7 Ways to Reduce Interview No-Shows in Your Home Cleaning Business
Interview no-shows are pervasive in the residential cleaning industry. It's one of the biggest complaints we hear from cleaning company owners—and with good reason. Time is money in this business, so there's a real cost to setting aside an hour for someone who doesn't show.
While you can't force people to attend scheduled interviews, there are ways to reduce your no-show rate.
1. Screen Applicants
One of my simplest recommendations is to complete a quick phone interview with every candidate you're considering. I realized several years ago that pre-screening applicants by phone saves us both a lot of time. By providing basic information about job function, pay range, and work hours, you can both decide whether it's worth moving forward with an in-person interview.
Far better to waste 5 to 10 minutes on the phone with an ill-suited candidate than 30 or more minutes for an in-person interview. Best of all, if the phone interviewee doesn't show for the call, you can just go back to work without waiting around to see if they're just running a bit late.
2. Get Recommendations
Recruiting reliable candidates is the best way to avoid interview no-shows. But how do you find them? One way is to ask your trusted employees if they know anyone looking for a job. These referrals tend to be far more successful than unsolicited applications.
Your great employees won't want to jeopardize their employment by recommending a bad worker. Even better, these referrals are more likely to be excited about joining your team after hearing great things from their friend or family member. If you're hard-pressed to find new candidates, consider offering your current employees a referral bonus (or another benefit) when someone they recommend is hired.
3. Be Available Outside Work Hours
Unemployment rates are low, which means many of the people you want to hire already have jobs. It's not always possible for employees to take time off during working hours, so you may need to be flexible to get interviews with the candidates you really want.
Be open to conducting an interview first thing in the morning, on weekends, or in the evening. A candidate who refuses to skip work to come to an interview is likely someone you want to hire. They're showing that they fulfill their obligations to their employer. You likely won't have problems with them frequently skipping shifts or trying to get days off without advanced notice.
4. Meet Somewhere Else
In the same vein, employed candidates may need you to meet near them for an interview to reduce their time away from work. For candidates you're really excited about, consider meeting at a coffee shop or other casual location.
Unless you need to demo specific equipment or need them to see the office, there's no reason you can't meet them in the middle. Candidates who hold more than one job or work in a different city will appreciate your offer of meeting in a location that's convenient for them.
5. Hold Open Interview Sessions
When you're looking for employees, considering holding an open interview day rather than setting individual appointments. Open the office for a few hours on a Friday or Saturday morning, and let interviewees come to you. Publicize the event via social media and your email list, ads in the local newspapers, and signs in prominent areas.
If your business's growth or turnover rates mean you're regularly hiring new staff, you may want to make these open interview days a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly event. You may need to experiment with the best days and times for these sessions to see which combination delivers the best turnout of quality candidates. We found that Saturday mornings and evenings between 6 – 8pm worked well.
6. Send a Reminder via Email or Text
This suggestion likely brings up mixed feelings. On one hand, you don't want to hire employees who need constant reminders or expect to be coddled by their supervisor. On the other hand, mistakes happen. Have you ever jotted down notes during a phone call and then misplaced them?
It only takes a few minutes to send a follow-up email after setting an interview appointment. A simple “Hi name, I'm looking forward to meeting you on (date). If anything changes in your schedule between now and then, please let me know” is more than enough. If you use a common online scheduler like Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, maybe you even want to include the link for the interviewee.
If you're going to be meeting the person, as suggested in #4 above, I recommend sending a reminder text the day before, and another one before you leave to ensure they're going to keep their word about meeting you.
7. Work with an Employment Agency
If interviews are a huge burden for you and your leadership team, it might be time for you to outsource part of the hiring process. Some staffing agencies will screen candidates for you so you can talk to the people they recommend for a second interview.
Another option is to use Temp agencies, who will send you staff members on a temporary basis (you can choose the time period). You can end the position at any time without needing a reason. The temporary arrangement allows you to see which candidates measure up. You can then offer those temp workers a permanent position. Although I wouldn't recommend this as a primary hiring method, this can be a great option for companies going through a period of rapid expansion that makes it difficult to keep up with hiring.
Hiring new staff members is one of the most difficult parts of being a business owner. It's important to make your interview process as simple as possible for the right candidates because, as most of us know all too well, making a poor hiring choice affects every aspect of your business.
Would you like to learn some of the secrets that Pro Recruiters use to recruit great employees?
Top recruiting expert Patty DeDominic shares her best recruiting tips in this one-hour webinar for cleaning business owners. Patty has years of experience as the owner of one of California's top recruiting companies.
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