Are Your Cleaning Technicians Quitting Due to Your Poor Leadership Skills?

One major grievance of cleaning business owners is employees quitting shortly after being hired, and it's frustrating since we've already invested loads of time onboarding them. But, have you considered that YOU might be the problem? It's possible your cleaning technicians leave due to poor management skills.

That can be a hard pill to swallow for sure, but taking a critical look at your own behavior as a leader is something every business owner should do. For many, blaming employees for the situation is actually the easy way out. And certainly, employee turnover is an industry-wide problem. But we must also realize that every situation is different, and everyone has different reasons for leaving, so we may be sabotaging our own success by not looking inward at our own behavior.

Do you lose cleaning technicians because you're a bad boss?

What a Cleaning Technician Thinks When They Have a “Bad Boss”

Imagine spending the majority of your week being told what to do by someone you don't like or – worse – don't respect. For cleaning technicians with a bad boss, this is a reality, and often drives them to seek other employment.

Employees might show up to work in a good mood, but seeing their boss lashing out angrily, getting overly stressed and developing a bad attitude can quickly ruin a cleaning technician's day. Multiply this over the course of a week, and it quickly becomes clear why they might want to leave.

Types of Bad Bosses

The Bully: Because of their outbursts, Bully bosses act aggressively towards their cleaning technicians. This can take the form of angry outbursts, intimidation, and even public humiliation to keep employees in line.

The Micromanager: Micromanaging bosses are so particular; they need to have a hand in everything their employees do. For experienced cleaning technicians this can be a real headache – they may feel undervalued and disrespected. Even if the intentions are good, a micromanaging boss can drive competent employees away.

The Workaholic: We all know someone like this – their whole life revolves around work. But this becomes a problem when these expectations are imposed on employees. In the cleaning business there is plenty of work to go around, and cleaning technicians don't want to be hassled outside work hours, or overburdened with additional work and expectations.

Other Bad Bosses: Other types of employers that might drive away hires are:

• The boss who has favorites
• The boss who is never wrong
• The spineless boss (won't discipline or get rid of bad-performing employees who bring the team down)
• The “gossip” boss often uses gossip to become friends with employees, which backfires on them
• The indecisive boss who always changes her mind
• The boss who is quick to blame, but rarely shows gratitude for a job well done
• The boss who doesn't take a personal interest in his or her employees and doesn't discuss their hopes and dreams for the future
  
  

What Kind of Boss Are You?

Do you see yourself in any of the above examples? There's no need to panic – it just means that there is some room for positive growth for you and your cleaning business.

Good bosses are people who are able to take a hard look at themselves and take note of areas for improvement. The best way to become a better employer is to look at other good bosses – read books, chat with fellow employers, and talk to your cleaning technicians – these are all great ways to make yourself a better boss.

Many employees leave because of their relationship with their superiors. If you want your cleaning technicians to stick around, it's a good idea to strive to be the best boss you can be. Then, maybe your cleaning technicians will look forward to coming to work!