Still, as the concept of outsourcing grows across the board, so too has the concept of outsourcing soft services (cleaning, security, grounds maintenance, pest control, washroom services etc).

According to as Noonan Services Group, which is Ireland's largest provider of such soft services, some markets are more advanced than others in the uptake of this form of outsourcing (commercial, pharmaceutical and high tech manufacturing sectors would outsource a high proportion of their soft services, whilst the hospital and retail markets currently outsource less).

"The current trend is to bundle services and provide multi-service contracts to companies that offer clients greater benefits than sourcing service individually, " said Pete Smyth, managing director of Noonan Services. "Our company has broadened its service offering in recent years to meet the markets growing requirement for multi-service contracts. By bundling soft services such as cleaning, security, pest control, washroom supplies and watercoolers under a single contract, clients can gain a number of benefits, including single invoicing, consolidation of supplier base and reduced contract administration. Companies providing "Single Services" don't have the ability to provide these benefits to clients."

The benefits of any form of outsourcing are many - outsourcing often less critical services such as Cleaning and Security to dedicated suppliers allows client companies to take advantage of dedicated technical expertise, HR expertise, dedicated R&D, as well as economies of scale in purchasing.

"Benefits can be summarized under two primary headings - an uplift in service levels, and potential cost savings, " said Smyth. "By utilising large, experienced service providers with a proven track record to deliver your non core services, you are likely to receive an uplift in standards. Key drivers of the uplift in standards are improved staff training, the ability to utilise the latest equipment and techniques, dedicated local supervision and management, and the utilisation of specific quality control and auditing techniques."

In terms of equipment, Noonan Services Group has invested heavily in dedicated equipment such as cranes (window cleaning), hoists, road sweepers and other such equipment which enables it to self-deliver services that smaller contractors have to subcontract.

"One of the keys to protecting our reputation as a high quality service provider has been our ability to self-deliver our core services, " said Smyth.

"Small companies don't have the economies of scale to provide these benefits to clients."

In addition to the growth in scale of some of the leading providers of soft services in Ireland, client companies have also benefited from a raising of standards across the board.

This is in part due to the tighter regulatory environment in which all businesses have to operate, with health and safety issues to the fore, and in part due to the demands of the clients, who will not allow standards to slip.

A major step in the creation of higher standards for industry was the introduction of a new standard in training, from BICS (British Institute of Cleaning Science), which was initiated by FAS about two years ago. Available across three levels, the three day course has been designed to train industry operatives in the highest standards of training. In Dublin, the training is available, among others, from Best Practice Training.

"The industry standards have been upped considerably over the past couple of years, " said Joe Bartley, managing director of Oceantree Contract Services Ltd, a Dublin based company with specific expertise across the hospital, hotel and office sector. "The bulk of my staff has gone on the course, and everybody learned something over the course of the programme. I have been in the business for decades, and I thought that I knew everything about cleaning, but the trouble is that in the past, people learned from people and passed their errors on. This new standard teaches the simple things that can save a fortune in both materials and time."

Simple things such as avoiding cross contamination, using the correct amount of chemical in the solution, even learning how to best buff a floor. But each of these elements adds up to a situation where standards are higher now than at any point in the past.

"The huge amount of new health and safety legislation that has come in has to be adhered to, " said Bartley. "But even above this, our clients expect a high standard, and we have to deliver. Clients don't need the headaches of employing cleaning staff, and in the area of hotels and hospitals, they have to undergo regular audits to ensure that the highest standards are maintained. It is up to us to be able to ensure that these standards don't drop."