The big secret to eliminating no-shows to interviews
Okay, so now we have a list of people who have passed the first line of screening, the online form. Now we want to get them to an interview. At this point we send them an email congratulating them on qualifying for an interview, and telling them how excited we are about working with them. We direct them to call our office to schedule an interview. This email is designed to make them feel special that they qualify, and to let them know we are excited for them come in. We go over some of the great reasons why they should want to work for us. We are still selling them at this point. We want to get them into that interview.
This email also has a second purpose. It is another form of screening. We instruct the applicant to call us to set up an interview. We do not call them to set it up. This simple step has proven to be one of our big secrets. When you call someone to schedule an interview, they almost always say “Yes.” Very few people will admit that they applied because they were required to submit a number of applications in order to keep their unemployment benefits. Others have decided they do not want to work for a cleaning company, but are hesitant to say so. They will agree to the interview and then never show up.
Instead, we ask them to contact us. We find this has virtually eliminated no-shows to interviews. Yes, there are some people who forget or blow us off, but the vast majority of people that pro-actively pick up the phone and call actually want the job. They are excited to come in for the interview. Think about all the people that have no-showed. Think how uncomfortable it must be for them to tell you they don’t really want to work for you. By requiring the applicant to call us to set up an interview, we spare them embarrassment and save our company time.
Cleaning Business Builders has resources to help you meet the challenges of today’s job market. Our class on Recruiting and Hiring, delivered by American Maid founder and owner Liz Trotter, sets you up with the basic elements of the recruiting and hiring system used by successful and still-growing cleaning companies. Click the button below to learn more.
For a free preview of the Recruiting & Hiring webinar, click the play button below.
Derek Christian has been involved in the cleaning industry for more than 20 years and is an owner or investor in several cleaning companies. Derek founded My Maid Service which was later merged into Blue Skies Services and now he works with Castle Keepers in various marketing and sales Capacities.
