6 Steps to Successful Hiring for House Cleaning Businesses
At some point in your business, you'll find yourself busier than ever trying to manage the business, market the business, and still do all the cleaning. This is usually the point where you start to wonder if now is the time to start hiring employees. But before you jump in feet first, take some time to pre-plan and create systems for hiring new employees.
Here are 6 steps you need to take BEFORE hiring your first employee:
- Create Job Descriptions. Too many house cleaning business owners think, "What do I need a job description for? They're just going to clean houses". Wrong! Job descriptions are an essential part of the hiring process. You need to define for each employee the qualifications you're looking for, their responsibilities, lines of promotion, and who they report to. Be specific when listing their responsibilities - you can't afford mis-communication on what you expect them to do on the job.
- Plan Your Compensation Package and Incentive Programs. Don't just pull numbers out of the air when figuring out what to pay employees. Do some research on comparable pay in your area by going to your local employment office or researching online at www.salary.com. You might also call around to competitors to see if you can find out what they're paying. Think about creating incentives for your employees to reward them for a job well done or to give them incentives for referrals.
- Create Training Materials. Training is the most important piece needed when hiring a new employee. Without the proper training you're just asking for trouble. What you'll discover is inconsistency with the cleaning, complaints from customers, and daily headaches trying to put out fires.
- Create a Safety Program. Safety is an often overlooked piece of the training pie. Yet accidents can cost your company thousands of dollars in worker's compensation fees that can stay with you for several years. Not to mention that when you do not train your employees on safety procedures, you're putting them and your customers at risk for injury.
- Create Follow Up Systems. Once you've trained new employees, your job is not done. They need follow up and re-training. Develop a system for following up on their work and create checklists for walk-throughs.
- Plan for Shortages and Turnover. Some cleaning companies seem to have a revolving door when it comes to employees. You will eventually have employees that call in at the last minute saying they can't come to work. Or you may have an employee who doesn't show up at all or quits without giving notice. Plan for these circumstances by having someone who can fill in on short notice, or hire an extra person who can do detail work and project work and also fill in for absent employees. There is a lot of planning that must go into hiring if you want to find the best employees. Just keep in mind that hiring is the first step - continual training and follow up will be the key to being successful at managing your new employees.
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