Last night I ate too much chocolate. Do you know what happens to me when I eat too much chocolate? I have strange dreams! And last night, as expected, I had a somewhat unusual dream. But it got me thinking about how this "fish out of water" dream can apply to the employees we hire for our cleaning business. But first, let me tell you about the dream.
I was dreaming that I was a new employee at an optical center. It was a busy Saturday and there were only two of us working. I was a brand-new employee, had no training, and was expected to know what to do. I have no idea how to adjust glasses, or do an eye test, or how to run the cash register. They might as well have picked someone off the street and told them to get to work.
I really felt like a fish out of water in my dream. And I know that this is how many new employees feel when they start a new job. Now we all know that cleaning isn't rocket science. You don't need a degree, you don't need a license or certification. And as kids growing up, we all had to clean up the kitchen, clean up the bathroom, and clean up our room. So shouldn't we all intuitively know how to clean? Well as any experienced cleaning business owner can tell you, a lot of people have no idea how to clean!That's why it's our responsibility as the employer, to train our employees thoroughly, and give them systems to use while cleaning.
So what is YOUR system for training new employees? Do you just hire someone and have them follow you around showing them how to clean? Or maybe you tell one of your best cleaners to train the new employee without giving them the tools they need to do it successfully.
My challenge to you is; if you don't have a written training program, write one. If you don't want to write one, then buy one and use it. Every employee you hire deserves to have a chance to be successful in their job. And if you don't train them and give them the tools to become successful, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
So the next time you lose an employee, don't blame the employee. Instead ask yourself; am I the reason we lost that employee? What could I have done to make the experience better for that employee? I challenge YOU to challenge yourself to become a better employer and trainer.
Great post. We used to have a troublesome employee, who we came very close to loosing; however, both him and us made changes and he's now our most dedicated and long standing employee!
Posted by: carpet cleaning bristol | May 21, 2011 at 12:25 PM
The problem is having time to train a new employee.I now give all new employees a 3 day crash course before they even start cleaning.They then have a supervisor helping them to clean until they are ready to clean on there own.It seems to work for us anyway.
Posted by: Carpet Cleaning Blackburn | June 21, 2011 at 09:47 AM
Do you have any good links to resources for this topic? We have basic video instruction courses for new cleaners but I'd like to take a look at other ways that we can help them succeed, we have had a lot of turnover issues.
Posted by: Denver Janitorial Services | June 22, 2011 at 11:16 AM
You might want to look at some of our training programs and videos:
http://www.thejanitorialstore.com/products/department3.cfm
http://www.thejanitorialstore.com/products/department64.cfm
Plus we have a class on hiring the right people:
http://www.thejanitorialstore.com/products/item28.cfm
Posted by: Jean Hanson | June 22, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Terrific post!
Right now we are having a hard tome with 2 employees and this post just gave us some very helpful insights!
We appreciate!!!
Posted by: Leo the New jersey cleaning guy | June 30, 2011 at 09:58 PM