5 Reasons Cleaning Supervisors Fail

Jean Hanson

When it's time to hire a supervisor for their cleaning business, most owners look to their existing employees. There is usually at least one person who stands out from the rest; they do a great job cleaning, they're dependable, and they go the extra mile for you.

However, some people who are put into a supervisory position end up failing, even though they were a stellar employee. There are many reasons this can happen; here are the top 5:

1. Uncomfortable Leading Co-workers. Sometimes when a team member is promoted and suddenly has to supervise their former peers, they become uncomfortable delegating.

2. Unable to Deal with Conflict. Every person in a supervisory position must deal with conflict at some point. It may be a conflict between the employees they supervise, or it may be a conflict with a customer. If your supervisor doesn't know how to handle tough situations, they'll likely fail.

3. Poor Judgment. You need to rely on your supervisor to make good decisions. If you have a supervisor who has poor judgment when it comes to dealing with day-to-day issues, you need to work with them on the decisions they SHOULD be making and the reasons why.

4. Laziness. Some people's work habits change when they are given a promotion. Watch for the supervisor who likes to delegate all of the work because they are now in a power position and feel as if they no longer need to work as hard.

5. Lack of Communication. Your supervisor may have been outstanding as a team member, but if their communication skills are lacking, they will likely fail. A good supervisor must be able to communicate well with you, their team, and your customers.

There are many more reasons supervisors fail, but the key to helping them succeed is to start working with them BEFORE you put them in a supervisory position. There is a lot you can do to help them succeed, but you need to put the time into training them on your expectations and the skills they need to become a good leader.

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Jean Hanson helps owners of commercial cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through her online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Jean is also the host of the popular Web TV show CleaningBiz.tv and author of the newsletter Trash Talk - sign up today!