Episode 4: Cost of Employee Turnover & Sales Letter Conversion Tip

Episode #4 – What is employee turnover costing YOUR cleaning business? For a cleaning company it costs about $500 to recruit, hire and train a new employee. We'll show you exactly how much money you could be throwing out the window if you don't get your employee turnover under control. Plus, we offer tips on reducing that turnover.

In part 2, we'll share the 3 things you need to do to get prospects to read your sales letter and take action.

Today's Sponsor is Dick Ollek, author of Finding, Training and Keeping GREAT Service Employees 101

If you're interested in marketing materials, visit Cleaning Business Marketing Materials.

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Episode #4 - Video Transcription

What Is Employee Turnover Costing Your Cleaning Business? Think you don't need to worry about employee turnover? THINK AGAIN! Whether you have 2 employees or over 100 employees; high turnover can quickly eat up your profits. I know that when we had high turnover in OUR cleaning business, it seemed like profits were going right out the door with the people who just up and quit on us - and it WAS!

Some employment specialists suggest it costs you anywhere from $500 - $2000 per employee. This includes the cost of recruiting, orientation and training. In speaking with cleaning company owners, the cost in our industry is somewhere around $500 per employee, so that is the number we'll use in the examples that I'll show you in just a minute.

You probably already know that turnover in the cleaning industry runs as high as 300%! That's HUGE! And what that means is that you are hiring and training 3 employees for every ONE employee you retain. So if you maintain a staff of 10 employees on average, you'll be sending out 30 W-2's at the end of the year! Employee turnover doesn't paint a pretty picture when it comes to your bottom line, does it. So let's run some numbers to see just what it's costing you.

- Example 1:
To maintain a staff of 5 employees at 300% turnover, you'll be hiring and training 15 employees. The 10 extra employees you TURNED cost you $5000 (10 employees x $500).

- Example 2:
To maintain a staff of 10 employees at 300% turnover, you'll be hiring and training 30 employees. Those 20 extra employees you TURNED cost you $10,000!

- Example 3:
To maintain a staff of 30 employees at 300% turnover, you'll be hiring and training 90 employees. Those 60 extra employees you TURNED cost you $30,000! WOW!

Most cleaning business owners assume that high employee turnover is a fact of life and something they need to live with. Have you ever heard anyone say, "hire slow and fire fast?" We learned that lesson a long time ago, and cleaning business owners who follow this belief know that high turnover doesn't HAVE to be the norm. They've decided to focus their time on putting hiring systems into place and NOT hiring just any "warm body".

If you think about it, that $30,000 in our last example is money you could spend on a salary for an office manager or operations manager! How positively would THAT affect your bottom line? Let me share a few hiring tips that made a big difference in reducing OUR employee turnover.

• 1. Hire the best and avoid the rest! Don't cave into the temptation of hiring a warm body because you need someone right away. I guarantee you'll regret it!

• 2. Provide career development and let applicants know that you can have a career in this industry - not just a paycheck. Even if you hire primarily part time employees, they'll never know that this can be more than just a temporary job unless you show them the career opportunities available to them.

• 3. Be flexible. People are busy taking care of their kids, their parents and other commitments so they want to work for employers who can offer flexible work schedules.

• 4. Get rid of poor supervisors and managers. This is one of the biggest reasons people leave their jobs, so you need to make sure you've got the best of the best supervising your staff.

I'd like to hear YOUR ideas for reducing employee turnover, so please post your comments below. Before we move on to that great sales tip I promised, I'd like to take a moment to tell you about Dick Ollek's book, Finding, Training and Keeping GREAT Service Employees 101. If you are struggling with employee turnover, THIS is the book you need to read! It's a detailed "How To" book of ideas that actually WORK, plus it includes a Hiring Process Manual, an Employee Policy Manual, and Sample Job Descriptions. You'll find it at the link below.

Episode 4 Sales Letter Tips - Video Transcription

3 Things You Need To Do To Get Your Sales Letter Read

Have you ever stood over the recycling bin and tossed out junk mail? That's what a lot of your prospects do when they see sales letters - toss it right out without even reading it. It only takes 3 to 5 seconds to decide if it's worth reading past the headline, so this is where you want to start. You need to create a compelling headline that captures their attention and makes them want to keep reading. I've seen cleaning companies write lame headlines like, "Need a new cleaning service?" That does absolutely nothing to capture their attention. BUT -- asking a question is actually a great technique for writing a headline - you just need to make sure you're asking the right question!

Here's an example: Can your cleaning company pass this simple two question test? Hmmm...makes you wonder what the 2 questions are, doesn't it? Wouldn't this type of headline make you want to keep reading, if only to find out what the questions are that you should be asking your current cleaning service?

The second thing you want to do to get your sales letter read is to make a solid offer. The offer doesn't necessarily have to be a discount on your services. Instead you might tell them to call and schedule a free Quality Control Audit.

Think outside the box on your offer -- just make sure it's something that the prospect would consider worth their time and money. And the third thing you need to do is offer proof that what you say is true. This could be in the form of a testimonial or a rock solid guarantee. People are more willing to try out your services if they know others are happy with the work you do.

So there you have it! If you can do these three things in your sales letter, you're one step closer to getting your sales letter read, instead of having your hard earned marketing dollars thrown right into the trash!