Hiring qualified technicians is a common complaint in the cleaning industry. It is said that "good help is hard to find". This is not a phenomenon unique to our industry, many others face the same problem.
Recruiting is a difficult part of hiring, which needs to be worked at. You cannot just hang a sign in the window or run an ad. While you will probably get applicants, are they the one you are looking for?
One of the "secrets" of hiring is to pay a decent wage. A great deal is expected form a carpet cleaning technician. Minimum wage or slightly higher is not nearly enough. Also, training is vitally important. You cannot entrust the care of expensive rugs, carpeting and upholstery to a novice. Keep new employees with a veteran cleaner.This is where the training plays a major part. Besides basic cleaning skills there are many other nuances to being a good technician which can be taught by a veteran cleaner.
Unfortunately, there is usually no way to tell in an interview if a prospect will ultimately be a good employee. While appearance and manners are easy to assess, work habits and attitude are not as evident. There should be a period of appraisal and training. If work habits are not up to your standards, firing should be sooner rather than later. Usually a 90 day evaluation period is sufficient.
Bane-Clene Institute® has classes which explore employee relations and will assist you in this difficult but highly important aspect of your business. Because without good technicians your business will only grow so much.
Related carpet cleaning business information on the Bane-Clene web site:
- Area Rug Care and Cleaning
- Carpet Cleaning the Bane-Clene® Way®
- Hiring
- Hiring is a full time job
- Recruiting Tips
- The 15 Factors of Success
- Upholstery Cleaning, Care and Protection
- What makes a company successful?
Thank you for reading Bane's Blog®.
The Bane-Clene® Team.
Please access our updated website at www.baneclene.com.
The latest issue of the Clene-Times® is at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.
