Great people are the livelihood of any successful cleaning company.
Without the proper talent and people in place to support your customer's cleaning requirements you will be doomed for failure.
You have a responsibility as a business owner to provide and create an environment for success.
Think about your last place of employment.
Did you participate in an orientation session and/or new-hire training before you began your responsibilities or did you start your job and were thrown right into the fire? It always surprises me when the leadership of a cleaning company doesn't view this step as an integral part of the hiring process.
If you want to get the most out of your cleaning staff, don't you think you need to establish expectations, targets for success, reinforce roles and responsibilities, etc? Let me share with you a true story that I will never forget.
I went to meet with a client that was unhappy with their cleaning company.
After meeting with the client, I stopped by and spoke to the cleaning staff to get a perspective.
Since they were not wearing any uniforms I asked them what cleaning company they worked for.
Can you believe there response was, "I don't know? I was just told to be here today at 7AM and that is what I did".
This is a perfect example where leadership is setting their people up to fail vs.
succeed.
Invest the time upfront with your staff in order to provide them a context of what is expected of them and what they can expect from you the cleaning company.
Reward and recognition is a practice that is not a luxury anymore but a necessity.
In a competitive industry such as cleaning it is critical that we keep our cleaning staff motivated and hungry to be more productive and service oriented.
By implementing a monthly or quarterly recognition program you will see a vast difference in performance and attitude.
Who doesn't like to be rewarded for their efforts? I suggest you tailor your recognition program accordingly to what the specific person may be interested in.
For example, in our cleaning company we have many individuals that want to learn the English language or be more dominant.
We have established partnerships with local agencies where we pick up the tab for the English course that is offered.
The employee is ecstatic because of the opportunity, and at the same time we are helping them achieve a personal goal.
Be creative and customize and tailor your recognition programs accordingly.
A third part of the process is to challenge and uplift.
Provide your cleaning staff with an opportunity to grow and expand their knowledge.
You will find most people like to be challenged with new opportunities or learn new cleaning strategies or concepts if it makes their job easier.
Provide the cleaning staff the training and support they need to excel in their work environment.
Use this opportunity to conduct performance reviews so the cleaning staff has a clear understanding of what they are doing well, what the areas of opportunity are, and what you as management are going to do to help them bridge the gap.
Remember as leaders of the organization one of our responsibilities is to make sure we create an environment where we uplift people and provide the proper systems and support to create win-win relationships.
The last action is to outline a roadmap for success.
What do I mean by that? Let the staff know that there is room for advancement and growth should they perform and acquire the appropriate skill set.
Everyone is looking for winners, and once you find them you need to cultivate, nourish, grow, and develop their personal development.
It is not uncommon to hear of cleaning staff move up the ranks and become Area Supervisors or Regional Directors.
Share success stories where current staff has moved up the organization in order to provide a real life example that the cleaning staff will be able to relate to.
Challenge yourself and your managers to incorporate or complement the strategies discussed into your cleaning operation.
Cleaning is a people business and in order to have success you need to make sure your people are a priority.
You can replace equipment, technology, and systems, but you can't replace good people.
Without the proper talent and people in place to support your customer's cleaning requirements you will be doomed for failure.
You have a responsibility as a business owner to provide and create an environment for success.
Think about your last place of employment.
Did you participate in an orientation session and/or new-hire training before you began your responsibilities or did you start your job and were thrown right into the fire? It always surprises me when the leadership of a cleaning company doesn't view this step as an integral part of the hiring process.
If you want to get the most out of your cleaning staff, don't you think you need to establish expectations, targets for success, reinforce roles and responsibilities, etc? Let me share with you a true story that I will never forget.
I went to meet with a client that was unhappy with their cleaning company.
After meeting with the client, I stopped by and spoke to the cleaning staff to get a perspective.
Since they were not wearing any uniforms I asked them what cleaning company they worked for.
Can you believe there response was, "I don't know? I was just told to be here today at 7AM and that is what I did".
This is a perfect example where leadership is setting their people up to fail vs.
succeed.
Invest the time upfront with your staff in order to provide them a context of what is expected of them and what they can expect from you the cleaning company.
Reward and recognition is a practice that is not a luxury anymore but a necessity.
In a competitive industry such as cleaning it is critical that we keep our cleaning staff motivated and hungry to be more productive and service oriented.
By implementing a monthly or quarterly recognition program you will see a vast difference in performance and attitude.
Who doesn't like to be rewarded for their efforts? I suggest you tailor your recognition program accordingly to what the specific person may be interested in.
For example, in our cleaning company we have many individuals that want to learn the English language or be more dominant.
We have established partnerships with local agencies where we pick up the tab for the English course that is offered.
The employee is ecstatic because of the opportunity, and at the same time we are helping them achieve a personal goal.
Be creative and customize and tailor your recognition programs accordingly.
A third part of the process is to challenge and uplift.
Provide your cleaning staff with an opportunity to grow and expand their knowledge.
You will find most people like to be challenged with new opportunities or learn new cleaning strategies or concepts if it makes their job easier.
Provide the cleaning staff the training and support they need to excel in their work environment.
Use this opportunity to conduct performance reviews so the cleaning staff has a clear understanding of what they are doing well, what the areas of opportunity are, and what you as management are going to do to help them bridge the gap.
Remember as leaders of the organization one of our responsibilities is to make sure we create an environment where we uplift people and provide the proper systems and support to create win-win relationships.
The last action is to outline a roadmap for success.
What do I mean by that? Let the staff know that there is room for advancement and growth should they perform and acquire the appropriate skill set.
Everyone is looking for winners, and once you find them you need to cultivate, nourish, grow, and develop their personal development.
It is not uncommon to hear of cleaning staff move up the ranks and become Area Supervisors or Regional Directors.
Share success stories where current staff has moved up the organization in order to provide a real life example that the cleaning staff will be able to relate to.
Challenge yourself and your managers to incorporate or complement the strategies discussed into your cleaning operation.
Cleaning is a people business and in order to have success you need to make sure your people are a priority.
You can replace equipment, technology, and systems, but you can't replace good people.