7 Tips for Hiring Employees When You Have a Cleaning Business

Striking a balance between having the best employees and being able to keep up with payroll demands is a problem many businesses face. Here are some tips for helping you select the best applicants, while not going over your payroll budget.

Know Who You’re Looking For

Don’t just look for a warm body to fill a vacant position. You want someone who is motivated, can work independently, and is trustworthy. Have a set of minimum requirements, but also keep a big-picture image of what the best candidate will be like. Seek out candidates that meet your minimum qualifications to do the job and have some of the other big-picture attributes you’re looking for.

Contract Out Some Jobs

Sometimes it’s better to spend a bit of money to pay someone else to help with a job than it is to either lose business because you can’t handle a job, or to pay to keep someone on staff that you don’t need all the time. You can contract with 1300Rubbish for cleaning out and removal after construction projects, or have the number of a professional carpet cleaner that you can call when needed. It keeps you in control and is much cheaper than having a carpet cleaner on your payroll if you only need the service occasionally.

Check References

Do not underestimate the importance of checking references when hiring people in a cleaning business. There is a lot of turnover in the industry, and there are often many reasons for it. You can save yourself the headache of finding out about an employee’s bad habits or past problems simply by calling their references and doing a thorough interview.

Invest in Background Checks

Remember that your employees will be going into your client’s homes and businesses. Even though it can cost a bit of money up front, you don’t want to skip out on this part of the process. It will cost significantly more money if an employee steals something and then you realize that they were a convicted felon. Especially if your client learns this as well. Many insurance companies will not insure your business if you don’t screen applicants in this way.

Don’t Be Afraid of Inexperience

It’s rare that you stumble across the perfect employee, and remember that experienced candidates may have bad habits already. If someone has been doing something a certain way for 10+ years, it can be difficult to get them to accept new methods. Sometimes it’s better to take on an employee with little or no experience, and train them to do things your way from the beginning.

Conduct Interviews While Working

One of the best ways to evaluate a potential employee is to have them interview on a job site. Tell them that you’re busy and that they can swing by and have a chat while you’re working. It will give you a chance to evaluate how they act when in a client’s home, as well as see how comfortably they fit in with the rest of your team.

Have a Steady Stream of Applicants

You’d hate to miss out on the perfect employee just because you don’t have an opening right now. Make sure that you are constantly accepting applicants, and spend some time each week going through any applications that you receive. You don’t have to interview everyone, or even consider the ones that don’t really interest you, but if you find someone that stands out, you can reach out to them.

You may feel like you’re too busy to spend too much time on interviews and selecting applicants, but it’s important to be picky. Having a reduced rate of turnover and an efficient staff will make the time and money you spent hiring the best candidates worth it in the end.