How to Treat Employees
Make
sure to find a qualified supervisor as soon as you sign a new contract, if not
before. When putting a crew together, it is important to first have a good
supervisor who knows what he or she is doing. The quality of your supervisors
can make or break you fast. When you give an employee the title of “supervisor”
or “assistant supervisor,” make sure that they know their job description and
what you expect of them, every small and large detail. Be strict but fair with
your supervisors and they will be the same with your building cleaning staff. You
need to train your supervisors and assistants well, because some day years from
now, when they break out on their own and start their own cleaning businesses,
they will probably become one of your subcontractors. The quality of your
supervisors will affect your business over and over again. To help your
supervisors grow, you might try allowing them to set goals for each other and
for each day of work. Let them order supplies and small equipment, check the
stock, track weekly receipts and inventory, go to meeting with and for you at
times, and still keep their jobs under control and under budget each month.
Your job as business owner will be to supervise all the supervisors and
assistant supervisors with meetings and job site visits, and they’ll take care of
the building cleaning staff. This kind of hands-on training is why the American
business dream works so well; it’s made in America. Go Wall Street! Go USA! Go
businessmen and businesswomen of America, we are the best at what we do, when
we do it right!
I
have also found that a good assistant supervisor does a tremendous amount of
work, especially troubleshooting and problem solving. Once you give someone the
title of “assistant supervisor” and put a little extra money in that person’s
pay each week, she or he will help make things run better. Assistant
supervisors, if they are good, will immediately want to move up to the
supervisor position the next time a contract is awarded to your company.
Assistant supervisors will sometimes work harder than supervisors to get ahead.
They will make it their business to check the building and to do a good job in
order to get noticed. Also, if the lead supervisor is unable to work for any
reason, the assistant will take over and ensure that everything is handled
until the supervisor returns. You should try to pay your assistant a little
more than the, building cleaners on the job, but not as much as your supervisor
makes. (Believe me most, employees will talk about these things among each
other.) All of your supervisors will stay on their toes knowing that the
assistant supervisors are gunning for their top jobs. This type of competition
is good for business, and in turn good for the customer.
In
some very rare cases, items like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, hand towels,
trash bags, or soap will be missing from the building’s cleaners supply
closets. You can rely on your inventory, receipts and job charts to help decide
if there really is a problem. Some building cleaners feel that they can take
supplies for their own personal use because they work around so many of these
items in your storage closet each day. Put an end to this practice as soon as
you notice or hear about the problem. This behavior is taking away from your
company profit and from all employees’ and subcontractors bonuses. This is
where you can see whether your supervisor is making the right decisions. Is the
supervisor reprimanding the individual or just looking the other way? If the
problem is being ignored, why is it being ignored? Having a supervisor on the
job site should be the same as if you were there yourself. A supervisor
represents you to the owner or property manager and to the employees on site.
Anyone doing anything
wrong should be corrected quickly by the supervisor, based on the company rules
and polices.
To
keep good contracts, it is very important for you to hire smart, trustworthy
supervisors and employees of all sorts. As your business grows, do not hire
family and friends just because you know them well. Yes, you may need them in
the beginning, but it could cause conflicts, and it’s best to avoid problems by
using only the best of the best when it comes to your growing new business. You
do not have the money and time to get “business emotional” with your loved ones
if they are not ready to grow with you and the business. You also want to avoid
hiring family of your employees; at least, you want to be sure they do not work
together on the same sites, if you have to hire them. You want to make sure
staff members, do not bring personal problems from home onto your job sites.
You’ll
also need to weed out the cheating, lazy, bad apples fast before the whole
bunch turns bad, one or two times a year. Bring in some good highly intelligent
staff members to help you; they’ll take you far quickly if you let them be open
and creative. I have found that I can go to any city or state in America, place
a sixty dollar want ad, and find all types of highly qualified people who are
out of work through no cause of their own (or maybe because they did not read
my book yet!). In a few days, I can have all the help I need in this town. The
phones will still be ringing from this one or two day newspaper ad even after
the ad stops running. These people could be an important part of your office
and field staff; they are hungry and well educated, but out of work.
You’ll
learn as time goes on that you will not become a “building cleaning tycoon”
overnight and that you do need others to help you grow. Remember this, and
always treat your people well, whether they are your employees or your
subcontractors. You always want to show respect and thanks to your employees,
and one way to do this is with tips and bonuses, if you can afford them. A
little extra coming from the business owner heart goes a long ways when it comes
to showing your appreciations.
Again,
in this business, your networking days do not stop at five o’clock. Ride by any
of the high-rises or any office building after five, and you will see the
lights still on because the night building cleaners are in the buildings,
cleaning them. If you want to bid on the next contract once the word hits the
street that the new bids are due for these buildings. You should get to know
some of the existing staff, maybe your future employees, since they can give
you information that will help your bid. You could end up employing them to do
the job if you get the next contract. To start this new contract, all you would
have to do now is to bring the cleaning supplies and equipment, and you would
be in business for four or five years with this new building and customer.
Again, it’s just another part of this business. The supervisors and building
cleaning crew who are cleaning these buildings now know these buildings well,
and this could make your new contract easier in the first few months. But first
you need to get to know them and show them your respect, they like to keep
there old jobs and you need to get them working for you, just as hard as they
did for there previous employer. People mean everything when you are in business,
it’s not what you know sometimes it’s who you know, especially when it comes to
business.
As your business grows and more jobs will be coming soon, you will have your hands full, but it is important for you and your staff never to lose sight of your business style, practices, and etiquette on the job. Think about the image you want your business to project, and always keep that in mind every time you work and deal with current and potential clients. The better the business practices you demonstrate and customer service you provide, the more likely it is that referrals and new business will come your way.
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