The cleaning industry has long had a problem with turnover-with current estimates sitting at 200%. That's a pretty staggering figure when you take a second to think of what that actually means. The average cleaning company replaces their entire staff twice in one year. For some of you out there, however, you're actually living it and know exactly what it means. With an estimated cost of $1,000 per new employee to recruit, train and orientate them, this isn't a cheap problem either.
So what can be done about it? Here are three areas to look at when evaluating your current Hiring & Training program to see if there are any areas you can improve on.
What do you look for when you hire a new member of your cleaning staff? One mistake that's easy to make is to value experience above all else. Experience is incredibly valuable, of course. But make sure you're also looking at a candidate's work ethic and attitude. A bad attitude can spread quickly, and impact morale and the effectiveness of a team.
An onboarding plan is critical to make sure an employee's introduction to your company is done in a way that makes it easy for them to learn, ask questions, and feel comfortable with the work and their role. Be sure to choose cleaning products that are easy to use, and have training materials available that are equally easy to understand.
After you've hired a great employee, do your best to keep them! Recognize outstanding work, encourage feedback, promote from within, and be sure your wages and benefits are competitive. Investing this time and money is worth it. Not only will you better keep an experience, efficient staff, but the cost savings in the long-run can be huge.