How we make a mistake when we don't invest in our employees
If a car manufacturer spent most of its time trying to find and sell to customers, and almost none on its product, what kind of quality would you expect in a new car? I'm sure some of you may take issue with me on this, but it seems that we as cleaning business owners often spend our time on the wrong things. To hear more, play the video below.
Highlights summary
If managing employees feels like the hardest part of running your cleaning business, Derek Christian of Cleaning Business Builders has a pointed question for you. How much of your time do you actually spend on your people?
Derek argues that most cleaning business owners spend the bulk of their time on everything around the business, including customer acquisition, phone calls, websites, cleaning products, billing, and marketing plans. The time spent on recruiting, training, and developing employees is usually small. He isn't counting the occasional discipline conversation or a call about a complaint. He means real investment in helping people get better. Among the owners he visits, he estimates that share is often around 10%.
That's a problem, he says, because in a cleaning business the people are the product. A car manufacturer focuses on building the best possible car, and a retailer focuses on the store and what's on its shelves. Cleaning business owners, by contrast, often neglect the very thing customers are paying for, then get frustrated when the business doesn't run smoothly.
Derek also challenges owners to be honest about how they view the work. Owners bristle when a prospective customer balks at the price and says "it's just cleaning." Yet many quietly treat the job the same way when they train new hires for a week and then expect them to simply get it. In reality, the job asks a lot. Cleaners need to be skilled at cleaning, but they're also the face of the company and handle customer service in the home. They may manage billing details and are expected to use mobile technology in the field.
His challenge is simple. Sit down, look honestly at how you spend your time, and shift more of it toward your people.
Register for Summer Growth 2017
It's no secret that cleaning companies are having a tough time finding and keeping good employees these days. Are you hiring the right people? Are you losing the best ones? Do you keep employees you really should fire? Are bad attitudes poisoning your company culture? We can help! Join Tom Stewart and Liz Trotter in Portland, Oregon on Saturday July 15, 2017 for Summer Growth 2017. The day will be packed with the information you need to grow your business. This one-day shock treatment seminar could jolt your business into dramatic growth.
