James Nokes Editor

Email address: jfntci@aol.com The Cleaning Institute 955 Karol Way, #3 San Leandro, CA 94577

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, on average, it costs an employer about one-third as much they pay an employee for a year's full-time labor as it does to replace him (or her).

Let's do the arithmetic to see what that means. First off, let's say your employees cost you $10.00 per hour and that this inclues everything, labor costs, workman's comp., paid sick leave, paid vaction time, etc. Further, lets say you work them forty hours per week, never pay them for overtime and you work them exactly fifty weeks per year. Remember the $10.00 per hour isn't just what you pay them, that might be, $8.00 or $9.00 per hour with the rest of the money accounting for the other costs you incur in having them on the payroll.

These assumptions give us a reasonable idea of what one employee will cost you for a year and also keep the aritmetic easy. Your total, full-time labor cost for an employee for one year is: $10 per hour * 40 hours per week * 50 weeks per year = $20,000 total cost per full-time employee per year.

Now, here's the scary part, it will cost you (again this is an average, your costs might be lower than this but they might be higher too) will be one-third that amount or aprox. $6,600 to replace an employee who quit or whom you had to discharge.

 It Pays to Keep Your Employees 

In fact, as we figured out above, it pays around $6,600 for you to keep an employee you might have otherwise lost. So let's go over some of the ways you can reduce your employee turnover rate.

• Know what you're looking for in an employee.
  
  Part of the reason for high turnover is because the employer doesn't know what they're looking for. Is this a job on a night crew where your employee will need to be able to integrate into a very proficient cleaning team? Or is this a daytime job cleaning residences, houses and apartments, where often times the lady of the house will be home while the work is being done? This kind of cleaning work can require quite a bit of tact and it doesn't hurt to have a "home-makers" frame of mind either.
  
  I've literally known strong men who could take on any type of demanding cleaning job in a commercial environment; stripping and waxing floors, steam cleaning badly dirtied carpets, etc. but who quaked in their boots at the thought of dealing with a fussy lady who wants her home cleaned just exactly the way she likes!
  
  
• Make sure your employee knows what you expect from them.
  
  After you have figured out what are the most important characteristics in a new employee, it pays to write these characteristics down. This will help you to articulate them to your job candidates.
  
  Sometimes, with new employers in the cleaning field, there is a temptation to gloss over job requirements. After all, you want to get somebody out there, in the field servicing your customers, not be spending all your time interviewing people.
  
  But, of course just getting someone 'out there' without making sure the someone you get knows what the job requires is the road to high-job turnover, just what you want to avoid.
  
  
• Let your people know how they're doing.
  
  Most of the time janitors or housecleaners only hear from customers when there is a problem. It's the nature of the beast. Your customer base, whether home or business owners expect perfectly cleaned properties. To their way of thinking, a flawless job requires no comment. But they'll defintely make sure you know when they're unhappy!
  
  You, on the other hand, can't ignore your people when they do good work and criticize them when they don't.
  
  This doesn't mean you have to be their perpetual cheering section either. You need to clearly communicate your work requirements to them and do what's necessary to help them achieve these goals.
  
  The best advice I ever heard for this type of feedback is to praise your people personally for their achievements but critique the work only, not your employee personally, when there is a problem with how they perform their job.
  
  
• Make it your company's policy to provide a friendly, supportive work environment for your employees.
  
  I think everybody understands that to have a successful business you not only have to provide your customers with a quality service, you also have to provide a service that is pleasant and convenient for them to use.
  
  Sometimes we forget that to be a successful employer (meaning to keep the cost and disruption of high-turnover rates to a minimum) we need to provide a working environment that people enjoy being a part of. People take their cues from their bosses as to how they should act on the job. Are you polite? Do you avoid harsh and vulgar language? Do you have a we're all in this together attitude?
  
  People are generally reluctant to switch to a new job for a small raise in pay. But people will jump ship to another company very quickly if they just don't like working for your company.
  
  
• One of the best ways to grow your business is by growing your people.
  
  Make sure that people understand that your success means opportunity for advancement for them.
  
  From the earliest days in your business you can provide education and training through tapes and DVD's, online programs, books, even local seminars. This not only adds to your employee's skills and capabilities (and therefore enhances your company) it also sends a clear message to your people that you value and want to invest in them.
  
  
• Don't try to make all the decisions for the company.
  
  Having to refer back to the boss for every little decision to be made is not only inefficient, leading to pointless delays in dealing with customers, it's also demeaning to your employees. Within reason, give your people permission to make decisions. They'll be happier, and the work will go smoother.
  
  
• Have a clear no-theft tolerated policy.
  
  Whenever something goes missing in a commercial building or a private residence - the cleaning staff will be considered guilty until proven otherwise. No cleaning business can afford to have a Mr. Stickyfingers or Miss It-was-here-just-a-secnd-ago working for them.
  
  So make sure that from the very first day on the job your people understand that any kind of pilfering, no matter how small, will be cause for dismissal.

 Additonal Information - from Debbie! 

Excessive employee turn over can be the number one obstacle to growing a residential cleaning service. Many companies find themselves with a surplus of clients and a shortage of employees at some of the busiest times of the year. It is during this feast-or-famine roller coaster experience that some entrepreneur's end up throwing in the towel and quit the business forever. Finding a balance and living within the limitations of an employee driven business is not an impossible task, but certainly a challenging one. I offer the following suggestions to help keep your hair attached at the roots:

• Unemployment statistics will help you gage whether or not your high turn over is a result of a healthy economy and tight job market or a symptom of weak systems and processes in your business that undermine longevity. Take your temperature and find out what's going on!
  
  
• During the hiring phase of anticipated "busy seasons" you will likely need to hire three times the number of positions you must fill. Cleaning homes is difficult work and requires skill and stamina that people assume they have but often discover they don't. If you have three openings you may need to hire nine people. Stagger the "hires" so that they are coming out of training a week a part.
  
  
• Look for employees who have been on their last job at least two years. The ideal candidate for "staying power" is someone who will be stepping up to take your position, rather than "stepping down". Physically fit assembly and factory workers who were under paid and unappreciated but loyal to their former job, often make great cleaning staff. They don't mind repetitive, quick-paced work and will be thrilled with your employee appreciation programs, tips, and rewards. You'll show them the appreciation they deserve and reap the benefits of their response.
  
  
• Never take a chance with a job applicant who has been in the job market with no verifiable job history or is job hopping. No matter how short handed you are, you are not solving your problem when you hire from desperation. You are masking your problems and frustrating your efforts. Job hoppers will hop off your job too (without notice).
  
  

Lastly, there's no substitute for great pay and flexible hours. Make sure your client fees are high enough for you to provide the best paying job in town for non-degreed work. Your employees have to be able to make top pay and have time to be good moms in order to keep them from leaving to join the ranks of retail stores, fast food chains, and clerical offices. Treat them with dignity and respect and give them the earning potential they can't get anywhere else with their skill set. Only hire honest, hard-working, family women (or men) and you'll experience the joys of business ownership once again.

The information in the last section of this article was graciously submitted by:

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