Hiring your first cleaning company employee?

What You Need to Consider Before Hiring Your First Cleaning Company Employee

When you started your cleaning business you most likely did everything yourself. And you probably did everything your way - from how you vacuum to how you handle the books. But as the business grew, you realized the time had come to let go and allow someone else to oversee certain aspects of the company operations. If you don't, your business will not be able to flourish. After all, you are only one person and can only do so much work in a day. Long hours and no down time equals burn out and most likely failure.

So what do you need to consider before hiring your first cleaning company employee?

Before you pass on tasks to other individuals, make three lists:

1. Tasks that employees can handle
2. Tasks you will do yourself
3. Tasks you can eliminate

Focus on the goals you want to accomplish. Do you need to spend more time marketing your cleaning business? If so, hire workers to do the cleaning and spend your time networking and promoting your company. Are you spending too much time doing the book work? Consider hiring a part-time bookkeeper who can do the job more efficiently.

Once you have decided to delegate duties, you need to make a plan for hiring. Also, consider future growth and company staffing needs beyond just the first hire.

Your employees will need the proper tools and training in order for them to be successful. Other points to consider:

1. Forget about your ego. Don't get it in your mind that no one can ever do things as well as you do or that no one works as hard. Remember, everyone has their own set of skills and talents.
2. Don't dump everything onto employees at once; let go in stages. If you have staff on board, slowly shift responsibilities. If you are just starting to hire employees, create the job descriptions first and then hire slowly and thoughtfully. It is better to spend more time in the hiring phase, then to train an employee and have him (or her) quit the first week.
3. If you don't know what tasks to delegate, get help from outside specialists. Find people you respect and have good business sense that can help you. Check with your local small business center or check with other professionals that you know. You can also work with a small business coach or management consultant for a few sessions to help you decide what tasks should or should not be delegated. Or ask your fellow members at The Janitorial Store, in the Employees & HR Discussion Forum.
4. Once you start hiring employees, hire individuals who have the skills and qualifications to get the job done. That doesn't necessarily mean they have cleaning experience. Hiring for attitude trumps experience in most cases. Bypass hiring friends or relatives unless they have the skills you need and you are able to keep the work and social times separate.
5. Always make your intentions clear. Your employees need to know what their responsibilities are so review their job description and train them until they perform to your standards. Make sure to set up policies and procedures to review job performance. Set up a time once a week or every other week to review how things are going. In these meetings be sure to ask for input and ideas.
6. If something is wrong, don't criticize or reprimand an employee in front of others. Set up a one-on-one meeting, explain the situation and offer positive ways to correct the problem.
7. Remember, you are delegating tasks, not just dumping things you don't want to do onto others. Your employees need to know that what they are doing is important to the success of the business.

Taking your cleaning business to the next level will mean hiring employees so you can concentrate on growing your business. Don't be afraid to "let go". Hiring employees and delegating responsibilities to others are the steps you need to take if you want to move your business forward.

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