountability, and efficiency.
"Get the right technology behind you because you have to have the right technology to be able to get the information, to be able to hold people accountable, to be able to share information with people on a regular basis," Harper advises.
For Spectrum, technology transformation played a crucial role in their scaling journey. They transitioned from legacy software to an integrated solution that provided real-time data and actionable insights.
"This was one of the biggest selling points for my team," Harper shared about implementing their new software system. "When they saw the dashboard, they're like, 'You mean we can get this?'"
The right technology should:
Provide real-time visibility into performance metrics
Enable data-driven decision making
Facilitate communication between team members
Automate routine administrative tasks
Scale alongside your growing business
Spectrum uses customizable dashboards to track essential metrics from client satisfaction and employee retention to work ticket management and labor costs. This visibility allows leaders to identify issues before they become problems.
"No one is off the hook," Harper notes. "Every employee in our company has metrics that they're accountable for."
This accountability extends throughout the organization. Area managers receive bonuses up to 15% of their pay based on their metrics each quarter. When everyone can clearly see how their work contributes to success, engagement and performance naturally improve.
The Integration of Building Blocks
While each building block is powerful on its own, the true magic happens when they work together.
→ A talented team armed with clear processes and supported by the right technology creates a foundation for sustainable growth.
At Spectrum, this integration has transformed how they operate. "When we have our weekly staff meetings, everyone has to report out on their metrics on how they're doing," Harper explains. "Previously, we had to have someone run the reports and hope that it was accurate, and hope that the people were actually doing it, and everyone was always a week behind."
Now, team members can proactively manage their metrics throughout the week. If something starts trending in the wrong direction, they can address it immediately rather than discovering problems after the fact.
This level of operational excellence translates directly to client satisfaction. "Every time we do something, we send out an email with pictures to the customer for proof of service," Harper shares. "They're just blown away by it. We do what we say we're going to do, and we prove that we're doing what we say."
The result?
Existing clients actively seek to expand their relationship with Spectrum. "AutoNation is a big client of ours, and we're going to increase the revenue that we have with them now by double," Harper notes. This type of organic growth is far more profitable than constantly chasing new clients.
Starting Your Scaling Journey
Building a scalable cleaning company doesn't happen overnight, but the rewards are substantial. By focusing on these three building blocks—people, processes, and technology—you create a foundation to support significant growth without sacrificing quality.
Begin by honestly assessing where your company stands today:
Does your team have the capacity to operate effectively without your constant involvement?
Are your key processes documented in a way that ensures consistency as you grow?
Does your technology provide the visibility and accountability needed to maintain quality at scale?
The path to scaling successfully starts with these fundamentals. As Steven Harper discovered, when these elements work together, growth becomes not just possible but natural—driven by satisfied clients who recognize the value of consistent, high-quality service.
"It appears now that if I look at everything we have in front of us, there's a lot more opportunity that I can see to get bigger accounts," Harper reflects. "The services that we offer and the way that we do things are really more geared towards serving larger clients."
By building on this strong foundation, your cleaning company can chart a similar path to sustainable growth and success.
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