Episode 52: What Causes Cleaning Technicians To Break Company Rules?
Despite the way it may seem like at the time, most cleaning technicians don't intentionally break company rules. But when they do, it's up to you to get to the root cause, especially if it becomes a chronic problem.
So what causes cleaning technicians to break the rules? In this video you'll learn the top 5 reasons cleaning technicians break company rules. Once you've identified the true reason, it will be easier to work with the employee to keep it from happening again.
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Episode #52 - Video Transcription
If you're a cleaning business owner with employees, you've no doubt had one of them break a rule. Whether it's showing up late to work, taking longer than allowed lunch breaks, or showing up to work under the influence, it's a rule violation.
In general, your employees don't intentionally break the rules. But when they do, it's up to you to get to the root cause, especially if it becomes a chronic problem.
So what causes your employees to break the rules? Here are five common causes of rules violations:
1. They were not aware they were breaking a company rule. If you don't have your rules in writing, you can't expect an employee to know the rules, even if you think it's just common sense. And if you DO have the rules in writing, then you need to review them with each employee instead of expecting them to just read the rules on their own time.
2. They were aware they were breaking a company rule, but thought it was a minor violation and not a big deal. Many employees think that being 5 or 10 minutes late to work once in a while is not a big deal. It's your job to explain why it IS a big deal in your company, and that it will not be tolerated.
3. They were aware they were breaking a company rule, but thought there were extenuating circumstances that justified their violation. For example, an employee doesn't show up to work at all and doesn't call with an explanation. The next day you find out that her mother was in a car accident and was taken to the hospital so the employee spent the night at the hospital with her mother. Although there was a good reason for not coming to work that night, it doesn't excuse the fact that all she had to do was call you from her cell phone to explain what happened so you could immediately make adjustments to the schedule that night.
4. The were aware they were breaking a company rule, but lost control of their emotions during the heat of the moment. This is common in a confrontational situation at the work place. An example would be an employee that argued with his supervisor and it escalated to name-calling and using foul language, which is a rule violation.
5. They were aware they were breaking a company rule and did not care. In this case, you must talk to the employee to see if they truly care about employment with your company. If they do, make it clear that any more rules violations will result in termination. If they don't, it's time to terminate this employee. Just make sure you have adequate written documentation.
Now when you're talking to employees about rules violations, it might be helpful to share these common causes that I just mentioned; and ask the employee to identify which situation explains their violation. This can be the start of a constructive conversation with your employee that gets to the heart of the problem AND gets you on the road to a resolution.
