Quality Assurance
How our HPAC quality system works
Every site is scored against the same three measures, every score is logged, and every client gets a report that shows exactly what was found, and insight into how we supported our cleaning team.
Quality Assurance
Every site is scored against the same three measures, every score is logged, and every client gets a report that shows exactly what was found, and insight into how we supported our cleaning team.
Twenty-five years of cleaning taught us what doesn't work as much as what does.
We tried the generic checklist-based audit apps that most of the industry uses, and found they reinforced one of the cleaning sector's key weaknesses: the under-appreciation of cleaners. Audit apps focus on recording what was wrong with the work, communicated in an impersonal way. That negative bias slowly erodes a team's self-worth and enjoyment of the job, which shows up as a decline in care and attention, and ultimately high staff turnover.
Alongside that, checklist-based audit apps don't fit how our cleaning staff or auditors already use their phones to communicate.
After cycling through several app, submission, and audit formats, we landed on a chat-based system. It's the most intuitive format for our cleaning staff, and it lets an auditor capture text, photos, voice notes, and video in the same natural flow as walking a site. The freedom of that format also means an auditor can focus as much on what the team does well as on what needs fixing, reinforcing their value to the client and to RealClean.
Every piece of feedback and every score is recorded straight out of that conversation, which is what makes the reporting and tracking below possible.
HPAC stands for Hygiene, Presentation, Attention & Care, each scored out of 10 on every audit.
Hygiene
Are the things that need to be clean actually clean: surfaces, fixtures, high-touch points.
Presentation
Does the space look cared for: tidiness, finishing touches, first impressions.
Attention & Care
The detail work, the things you'd only notice once something started slipping.
The three scores are averaged for a single HPAC score per audit, a simple number with three specific measures behind it, not a vague overall impression. Every auditor works to the same three measures, so a score means the same thing regardless of who carried out the audit.
How often a site is audited depends on the client and their needs, and is agreed as part of your contract.
Our benchmark is 7.0, but we like our team to be at 7.5 or above. To give a feel for the standard we set ourselves:
A client with high expectations and focus might notice some of the details behind this score, but is unlikely to raise them.
That client would likely reach out to flag that they're noticing things that could be improved, and that attention to the matter would be appreciated.
A number of issues have been identified, and they're likely recurring. Immediate resolution is required, with a plan communicated.
Clear and ongoing performance issues. Terminating the contract should be seriously considered.
This is 12 months of real data from one of our multi-site clients. Each line is a separate site. The blue line is the average across all of them.
HPAC scores across multiple sites for a single client, April 2025 — March 2026. Client details withheld. Dashed line shows our 7.0 minimum target.
One audit feeds four things: a same-day fix for your cleaning team, confirmation that the fix happened, a monthly report for you, and a monthly performance summary for the cleaner themselves.
One audit, four outcomes: your cleaning team hears about issues the same day and confirms when they're resolved, your monthly report is built from that same logged and scored record, and the cleaner gets their own tracked performance summary across every site they work.
The version behind the diagram above.
An auditor walks the site
Every area is checked against the standard agreed for that site, area by area, identifying where the team is doing great and where they could pick up on things. It's a record built as it happens, over chat, with photos, voice, or video as evidence for anything flagged.
All feedback is logged to the database
Every audit's feedback is logged permanently. This feeds the monthly report and feedback trends through time.
The audit is scored
Based on audit performance, the Hygiene, Presentation, and Attention & Care are each scored out of 10, giving one HPAC score for that audit.
Feedback goes out to the team member
The feedback starts with a summary that gives an overview of the audit, with a focus on the positive. A prioritised checklist is generated for the cleaner to help them focus on the touch-ups. Photos, video, and voice messages support the details.
The cleaning team responds
The cleaner responds with their own videos, photos, and voice messages recording the resolution of the feedback identified.
The monthly report is assembled
A 12-month performance graph, a written QA report for each audit that month, and a scores table are pulled together into one email.
You get the monthly summary with the QA report and photos attached
The finished report is checked personally before it leaves the business. What you read is what we stand behind.
The cleaner gets their own monthly summary
Separately, each cleaner receives a summary of their own performance and a 12-month graph tracking every position and site they clean, not just the one you're looking at. They see their own trajectory as clearly as you see yours.
Deliberate choices, not defaults.
You see what your cleaner was told. You get visibility into the communications between RealClean and its team. You see what's been identified, how it's handled, and whether it's recurring.
Issues get fixed at the next visit. Feedback reaches the cleaning team the same day as the audit, so the loop closes fast.
Every score is on the record. If there are multiple audits in a month, you'll see them, and the effect they have on the trend graph. The graph shows the trajectory, month on month, not just where things stand today.
One standard, every auditor. Every audit is scored against the same three measures, so a score means the same thing regardless of who carried it out.
Repeat issues get noticed, not just recorded. Just as your graph shows how multiple cleaners are performing across your sites, we and the cleaners can see how they're performing across multiple clients. Trends get identified across clients, letting us work proactively with our crew.
Your cleaning team sees the same picture you do. The monthly performance summary isn't only for you: every cleaner gets their own summary and 12-month graph, covering every site and position they clean, not just the one on your report.
Talk to us about how HPAC scoring and reporting would work for your organisation.
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