Employee challenges in the cleaning industry aren’t new, but the ways to overcome them have evolved.
You’re likely no stranger to some of the employee challenges in the cleaning industry. From retaining staff to payroll issues to training, there’s a lot more to running a commercial cleaning business than just cleaning.
At the same time, you can’t let these challenges sidetrack you. Yes, you do need to figure them out, and yes, they can be disruptive to business. But you still have a job to do, supplies to order, accounts to check on, and all the other duties involved in making your commercial cleaning business successful.
The trick, as with so many things, is to find balance. So how can you run your business and attend to the challenges you either have with employees or help them deal with the challenges they may have? Here are some ideas that may help.
Ready for next level success? Call us today to see how our software can make your janitorial operation more successful!
Uncovering and Fixing 7 Employee Challenges in the Cleaning Industry
1. Hiring. We might as well start with one of the biggest employee challenges in the cleaning industry, which is finding and hiring good employees. There’s no simple answer to finding people, but word of mouth is often a good place to start. Ask your team if they could recommend anyone. You never know when a friend or family member is looking for a job.
2. Employee retention. Here’s another big issue with running a commercial cleaning business. There’s a lot to be said for making an effort to retain your best people. It saves you a lot of time and headaches in hiring, and it’s generally good customer service to have a steady team. There are a few steps you can take to keep your staffing steady. You can read about them here and here. The quick answer, however, is to do what you need to make your company the one people want to work for. That means creating an environment of safety and respect.
3. Payroll expenses. For most small businesses, payroll is either the highest or almost the highest expense. You can’t function without people, and you also want to get a handle on fluctuating hours and excessive expenditures. While you can’t necessarily cut payroll in terms of the people or the shifts, you can make your schedule more efficient. Of course, the best way to do this is to use janitorial management software, like Janitorial Manager. With technological solutions, you can schedule more effectively and accurately.
4. Payroll theft. This is a touchy issue. You want to respect and trust your team. In fact, it’s vital for a healthy work environment. Unfortunately, we also know there are people who will take advantage of that trust and clock in early, clock out late, or get someone else to clock them in when they aren’t even at the job site. With functions like geo-fencing and facial recognition time clocks, you can eliminate these issues.
5. Training. This is one of the challenges in the cleaning industry that no one wants to discuss. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that people do talk about it, but when it comes down to it, training tends to be minimal. This leads to numerous issues, from poor quality work to employees feeling discouraged because they don’t know what to do. Training might seem like an extra burden when you’re trying to keep your business going, but the fact is that in the long run, the time you spend onboarding and training new employees is time well spent as an investment in your business.
6. Employee burnout. Employee burnout results from multiple challenging situations that build up over time. Often, burnout results from working long hours or under less-than-ideal circumstances. Both of those situations can result from some of the other challenges. For example, high employee turnover rates leave your remaining employees scrambling to fill in the gaps. Your best bet for overcoming employee burnout is to prevent it.
7. Injuries. Of all the challenges in the cleaning industry, this might be the one that’s the hardest to prepare for. Accidents and injuries can turn a small team of superstars into a bare-bones crew struggling just to get through each shift. While you can’t prevent every injury, you can put safety protocols in place and keep your team up-to-date with OSHA guidelines, chemical safety best practices, and general awareness of potential hazards on a job site.
You may always have employee challenges, but they don’t have to be the downfall of your commercial cleaning business. There’s a lot you can do to limit the impact of these challenges and run a successful operation.
Take advantage of the value Janitorial Manager can bring to your cleaning operation to streamline your processes like never before. Learn more today with a discovery call and find out how to make your cleaning operation more efficient and cost effective!