Do You Motivate Your Cleaning Employees With Trust Or Fear?

The cleaning business is tough when it comes to retaining great employees. Some employers get so frustrated with the revolving door that they end up using fear tactics to get employees to do what they want. But using fear to motivate employees does nothing for your business, and you'll keep getting back the same frustrating results.

If you want employees who are motivated, take initiative and work together as a team to get things done, then you need to take a new approach. Here are three things you can do to start making a dramatic difference:

1. Show your employees that you care. If you've fallen into that trap of looking at your employees as a commodity, you probably DON'T care much about them. But if you treat people with dignity and respect instead of yelling or talking down to them, you'll see a dramatic difference in their response and performance.

2. Recognize employees who go the extra mile. We all have them - those few stellar employees that always give 110%. But most of these exceptional employees never hear any words of appreciation because we're just too busy putting out fires and dealing with the problem employees. But you can make a huge difference in the eyes of these employees by not only acknowledging the good work they do, but by making a big gesture of appreciation. You can do this by recognizing their achievements in a company meeting, or writing a story about them in the company newsletter. However you decide to do it, know that it will motivate the employee to continue going the extra mile. It will also encourage your entire staff to look for opportunities to go the extra mile -- after all, they just want to be appreciated.

3. Don't take your employees for granted. If you only talk to them when you want something they will come to resent it. Don't ignore them, but talk to them regularly. Find out more about them as a person and ask for their input on ideas. This will keep them motivated each day, knowing you care about them as a person and that you value their opinions.

It takes practice and it takes time, so don't expect things to change overnight. But change is possible if you take the time, and it won't cost you anything BUT your time. But the results will be well worth the effort.

How do YOU motivate your employees? Post your ideas by clicking on the Comments link below.

Comments

[Jessica Williams]

The information contained in this article is pretty standard HUMAN information. We had decided before we even began our business that in order to keep consistent, excellent employees, it starts right at hiring and training.
The employee knows exactly what is expected from the get go. Most new employees know from being referred from senior staff that we are family, even at 60+. We pay holidays, vacation, provide turkeys and pies at Thanksgiving and Christmas cash bonuses with a Starbucks gift card.
Every month for workers that have stellar performance and no complaints, another cash bonus is provided at the employee meeting. When a particular client is experiencing cut backs and needs to cut services, we ensure the employee knows and is involved in determining how to make up hours somewhere else.
When an employee falls behind, we give them a list of re-training protocol that will occur, and the consequences if the goals are not met, so they know what to expect if production drops or attendance issues are not resolved.
Sincere, friendly, yet concise communication with our people has kept our employees with us for years and continues to benefit our company!

[Jean Hanson]

Jessica - congratulations on the success of your business! It sounds like you're doing all the right things for your employees and are retaining them, which is so important to the growth of the business.

[Office cleaning Schaumburg]

We motivate our employees with... distance. Yes, in the beginning we used to treat them the way Jessica treats her employees, but we noticed that with some time they tend not to appreciate it. So now we keep the distance and don't try to build such a great friendly relationships. We make sure employees know that we are serious and are always checking their work. It tends to work better. So, we lean somewhere to "fear". I heard somewhere "if they are afraid of you, they respect you" and that works, especially in these economic times.